Christmas Sunshine

Having really warm weather for Christmas makes me feel like a kid again, as though I had never left California. (In SoCal where I grew up, it was not unusual to have 90+ degrees of sunshine on Christmas Day.)

Anyway, thought I'd take this ample free time (now that we're mostly set for going away on Friday) to put up some updates of what we've been up to in San Salvador. :)

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We recently climbed Santa Ana, which is the tallest (not steepest) volcano in El Salvador. It last erupted in 2005, which by nature's time frame is like a second ago! (So, I think that makes it tied for the second most active volcano we've climbed in Central America.)

Here is what the rim at the top looks like around the crater. Pretty steep when you try to look into the crater (left). Those little specks are people up ahead.


This particular crater has 3 strata, formed from 3 different eruptions over (a long period of) time. It's stunningly beautiful, and you can see all the layers even from afar. Down at the bottom there is a green boiling crater lake. Our friend Greg kicked a rock over to see how far down the crater is. For almost a full minute, you can still hear the rocks rolling/rumbling down below.



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Sometime in November, we went to the Marine Ball (again). It was fun to play dress up (putting my $20 dress to good use), but I think I've officially gotten it out of my system. This year, the good thing is that we got a deal. Dinner + dancing + open bar for $40 ain't bad at all.


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Lastly, some other time in November, the German embassy sponsored an Oktoberfest. It was pretty cool (especially because there were some social dancers there, tearing up the dance floor), but it was a teaser for the real thing we want to go to next year. :)

Here are pictures of us, with Will and Andrea, two of my favorite gringos:



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That's (really) it for now. We're super excited about going to Argentina!! :) We leave on Friday, and will be gone until after New Year's. On our agenda are glaciers!! -- and maybe some dancing and some wine tours. And definitely lots of eating. Argentinian steaks are supposed to actually come from happy (free-range) cows. :)

Winter Holidays

Geoff and I had an amazing trip back to the States for the holidays! Not only did we get to see a lot of friends and family, but we also got to spend some time in the city, revisiting our favorite restaurants and checking out the current Broadway shows -- and we even managed to swing-dance for a hot second! It made us miss being back in the States, for sure, but also helped us appreciate things back in San Salvador (ie. the ridiculously warm weather and things being reasonably priced). In any case, it will likely be a good while before we get to take another vacation to the New York area, so we cherished this opportunity to catch up with everyone.

Since it is costly to fly directly from San Salvador to the States, Geoff and I had decided a few months back to try instead to fly through Guatemala. On paper, that saves us about $200 per person round-trip, which is a kickass deal. But, in reality, the bus + extra nights in a hotel + extra food expenses just about balance out the savings we would have had. And actually, the hassle of traveling by bus through Guatemala isn't worth the savings, regardless of how comfortable and luxurious those busses may be.

Still, Geoff and I thought this particular trip through Guatemala was well worth it, because we got a chance to check out Volcano Pacaya, which had been our only regret from our previous visit to Guatemala. There is a reputable tour group that takes people up the volcano at night, camps overnight, and then hikes up to the flowing lava just before sunrise. But unfortunately, 1. they're not too flexible with their dates, since they need to rally 4 people in order to make it worth their effort to lead such a trip, 2. the boss is kind of an asshole to his employees. In the end, we booked another day trip instead. The day trip only costs $10 per person, plus about $5 for entrance fee to the park and tips for the guides. The afternoon hike, which Geoff and I had gone on, left at 2pm and was supposed to catch the sunset as we were descending the volcano. But, since our group had a few old ladies and children, the group hiked extraordinarily slowly, and it actually worked out to be to our benefit. We didn't get to the flowing lava until sunset, so we saw an amazing sunset right over the lava stream, and we got to enjoy the lava in the dark before descending the hill! (Most other day-hike groups only see the lava in daylight, which just isn't the same.)

The experience was truly phenomenal, and I would highly recommend it. Although, you definitely feel when you are up there, that you are tempting fate. Even as we were climbing the volcano, the local guide pointed out chunks of rocks where lava had flown only months -- or weeks! -- ago. He said that the lava flow changes its direction or location sometimes within a day. Then, when we got to the mini-crater about 200m from the main (top) crater, the hot river of lava was breath-taking. At one point, the rocks near where Geoff had been standing collapsed, and everyone was pretty freaked out from the keen awareness that we were standing on only a thin shell of rocks above a huge reservoir of hot lava. Later, as we got further away from the lava, and we looked back, we could see two different places where the volcano was erupting, and see heavy smoke coming from the top crater. One of the guides told us "no es normal", which only hastened our steps down the mountain.

Geoff and I spent the next couple of days just relaxing in Guatemala, getting over our sickness (which we had acquired in the below-freezing weather of New York) and easing our way back home to the tropics. I posted the complete set of vacation pictures on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/averyseriousmimi/sets/72157623154596774/show/ , which you can watch as a slideshow.

Take care! Hope you (whoever and whereever you are) had a lovely holiday season. :)

Nicaragua!

Geoff and I had a fabulous time in Nicaragua! It is a breath-taking country, with friendly people and very affordable tourism options.

Since Geoff's visa was approved recently, we booked last-minute tickets for Thanksgiving to go to Nicaragua. We caught a good deal, and paid only $167/person for our round-trip flights on Copa Airline! And, thank goodness for the foresight to fly instead of taking the bus, because on our way back, we heard from other passengers at the airport that the Honduran borders had indeed been closed because of the elections. (Our friend Andrea had vaguely mentioned that as a possibility, but even she had not really believed it. I had decided to stand my ground and to refuse to take those chances, since I couldn't afford to be back to school late again after the Guatemalan shinanigans the last time we had undertaken a weekend getaway. Thus the decision to fly, despite it being the more expensive option...)

Anyway, Nicaragua was excellent. We spent one night in Leon and two nights in Granada. Both were colonial cities, but Granada has a more vibrant night life, a far richer history, and more character overall. While in Leon, we went "volcano-surfing", which is basically sliding down the sandy side of volcano Cerro Negro on a board made of wood and removable plastic. We hiked up to the top of the active volcano (it has erupted 23 times within the last 160 years) with our boards, walked along the rim of the crater to the sandy side of the volcano, put on our protective gear (jumpsuits and goggles), sat down on the boards facing the bottom of the hill, and then braced ourselves as we slid down the 45-degree incline. From the top of the hill, you can't see the bottom half of the hill, because the hill has a sharp dropoff after that halfway point. We could only see what appeared to be a tiny white speck at the bottom, which the tour guide explained was our truck, waiting for us at the bottom. The actual "surfing" part went rather quickly. Even though I was very nervous, once I started sliding and the wind started to blow tons of dirt in my face, I had forgotten all about the fear. Of course, I had to be the only person who actually lost balance and fell off my board halfway. :) Geoff took a video of me at the end, but that being after my fall, I had already lost most of my momentum and was easing my way down the rest of the hill. Still, it was an awesome experience! I would highly recommend it.

In Granada, Geoff and I also did a canopy tour, since neither of us had done it before. I was nervous, once again -- not because I didn't trust our tour guides. In fact, our tour guides lead about 150 people through their setup each day, and are very professional. Instead, I was nervous about messing up myself. In the end, it was amazing, and for being out there for about an hour, plus the rides to and from the beautifully lush forest, it was only $30 for each of us! That's an awesome deal!

Greg, Andrea, Geoff, and I also had a good time just hanging out at the local bars at night. I have developed a brand new appreciation for Flor de Caña, a type of Nicaraguan rum. :) I also particularly enjoyed the local "nacatamal", which is a tamale stuffed with juicy meat. Yum!

And now, happy December! I really cannot believe that Christmas is right around the corner. I cannot WAIT!

Portezuelo Coffee Finca

Holly, who works at our school as a community-service coordinator, also is experienced working in eco-tourism (which is a buzzword for sustainable tourism, for those of you who are un-hip like me). She organized a trip this weekend up to a coffee finca (farm) up in the mountains, about an hour drive away from the Guatemalan border, and happily I went along.

It was fantastic! We got there in the afternoon, and it was pretty rainy. Everyone was a good sport, so we all huddled indoors and drank hot chocolates and coffees to keep warm. Our hosts at the farm came out to greet us, and they talked about the history of the farm, as well as their motivation for running a part-time eco-tourism business to help supplement their income. They have horses, mountain bikes, hiking trails, and even a few neat ropes courses on the farm! Not to mention delicious food and amazing hospitality. (They had even arranged for us to roast marshmellows at night. Mmmm marshmellows for gringos...) :) There is also a charming remnant of a church where the young couple had gotten married 10 years ago; the actual church collapsed a few years after their wedding, in an earthquake, so now it's just a beautiful empty courtyard, with a wall where the chapel used to stand. Because they had wanted to explore the possibility of offering yoga (and other therapeutic activities) on site, they had asked a yoga teacher to come from San Salvador to stay for the night at the finca. Early the next day, at around 7am, five of us girls rose early to do yoga with Visel the yoga teacher in the chapel courtyard. I'm not really a yoga person, but doing yoga outdoors on a Sunday is such a beautiful feeling! She said that she is down at El Tunco on some weekends, so I might have to look her up so I can check out her morning yoga class on the beach!!

Anyway, after breakfast, since we didn't have a ton of time (it's Sunday, and we teachers had to get back to the city to do work before the day ends), we all got to choose just one activity out of the many things to do at the farm. I had originally planned on going horseback-riding (because I had only done it once in college, and it had been so much fun), but I last-minute changed my mind and decided to go on a hike to the geiser instead. Either way, I had figured I couldn't lose, and visiting the geiser seemed more like a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing. It was a surprisingly leisurely hike down to the geiser, actually. The floor was muddy and slippery from the rain, but otherwise the trail was fairly well-maintained and the terrain was pretty easy to traverse. The actual geiser itself was amazing! When asked how hot the water is in temperature, the guide said, "Demaciado!" and then quickly explained that it's hotter than water that is boiling over fire. You could see the steam and smell the sulfur (sulfre) from even a short distance away. The Earth Science teacher in me swooned obligatorily. :)

This weekend was fantastic, but I missed Geoff a lot. We'll have to go back there together sometime, because I'm sure he would want to check it out, and also because I'd like to check out their horses! (The ladies who went horseback-riding said they went from one hill across to another hill before they finally turned around. Sounds incredible!!)

Yay eco-tourism!

Climbing Volcano Izalco

A few weeks ago, when Geoff and I drove out to see Volcano Izalco for the first time, we had found out from the locals that there are guided tours to climb the volcano. The tours cost $1, and they start actually at a recreational campsite on top of a nearby volcano, Cerra Verde. We had decided that this sounded like a climb not to be missed, so yesterday, with a group of other teachers, we set out to climb the volcano.

To give a little bit of background about this volcano, Izalco had been continuously active between the 1700s and 1966, and was called the "Lighthouse of the Pacific", because ships would use its light to help guide their navigation at night. It is perfectly cone-shaped, and has a height of 650 meters, with a crater that measures 40 meters deep and 200 meters wide. At some point, some businessman decided to build a hotel on top of the nearby dormant volcano Cerra Verde, to try and make a profit off of the beautiful erupting Izalco. The hotel costed a lot of money to build, and you were supposed to be able to have a beautiful night view of the erupting volcano from the hotel. But, as the local lores have it, the day before the hotel was finished, the volcano erupted for the last time! Nature, in fact, had the last laugh... :)

Since its last eruption was relatively recent, Volcano Izalco still looks like a pile of rocks, only sparsely covered with vegetation. The so-called "path" to the top is also rough, at best. Most people in my group were in great shape, but I was pretty nervous ascending the volcano. I had to grab on to the rocks for the most part, and to lean into the mountain because I was nervous that I would slip down the side of the steep mountainside. At one point, I fell and was lying flat on the ground, because the rocks I was grabbing onto were loose and slippery themselves. When, finally, we got to the top, the view from top of the volcano was absolutely stunning! You are literally sitting on the edge of the crater, looking both into the crater of the volcano and looking out to the surrounding farmland! We walked almost all the way around the crater to the vent that was still emitting hot steam from underground. (Oddly, it didn't smell like sulfur, unlike the volcanoes I remember visiting in Hawaii.) Geoff and I had brought some bread, so we had a quick bite at the top before it came time to head back down. (By that time, the clouds had set in, and the view was obstructed. It was pretty clear that the guides wanted to get back before the rain would arrive, because I can imagine that hiking down that already-slippery mountainside in the rain would NOT be fun!)

Climbing down the volcano was much easier than going up, I thought, even though the gravel was definitely loose under our feet, and you slip downwards with every step. I fell once on the way down and was cut on a sharp rock, adding to my battle wound scratch marks for the day. The hardest part of the whole day was that after we had descended Izalco, we still needed to climb back up the other mountain -- to an even higher ground than the summit of Izalco -- to get back to our cars on top of Cerra Verde! Holy smack. That trail is well-paved and maintained, but the steepness of the incline makes it really exhausting. By the time we finally got back to the top, everyone was eager for some drinks and food.

We wrapped up the beautiful day by driving down the mountain to Lago de Coatepeque. The last time Geoff and I had gone there, we had found a nice little "restaubar" that is right on the water. This time, the gang went to the same place to grab some food and drinks, and Geoff and Greg both went for a quick dip in the lake. It was a perfect wind-down time after a day of hiking! I think everybody had a really great time. Even the weather remained beautiful the rest of the afternoon! :)

--Oh, and throughout the day, we had continued to encounter some amazing wildlife. Geoff took a picture of a giant grasshopper on top of the volcano; it was about 2/3 the length of my hand! And earlier, during our drive, Geoff and I had seen a vulture dragging a roadkill off to the side. We continued to see similar (big) black birds -- maybe vultures, maybe hawks -- as we were climbing the volcano...

I love El Salvador. I miss many things about New York City, but I really love it here. :)