Every post in the country is painted in these coloursEl Salvador is the first country we have been nervous about visiting. Only 20 years ago the Government was bombing its own cities and massacring whole villages in the vicious civil war.
Just what they need more gunsWe met two gringos who live in El Salvador and their advice was don´t go and especially don´t go to San Salvador or San Miguel because -
The official murder rate is 10 a day but the real rate is around 40.
The Government are cracking down on gangs by having shoot outs in the street.
Buses get hijacked by gun toting, trainee gang members---´If this happens stay very calm because they are more nervous than you´.
Always carry a wallet with mugging money.
There are hardly any tourists and you will be an obvious target.
Very few people go out after dark in the cities.
GOOD
The reality couldn´t have been more different.
The surfing beaches are beautiful and you can get surfing lessons.
Spot the beginner with a boat instead of a surf boardAway from the beaches we didn't see a single tourist and we got smiles and offers of help all the time. We think they were just delighted to have anyone visit their country.
At one place we had trouble finding a cash machine that worked. A taxi driver heard us asking for help and took us to a working one, for free. A Dutch couple had a similar experience the next day but their ride had a gun on his lap and his lighter under a seashell heating up some sort of drug.
San Salvador
There are massive shopping centres in the suburbs full of American fast food places and big name designer goods. All this in one of the poorest countries in Central America.
What happens when you ask for twin beds in San Miquel Visited many of the civil war sites which we remember from the 80s.
The Cathedral where Archbishop Romero was assassinated, the event that really kicked off the civil war.
The house in where 6 Jesuit Priests and their house keeper's family were shot, the event that marked the beginning of the end of US support for Government.
The mountain area where the FMLN hid out and the government forces massacred a village of woman and children.
Everything comes to you on the chicken buses, hot meals, fruit, toys, extension leads etc
Firework streetHORRIBLE
The bus to Managua, Nicaragua was so late that we had to stay the night. Nicaragua is one of the safest CA countries but Managua, the capital, is the worse place we have been.
Getting off the bus we are besieged by taxi drivers and scary looking touts. The taxi drivers tell us that the hostel we want doesn't exist, the touts say its just around the corner. We go with a tout only to be taken to a completely different place. We are stuck because we are not going to walk back down those streets by ourselves. They looked like a third world version of the streets in The Shield.
The tout says he will take me to an ATM because he wants immediate payment for the room. We go 7 blocks down the street past groups of men hanging around on every corner, the tout seems to know them all. When we get back the tout gets aggressive and demands an ridiculously large tip. I get aggressive back and refuse. When he eventually goes I get paranoid and imagine him coming back in the night, so end up barricading us in our room.
The next day the guy in the hotel says it too dangerous to go out in the street to get a taxi and that he will get one for us. He comes back with his mate in a beaten up old car and demands about 5 times the proper taxi fare.
We were very glad to get out of that place. We are now in Leon, Nicaragua which is delightful and safe.
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