San Salvador: Our Saviour?

San Savlador, the capital of El Salvador, wasn't as hectic as we had imagined. I had imagined feeling as overwhelmed as we did each time we had to spend time in Bangkok. The city experience was actually one that was welcomed! We were not permitted to travel to the capital before our guided tour, which included going to Metrocentro (one of San Salvador's most popular malls) and the Peace Corps office where we are to go in case of illness, administrative needs, workshops, etc. We were shown which buses to take to get to certain places and where the ritziest place in town was. Forget about travelling in airconditioned luxury in comfortable seats while you gaze out the window at the poor people who have to walk out in the heat. Travelling in buses here in El Salvador is a process that requires you to be alert about the whereabouts of your belongings, when your stop is and if you have to stand (which is 90% of the time), being alert so you don't fall down. It's almost like an amusement park when the attraction is trying to stay alive while speeding around an old American-style school bus. No airconditionin, comfortable seat, no organized way of collecting bus fare and definately not the safest way to travel.

When we were at the Peace Corps office I loaded up on the free Newsweeks that Peace Corps volunteers get for free, reading books and an appetite for something other than the tamales I'd been eating for the past three meals. I've never enjoyed eating out or going to a shopping centre as much as I did today. Even though I didn't get to go shopping per sae we did pick up some essetials: a mirror (because there isn't a single one in the entire compound) and a surge protector (because Salvadoran electricity will fry your appliances without warning).

The bus terminals in San Salvador have to be one of the shadiest places on the planet. Complete caos. Complete shadiness.