Leaving Antigua was tough but I know it is a place I will definitely return to. So after pushing off my departure day after day, I finally picked a date and bought a bus ticket to get things moving towards La Ceiba, Honduras, the jumping off point to Utila and Roatan. These are two islands off the coast of Honduras known around the world for their fantastic diving. Having a look at a map on how to get there, I decided, since I was so close to El Salvador, it would be very easy to cut through the northeast corner of the country and get the El Salvadorian stamp in my passport to add to the collection. It would only add about half a day to my trip.
Luckily for all of you, I have blazed this path many folks do not take so it should make things easier for ya'll if you choose to follow. However, I would not recommend following me down this path. Read on.
Since most people want to go to the west side of El Salvador for the beaches, the ticket agent at the bus station couldn't understand my reason for taking an extended route to get to Honduras. After a severely long conversation, the conclusion was that the only city I could get to that wasn't on the west coast was the capital, San Salvador. They told me it was only 1.5 hours past the border which didn't seem too bad. I was picked up at 9 am in Antigua and expected to be in San Salvador in the early afternoon since they said it only takes about 5 hours total to get there.
Arriving in San Salvador around 9 pm that night seemed a bit off schedule especially after the 3 hours of travel time through El Salvador. For those keeping score that is easily double the above quoted time. On top of that, El Salvador is too cheap or lazy to give any type of entry marking into your passport. I would have to hope and get one on the way out.
I guess in San Salvador space is of the essence as in any large city however here it seems the bus drivers are trained to park as close to the wall of a building as possible when letting passengers off. So picture a bus parked next to a wall with just enough space to clear their mirror and allow room for one person to squeeze through. Now dump all the people out of the bus while unloading their luggage from the same side. Have them find their bags and then try to get out of the way of the others. I just stood on the opposite side of the bus where there was plenty of room and watched until there was just one old man with a cane left.
After the bus debacle, I was somewhat worried about accommodations in San Salvador since I hadn't looked for anything in advance since I thought I would be getting there in the afternoon and now I was dropped off in a dark street in the middle of the crime stricken capital city being forewarned by Guatemalans to be careful of the banditos in El Salvador. Luckily there was a hotel right next to the bus station. It seemed like a pretty decent place and then they showed me the roof top single man's traveller's suite they must have been saving for a guy such as myself. It was an obvious after-after-after thought to the design of the structure that allowed them to stuff as many people as possible into any nook of the building and more money into their pockets. Following the inn keeper (not sure if that word is used any more except in the Bible but I wanted to try it out) up a couple flights of stairs, then a labyrinth of steeper stairs/ladders, we ended up on the roof top looking at what appeared to be a door from an abandoned prison with the number 41 painted on it. Inside, however, was clean with a private shower/toilet and the inn keeper was sure to point out the 10” tv to me, which is why I was charged the exorbitant fee of $12 for the night. I included a few pictures below to help build the picture in your mind. 
Prison block walls with the shower/toilet combo
You may have noticed the shower (open pipe from the ceiling) includes a toilet or visa versa (I have the single shower valve turned on to try and capture the spectacle of gravity acting on water in a still photo for the you, the audience).
Also, since the one and only source of light is outside the shower, when you close the thick vinyl curtain, the shower doubles as a dark room to develop that black and white film you've been holding onto since 1987. For the particularly astute, you may have asked yourself, “Well the shower seems fine and all but where is the sink?” Good question. They have solved this issue by placing it outside so it can double as a washeteria shown here:
Outdoor sink with a view
Once settled I went back to the bus station to buy my ticket for the following day to La Ceiba. Then I found out a funny thing. There are no busses from San Salvador to La Ceiba. I first had to go down south through the rest of El Salvador then cut up northeast, to cross into Honduras and spend the night in the town of Tegucigulpa (Yes, it takes some time to learn how to say this much less know where it is). Then from there I could get to La Ceiba. Fantastic. I get to see more of El Salvador than I bargained for.
The bus wasn't leaving until noon the next day so I had a few hours to walk around San Salvador in the morning. I am assuming they don't get too many tourists walking around there since I was stared at like a woman at a Free Mason's convention the entire time. I did manage to visit the National Palace, the largest church in the city, and the markets. I should have known the markets were a bad idea. No tourists means when one arrives he is swarmed by hawkers trying to sell anything and everything to fresh blood. I haven't had that many women run toward me at one time since....well I've never had that many women run toward me ever.
Back on the bus for another 8 hour work day of sitting. This bus however came with a built-in shiatsu in the form of a kid repeatedly kicking the back of my seat. The first kick felt nice but the following 3,146 were annoying. I counted all the small bruises on my back.
Upon exiting El Salvador to Honduras, I did not get a stamp in my passport either or any mark that would indicate I was there which was the sole purpose of this side trip. I asked one of the bus attendants and he said “Yes, no stamp” with a smile as if I should be delighted on how easy it is to get in and out of El Salvador. I slumped back in my chair to the intermittent kicking of my shiatsu. The only thing I got from El Salvador was this crappy picture at the immigration office of these gentlemen who appear to be eagerly awaiting to open the door and welcome you to their country but in return they just want to offer you a great deal on exchanging some money. Not sure why it takes thirty of them to do this.
Fight through a mob of money exchangers to get back to the bus (in background) at the border crossing
After the border crossing made it to Teguciculpa and was again dropped off that night on a dark street corner in a large city with no idea where to stay and being forewarned by the El Salvadorians to be careful of the banditos in Honduras. I did want to stay somewhere cheap and close to a bus station where I could get a bus to La Ceiba. After trying to convey this to a couple of guys on the street in broken Spanish, one lead me to his taxi, I assumed, since it had a few large numbers in the rear window but looked more like something suitable for destruction derby, after the destruction. After arriving at a hotel and haggling over the exchange rate as I had no Honduran Limpiera, I was shown to my $16 room with a much nicer private bath with separate toilet and sink along with a large flat screen tv. Didn't realize $4 could make that much difference.
The one comforting factor when getting off the bus at night in these large cities is that they always have a friendly security guard with a rusty shotgun hung over his shoulder by a sling made of a few shoe strings tied together and a few shells tucked in his belt. Doubt the shotguns actually work or the guards know how to use them but they are spotted around most of the cities frequently at any shops that make a lot of money such as lumber yards, jewelry shops, or ice cream parlors.
Woke up at 6:00 am the next morning to get the 7:00 am bus heading to La Ceiba. It was a pretty uneventful ride aside from being surprised that you could get carne guisada at a gas station.
We arrived in La Ceiba in the early afternoon with plenty of time for me to catch the 4:00 pm ferry to Utila, my sought after destination. The ferry is named the Utila Princess which is very regal and appropriate name for a boat. It's a large enclosed catamaran to protect passengers from spray in rough seas. However, the rough seas and lack of ventilation also cause passengers to get sea sick which is why I think it was named actually for a princess after a night of binge drinking. The boat attendant stands at the ready with paper towels and plastic bags for the many victims that were claimed by the drunken princess on our hour ride to Utila.
Finally on Utila, it doesn't take long to know your way around the 2 main streets that intersect at a “T” at the harbor. It is a little place that caters specifically to divers and backpackers and looks like a lot of fun. I hope to return soon.
Hope everyone is doing well and will post again when I am back on the trail.
