Guatemala to El Salvador - Trekking from Antigua to San Salvador

On 28 March we took a mini van from Antigua to Guatemala City. Our reserved seats on the Pullmantur bus were for departure from Guatemala City at 3 p.m. sharp. We arrived in the capital city within an hour and we asked our driver to let us off at the Holiday Inn, our point of departure later in the day. We were far too early to check-in at the counter but we did drop off our luggage at the deport. Then we walked to a small coffee shop and bakery where we enjoyed our lunch for the day. 

After eating, we walked to the lobby of the Hotel Intercontinental where Don and John waited for Nance and me. We decided to go on a quick tour of the Ixchel Museo at the Marroquin University while the others waited for our return.

We checked out the exhibits at the museum as well as the gift shop. I purchased two small purses that the young girls use in the area of Todos Santos in the highlands of Guatemala and a calendar depicting scenes from Guatemala. We called the same driver who had taken us over and were soon back at our departure spot. We collected Don and John and wandered the two blocks over to the Holiday Inn where we awaited our bus arrival. Now the lobby was filling up rather quickly which was a change from our earlier experience. Our departure time again was at 3 p.m. but we had been told to report to the check-in counter at 2:15 so shortly after that time we were beckoned to the front of the line. Our tickets were checked and passports and within short order we were back in our seats awaiting the arrival of the coach which would provide transport for us.

Soon it appeared and the porter began to move the luggage out to the side bays. We walked over with our additional pieces which we did not want inside the cabin and deposited them into the waiting hands of those packing the belly of this double-decked bus. We were in tourist class which meant that we had no assigned seats and that we could not enter the lower sanctum where those privileged few were soon to be reclining.

But our seats were wonderfully accommodating and left no discomfort for our passage. There were pull-down foot rests where the legs reclined and very comfortable leather seats. This bus was scheduled to go straight through to El Salvador and that we did. They stopped long enough at a fast-food establishment to get each of us a sandwich which they served to us aboard along with the drink of our choice. Liquid refreshments were again offered us before our five-hour trek was complete. The roads in Guatemala were in horrible condition and the length of time it took to go the approximately 100 kilometers was in excess of two hours. The condition of the highways together with slow passage of fellow travelers contributed to the excessive time.

The crossing in to El Salvador was done swiftly and without much ado. Our passports were collected by the steward on the bus and the manifest was checked against the passport numbers. We were checked out of Guatemala but not into El Salvador. There is an agreement among five Central American countries that permits free passage between and among all of them without having additional passport stamps. This is much like it is now in the EU where one entry stamp is all that is needed among them and one exit when one departs the EU.

This leg of our longer journey would prove to be the shortest (five hours) and, by far the most comfortable passage. There were restrooms on the bus which were visited by most passengers with repeat visits by several over the five hour time frame.

But, within the five hour time frame we were nearing the capital city of El Salvador and almost on the hour we pulled up to the Sheraton Hotel there and began to emerge from the coach. We collected our bags and quickly found a taxi driver who was more than happy to accept our fare to the Comfort Inn about three or four miles distant. Before we knew it, we were in the familiar parking lot of our hotel and soon in the lobby for check-in.

This was our first night away from Antigua and it proved to be a restful one for us all. We were in rooms adjacent to one another so it was just a short trek to find a place to play a round of Five Crowns before we all found our beds and slumber.

The next morning there was a full hot breakfast available at the motel which we all found nourishing. After breakfast John and I took a taxi to the Hertz car rental facility where we rented a Kia Picanto for our touring  to a place we had visited previously, Suchitoto. The car companies with whom we have done business here seem to have different rules as we have been required to have a fairly substantial amount "held" prior to the rental of their vehicles. In the country of Guatemala, it was USD2,100. In El Salvador they asked that USD1,700 be held. Since I had experienced this first in Antigua, I was ready to accept it in El Salvador but when they went to run my card, it was denied. There was a message to call the bank. So, I pulled out my trusty American Express and it went right through. Of course I was on SKYPE immediately when we returned to the motel with the vehicle to find the reason for the denial. When I called Chase card member services, they indicated to me that there was never a denial from Chase and that my account was fine. They suggested that the denial came from the local processing done by the merchant in El Salvador. That made me feel better and, when we paid the final bill which amounted to around USD62 for two days, I did it with the original card which was denied. So, I was back in business building up points for yet another trip to some far-off place!!

We did pick up the car and went back to the hotel for our check-out. Since the car was just a tad larger than a Mini, we decided to leave our excess things at the Comfort Inn because it would be where we would return for our last night in El Salvador. We checked those items at the hotel for our return and packed our needed items for the next day and one-half into the hold of the wee KIA.

Our travel time to Suchitoto was just a bit under one hour. We located our place for the night, Los Almendros, parked the vehicle and were ready for our check-in at this delightful small hotel run by a French couple. After check-in, we did a short walk about the central area of this pueblo. Very little was happening and except for a dozen or so folks sitting lazily on the benches in the central park before the large white Catholic house of worship, there were few souls stirring.

We returned to the hotel and were nourished at their restaurant. My menu indicated that the vegetarian lasagna was touted as the best in Central America. That banner was sufficient for me and I must say that it was more than delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit that was served to me in that sizzling-hot casserole. The comments coming from the others were also positive.

After this meal we wandered out in the cool of the evening and finally found a hotel which sat on the outer perimeter of the park and opposite the church where we sat on the front porch. We ordered different liquid refreshments and watched as the night began to fall. There were children scampering about the park playing hide and seek. Interestingly, for two or three wee ones, the trees were their hiding places. They easily scaled the branches and shared spaces ordinarily reserved for the birds. Older folks were reclined on the benches, chatting. A boom-box was turned up such that we could all hear music coming from a small tienda on the side of the plaza. Seated next to us was a couple who were seemingly celebrating a special occasion. They had a bottle of champagne and were alternating with the beverage and a pizza. A small lad came and visited for some minutes with John. He had a pen in hand and was memorializing some graffiti on the white-washed post adjacent to where John was seated. It was a magical moment, fixed in time and hopefully for a spell in our minds.

The next day we had breakfast at our hotel and did a little driving about the town and down to the lake shore. We also drove to and visited a restaurant with a nice outdoor seating area which offered a great view of the lake below the town. But then it was time to drive back to the capital which we did. We found our Comfort Inn, checked in once again and were reunited with our stored items. Our car was to be turned in but before we did so we drove to the hotel where our bus arrived a day or so before and had pupusas, the national dish of El Salvador. They reminded us of the arepas that we had had in Venezuela. The pupusas had shredded pork, cheese and beans and were quite delicious. We might even order them if given the chance again.

Tomorrow it would be catching the bus on our second leg. This time we would need to be at the bus station at 4:15 a.m. for a scheduled 5 a.m. departure from San Salvador to Managua, Nicaragua. So, our alarms were set and I ordered phone calls from the front desk. Tomorrow we would be moving on.