Tunco Part I (or- "Why Shoes are Awesome")

So after our exhausting/exhilarating/epic time in San Pedro, Katie and I decided it was high time we got back to the coast. We hitched a shuttle back to Antigua, and spent two "business days" (aka she hunted for necessities like a camera charger, while I was laid up with food poisoning) before grabbing a bus to El Tunco, a beach in El Salvador. We got a bunk at a hostel called Papaya, and immediately fell in love with Tunco.

El Tunco is a little surf town with two main roads, a few clubs, a long stretch of beach, and not much else. The closest main town is La Libertad, which is a 30 minute ride by "chicken bus". We haven't quite decided why they're referred to as "chicken buses"... perhaps because they cram you in there like chickens in a truck? Or it may be the fact that it wouldn't be entirely surprising to find someone transporting a chicken or two with them. Either way, these buses are retired (read: didn't pass inspection) school buses from the US that have been painted ridiculous colors and utilized as a form of hectic public transport here. All in all they're fairly cheap and efficient, if ridiculously crowded, loud, and unpredictable.

Anyway, our second night there a few of us decided to cook a family style meal at Papaya. Into the chicken bus we piled, and proceeded to hang on for dear life as we cruised into Libertad. We opted to hitchhike  in the back of a pickup truck on the way home, just to round out the experience. Two hours later, about ten of us were dining on veggie pasta, garlic bread, ginger stir fry, and more than a few bottles of wine. Dinners like those are definitely our favorite parts of hostel living!

A few hours after dinner everyone had moved onto a club called La Bocana, right on the beach. It was an equal mix of travelors and locals, and the place was packed. Everyone was dancing away to local pop music (with Gangnam Style thrown in for good measure), and overall having a great night. And then I decided to stomp on a broken bottle. Barefoot.

[SIDE NOTE: As a rule, we never go barefoot unless we're at the actual beach. We see it all the time, even in cities like Antigua, and think it's idiotic and unhygienic how many of our fellow travelers refuse to wear shoes, even in restaurants or grocery stores. Sorry if that offends anyone, but this is our blog so... we win.]

The events of this fateful Friday just added to reinforce that belief. I broke my own personal rule and kicked off the Havianas I kept tripping over as I made a pathetic attempt to salsa with a local on the dance-floor. Everyone else was doing it, why not me? Less than 30 seconds later I was sitting on the side of the club holding a sliced right foot and apologizing to the security guard (who was incredibly sweet and helpful) for bleeding all over his bar. Once I got over the shock of what I had just done- okay and stopped crying, I admit it- I hobbled my sorry butt back to our hostel, where luckily two of our friends were hanging out in the kitchen. Tanis helped me clean and bandage my foot while Greg ("because I have no idea what else to do") made us some epic grilled peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

Unfortunately, this was probably my most memorable event of Tunco. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time (as you'll soon read from Katie's post) trying to surf and meeting some truly amazing people. However, the memories of Kings Cup games with 15 people from 7+ countries (be a gecko!), gorgeous sunsets, and beach bonfires are sadly mixed in with memories of supergluing my wound shut, walking like a Crip, and changing the bandages and athletic tape 2-3x a day to keep the dirt and sand out. Summary of this post: Tunco is incredible, but keep your shoes on!

Livin la Vida at Lake Atitlan!

Hola -Smitty here, keeping things rollin' on...
We took a full day to recover after our New Years Eve night, it was necessary and we spent the day lounging around on bean bags and watching Guatemalan pirated DVD's at the hostel. I think I made a run to subway later that day too- the Italian BMT sub is Hangover Heaven!

The following day, we left with a friend and took a 2+ hour bus ride to Lake Atitlan.  Our shuttle took us on a winding road to the town of Panajachel, and from there we went to the docks and caught a water taxi across the lake to the town of San Pedro.  While en-route, I had the luxury of becoming a human shield for Caitlin and Al so that they would not get splashed on. (This was NOT a voluntary move and I was not pleased about coming out of the boat looking like a wet dog). 

When we got there, we followed our amigo who had been to San Pedro before, and wound up at a place called Café Atitlan.  I had a great first night out flying solo as my companions were dead tired and total party poopers. We moved the next day to another spot called Mr. Mullet's Hostel which became our home away from home.  For only 30Q/night (that's $3.70 USD!) we had a 4 person dorm, free Wifi, HOT SHOWERS (yes - few and far between) brand new mattress that allowed me to sleep like a baby, Kitchen, etc.  More then all the fabulous amenities,  what won me over was the atmosphere and the overall friendliness of the staff. The owner Tim aka Mr. Mullet himself, is a very chill guy and has put together a solid place for the weary traveler to rest his or her head. I highly recommend anyone passing through San Pedro to stay at Mullets- its cheap, its cozy, and its a real, real good time.

While we were in San Pedro we had a little fun and brightened our horizons with an array of new activities. We kayaked around the lake, we did an afternoon of horseback riding, explored the local market (where you can stuff yourself for less than $1 US dollar full of delicious local dishes) and we even attended a roaring local Basketball match, where some quetzals were thrown down for bets on the winner of the game.

One of the best things about San Pedro however, is the American Style BBQ that takes place at Deep End Bar & Pool every Sunday afternoon. You can get anything from beef or pork ribs, to burgers, rump steaks, even bacon wrapped fillet minion (and one plate can easily feed two people) They also do 5Q tequila shots on the hour, every hour [interjection from Caitlin: our group of friends teamed up with one goal in mind: DO NOT LET KATIE DISCOVER ITS THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES OF AN HOUR. She had the habit of showing up with a tray with 15 or more shots, and just scanning like a deadly eagle, looking for some poor person to hand a tequila shot to. Even more than she loves tequila, Katie loves making people do tequila shots with her. Especially once she finds out you loathe tequila]. Sunday, fun-day amigos!

I can honestly say that I had TOO much fun here, and eventually, to save myself from mortal peril due to excess enjoyment of life itself, we had to make moves to keep keeping on.

Author switch! So I agree with everything Katie said. San Pedro is an amazing place, probably the stop on our journey where I've felt most at home. There's a ton to do- kayaking, jumping off the "trampoline" at San Marcos, trivia night at El Barrio, impromptu Aussie weddings at Buddha Bar, horseback riding, poolside lounging, and heaps more. And yes, we did do ALL of the aforementioned activities. Our team did abysmally at trivia, I remembered my love-hate relationship with horses, and was a proud bridesmaid in the wedding of Brent and Taighen (our favorite Aussie couple, whom we first met in Lanquin. Fun fact- Brent is responsible for my "Reggie" nickname). Not sure if it'll hold up to Australian law, but it was good enough for all of us!

I also strongly agree with Katie's last statement- San Pedro will eat you alive if you aren't careful. From the deadly happy hour at Zoola hostel (free shot with every drink from 4-11pm), to the late night partying at Buddha bar, to the even LATER night after-party at Psy-House (an uninhabited house that turns into an unlicensed bar and trance club once everything else shuts down) it's easy to let itineraries, goals, and life in general slip away as you fall into a comfortable rhythm with great people. We planned on being there for a few days, and all of a sudden ten had flown by! I fully plan on returning to the Lake for the last portion of my trip, and can't wait to reunite with some truly epic individuals.

Bienvenidos 2013 - Antigua

Picture this- you're riding in a minibus, packed with people from all over the globe trying to speak to one another in 3 different languages; English, Spanish, and Italian. It's loud, it's cramped, you have a hangover that rivals your prime college days, the ride ahead of you is 6 hours too long, and your best friend is possibly in an even WORSE condition than you. This was our ride to Antigua.

Caitlin and I were MORE than ready to exit our minibus when we got to the city of Antigua; we clearly had a great last night in Lanquin, and we arrived at our new destination with thoughts of making the new year even better but first a minor recovery was in order.

We took the advice of a friend we had met on the road and tried our luck at hostel called Dionisio but that may have been the worst decision thus far in our trip... we shall leave the friend unnamed for that reason alone. Lets just say that being woken up at 6am with firecrackers literally outside your dorm door and being torn up by bed bugs was not our idea of a pleasant time so we nixed that place as soon as the morning came.

We moved to a wicked fun place called Jungle Party Hostel and from the second we walked in the front gate we knew we were going to have a good time.  We stayed up in the loft (if your over 5ft tall, watch your head on the rafters!!) and had good mattresses and large lockers to store our gear.  They also include breakfast in their price per night which is awesome. The first few nights were hazy fun and we hadn't even celebrated the new year yet. ohhh boy....

Truthfully for me, Antigua was more of a miss than a hit, if you're into city slickin' it may just be the place for you. Good food, good nightlife, and large markets draw tourists to this destination but if your a beach bum like me, you'll find a way out fast! Caitlin will fill you in on our NYE night though, GOOD TIMES!

So I liked Antigua a bit more than Katie did- I really enjoyed wandering around the town with our friend Mike and exchanging info about the city and Fact-of-the-Day-type knowledge (yeah I know, nerd alert). It's a beautiful city with amazing architecture and great shopping, especially if you know where to look (thanks, Julie!).

The day of NYE we started noticing a lot- and I mean a LOT- of feminine clothing, mostly saucy silk bathrobes and corsets, floating around Jungle Party. Turns out, everyone got free beer that night if the boys dressed in drag. As for the girls, well we just had to wear these gold halos, like the angels we are! Stop rolling your eyes. I'm serious. Katie, myself, and Juliette (one of the Rebel Gypsies from Mirador, you reunite with everyone on the Gringo Trail)  got a group of Aussie guys dressed up reaaal pretty, donned our halos, and started the party.

A bit of an aside: have we mentioned that the people of Central America love their fireworks? Cause they f****** love their fireworks. They set them off at 8pm, 7am, or mid-afternoon. They shout "cuidado!" (careful!) and then throw fireworks AT you. Yes, it's about as funny as it sounds. For a brief moment on Christmas, I thought there was a revolution in progress. That was a huge part of New Years- watching, hearing, and dodging fireworks.

We spent midnight with Juliette at the park watching- you guessed it!- fireworks and exchanging kisses and wishes. After that we went to a local club and reunited with some friends from Jungle, who had ditched the drag queen look (mostly) and were ready to party. The rest, as they say, is hazy. I mean history. The rest, is history. It was a helluva way to kick off 2013- may we all be as blessed in this year as we were in 2012!