San Miguel & La Union
22nd - 26th September 2025
22th September – Monday
I really did fuck all yesterday, lost in my thoughts of Jay. The only reason I got out of bed, dressed and went out was to get beer. I walked in the drizzle, being a Sunday most places were shut, but I found somewhere close enough and got back into bed with x3 beers at my side. And I was happy. I went to sleep promising myself that today would be ‘back to me’ – no more grieving, no more sitting around doing jack shit, no more feeling sorry for myself – so far so good 
The apartment Rita and I booked in Tisno fell through, it was already booked and they immediately removed all 4 apartments from that block from booking.com. I sent her another possible in Jazera, which is supposed to be extremely beautiful and it’s only a short taxi drive or long walk from the festival. She emailed the owner and her reply stated it was not available for booking yet, which perplexed me as it is on booking.com. This morning, I booked it, free cancellation until May and full payment in May and so far so good, it has gone through and has not been cancelled. The only problem now is that Rita seems to have lost motivation/confidence/willing to go and I fear she may pull out. If she does, I will just have to do a ‘Bela’ and advertise a double room – I know I will get takers, there are always people looking for accommodation just before the festival. I will give it couple more days and then I will book my flights and festival tickets – so excited
Back to the here and now
Dina and her left clothes! She had all day yesterday to collect them. Marco even suggested I bring them to San Salvador (a 3 hour round trip on the chicken buses and taxis for me!) and he cook us all lunch – uhm – like NO! I did have positive intentions to go to El Tunco but… So I suggested to Dina I leave them at the lost property at the San Miguel bus station today – but no, it is too far from her work, so I left them for her in La Libertad which is actually even further away by at least 45 minutes – her decision, not that I can make heads or tails of it – a 15 minute journey or an hour journey – I know which I would have, and most sane people, would have gone for – lol – but not my decision – I do hope you eventually get your clothes back Dina
I left La Libertad this morning on a high – I got a taxi ($2) to the bus stop and then the 103 ($0.60) to San Salvador. It was rammed and I was standing with my rucksack on my back. A very kind lady put all her stuff on her lap to make space for me, so I put the rucksack on the chair and remained standing. I know it sounds mad, but me blocking the isle was easier to manoeuvre than my rucksack blocking the isle. Anyway, it wasn’t for long, she soon got off and both me and my rucksack had a seat. I then had to get a taxi ($5.50) across town to the terminal for the 301 – yes, I could have gotten a chicken bus for about $0.30 but I didn’t – I do have to spoil myself sometimes. By the time I got take away food, chicken, rice and vegetables, (which I ate on the coach), and found the coach it was packed and unfortunately, I had to sit to a very handsome young manWe both slept, no conversation was exchanged, but he smelt and looked lovely – I was very happy. The coach to San Miguel was $5 and the taxi to my hotel.
Well, San Miguel, what a lovely little furnace of a surprize. Hot hot hot, but everyone is so friendly, from the guy I was standing next to while waiting for my Uber, the receptionist, the people I passed on the way to the shop and even the people in their cars as I crossed the roads – such beautiful warm and chatty people – I love it. You know El Salvador really hasn’t disappointed – it is the most welcoming, most beautiful country so far – I may have said it before, I will say it again – I could live here
Tomorrow I am on an early mission – I need crisp US dollars for Nicaragua – I may have to bank hop – let’s see. If I can get them then my first stop in Nicaragua, via chicken bus ($2), will be
Chinandega, if I can’t then it will be Leon via geckotrails.com and my credit card ($20). Pray for me .
For now, all I can say is that I love this little hotel it has such a calm peaceful happy vibe. I had a swim, ate cheesecake and am now just sitting here listening to calm English tunes being pumped out of the speakers – all very mellow Just wish I had bought another bottle of Smirnoff Ice Black – uhm
23rd September – Tuesday
The service at the hotel this morning was diabolical, half an hour and still no one came to serve me. I got so frustrated I went into the coffee shop huffing and puffing and then sucked my teeth at the girl because she didn’t understand my English uhm… Anyway, the egg, bacon and avocado bagel was delicious and the coffee hot and strong.
After breakfast I went looking for an ATM and a bank with crisp dollar notes for Nicaragua. I used G Maps which took me to a financial institution. I did knock just in case they had an ATM inside, the lady was lovely and pointed me in the direction of the bank. I got money out and every note had a rip, so armed with my already translated request for the teller to read I headed into the bank. The old security guy told me to take off my hat and then somehow managed to understand that all I wanted was to change my $20 dollar note. I don’t think he could read because I showed him my message but he quickly returned my phone and then frog marched me to the very front of the queue. The ladies read my message and sifted through their notes finding me the best they could. I now have a few rather good looking, but still old, notes in a book to keep them flat and rip free – I’m in trouble if they are not accepted, but I expect it’s fairly much similar to Cambodia, so I’m overly worried.
After that I went looking for vape juice. G maps kept telling me I was at the right location but the shop was not in sight – I must have looked lost because a lovely lady came to my rescue and told me it was upstairs, then a lovely gentleman escorted me upstairs and to the wrong shop – lol. But everyone here is so lovely and a lady from the wrong shop took me to the right shop, which didn’t have what I wanted!
Vape shop 2 was half an hour across the other side of town, so off I strode. I was quite happy as it meant going via the main square and cathedral, which I had intended to visit in the afternoon. I hung around the square for a little while, much to the delight of the old men hanging out there. The cathedral is probably the least ornate and most dilapidated I’ve seen but was still reasonable with its two square spires topped with red hats.
The second vape shop met my needs and had a good deal on large bottles of vape juice but as I explained to the guy, I needed to smuggle them into Nicaragua and he was in hysterics when I tried to explain that they were too big to go in my bra and that if I got caught, I’d be calling him for help.
I spent the afternoon by the pool trying to do my arrival form for Nicaragua, I left it to process for one hour before I cancelled – FFS. It’s only a $10 dollar fine for not having it and as someone wrote in their blog, they won’t put you on a return boat for not having it.
I was doing my website and went onto Google photos and a picture of Jay came up in the ‘this day in 2023’ record – I burst into tears. It was us with the bar lady at the bar opposite the hospital getting drunk as usual. I can’t remember her name nor the name of the bar, it was one of our favourites until after he went to Thailand. He looked so happy, had a glint in his eye, he lost all of that after that trip. The more I think about it the more I believe that he knew he had something terminal – so sad.
24th September – Wednesday
I’m now in La Union, and my first impressions are not good – lol. It is filthy and there are so many men sitting on street corners it felt quite intimidating looking for a mini mark that sold beer. But then I think my first impressions are never good of most places I visit. I will have a proper roam around tomorrow and see if it improves with familiarity. And men sitting on corners do not intimidate me as long as they stay on their corners.
The journey here was easy, I had a leisurely breakfast, I am pleased to say the staff were different and I did not have to wait for service. I got a taxi to the bus station ($2.50) and the right bus was sitting there waiting for me (90 cents). I was bounced around like no bodies business, but no complaints. I bought a pack of nuts for $1 from one of the many hawkers that board to sell their goods. I think it must be quite a lucrative business as I have seen plenty of people buying from them on the many chicken buses that I have now had the pleasure of riding.
From the bus I walked to my hostile. We didn’t go as far as the bus station which meant my walk turned from 4 minutes to 8 minutes – uhm, not far unless you are walking in a furnace with a least 10 kilos on your back and 5 in your hand. Anyway, it wasn’t far and I did have to walk through part of the covered, dirty and very smelly market, which was a relief from the blazing sun. My room is ok, and the apartment block seems ok. There are a lot of resident Salvadorians
here, a couple of single (I think) mums and a couple of young families – it’s nice to have children around. The little girl came up to me and slapped my bum and then later her and her friend tried to have a conversation with me. They quickly ran off when I told them I didn’t understand. One thing that is jarring me is the internet connect – it’s like a fucking yoyo – on off on off – not sure I will get my arrival form done and I have no mobile data left – I will get some tomorrow as it’s a must if I am not to blow a fuse in the next couple of days. Anyway, I’m only here for three nights – not long
I had my second video call with Walter today – we spoke a lot more Spanish and I also came across a free AI site which I was in the middle of using when the internet went down. It is time I got my Spanish head back on – I feel I left it in San Pedro! If I really focus and do two to three hours of solid learning a day I am sure I will be able to converse properly in 3 months or so. I already know so much – I must motivate myself and stop being so lazy.
25th September – Thursday
Uhm, I’m not sleeping well again 
I had several dreams about FXGS and remember Mrs Peploe appearing in them very vividly. I’ve been dreaming about school a lot recently even though I still have a good 8 months or so before I need to start job hunting – very strange.
I thought today was gonna be one of those days when it all goes wrong. It certainly started that way. I went hunting for a laundry shop at 10:30am and it was already a furnace. The shop was shut so I decided to stroll into town with all my dirty clothes and look for a photocopy shop. There was supposed to be one by the port – could I find it – no. But I did locate the place where I catch the boat on Saturday morning, not that was hard. The port area, as with the whole of La Union, is small. The tide was out so it wasn’t very picturesque, but the view was stunning and I was there just as some fishermen came in with their catch. It looked delicious. From there I decided to find the town square. On route I passed a shop selling fridges and cookers and noticed they had a copier. The lady made me four copies of my passport – for free! And also directed to me another laundrette which was open One route I visited the town square which is really very much like all of the town squares in El Salvador. It was surrounded by market stalls, a very run down church and had a bandstand in the middle. I also found a shop and got some data and while in the super market I had a call from Danie, it’s always lovely getting calls from home Finally I bought some fruit and a rather delicious fish for brunch, which was also very cheap, from a local shop. As with Santa Anna and Sonsonate, this town would be really lovely with a little bit of money pumped into it.
So overall it has been a very hot but very pleasant day and, bar the form for Nicaragua, I got everything done that I had planned to. This afternoon I tried to do the form twice – Uhm…I’m fed up of being in the ‘processing’ stage – but I will not give up, tomorrow is another day
I was totally wrong! The two girls that I thought were single parents are not, they are the daughters of the lady that owns this place, both are married and the children are, obviously, her grandchildren. Making this
a homestay rather than a hotel. I really do like the home set-up they have here, it is very similar to that I saw in Bali. Behind each (or at least most) solid metal gate is a courtyard sounded by rooms, some large enough for a couple and a child or two. There’s usually a communal kitchen and front room and whole families live behind these gates, nanny, single children, married children with their spouses and children. It’s a real family affair, it’s really beautiful. The grandmother and I sat and talked for a little while, she is really lovely and told me about her family and I told her about mine, she has absolutely no English so our conversation was very basic but we managed.
26th September – Friday
My last day in El Salvador and what an adventure it has been! I left my room at 11am and headed to the bus station to get the 383 to Playa del Tamerindo. I wanted to actually stay there but the hotels were far too expensive. Turns out the 383 does not go from that bus station and a guy pointed me in the right direction and told me the right station was 3 blocks away. Not sure what I did but I got totally lost and ended up walking a complete circle – thanks G maps! It really wasn’t funny as it was 43 degrees in the sun, not the type of weather to be walking circles in. I was just about to give up and was nearly back in my room when I realised I was only 5 minutes from the right station so I kept going and was delighted to see the right bus sitting there waiting for me. We didn’t move for 15 minutes, it was hell, the bus was packed, hot a sweaty with no air flow and the woman I sat next was overweight and constantly eating. I am not sure how the bus hawkers managed but hundreds of them came on selling their goods. One thing I have noticed is that El Salvadorans don’t move out of the way, if they do it is by a miniscule bit, they simply push past each other.
Luckily the lady next to me to told me when to get off and I then got the launcho across the Gulf of Fonseca to Tamarindo. There were two guys running the launcho, the captain and the conductor. While I had been waiting for it a woman told me it was $1 each way, but the conductor tried to charge me 2 it was only because the captain said something to him that he desisted in charging me extra – thank you captain. On the way the captain charged me 50 cents! The Gulf is stunning, such calm waters compared to everywhere else I have been and there is a magnificent view of Kagua Volcano in the distance. From the right part of Tamarindo, which I did not go to, you can actually see both Honduras and Nicaragua.
The part of Tamerindo that I went to was just a sleepy village with a couple of roads and houses lining the water front. I had problems getting down the main road as they were setting up a massive marque, stage, speakers etc for a fiesta and blocking the way. A woman told me to go down to the water and walk along that way – lol – swim more likely. So, I asked another couple of ladies, who were sitting on their porch, how to get through and where to locate a restaurant. One of them kindly escorted me to a restaurant. It turned out that you could get past the fiesta set up but only if you are skinny and able to squeeze through a very narrow gap.
By now I was extremely hot, sweaty and starving so first things first, I cracked open a beer and then the restaurant owner brought me a plate of chicken, rice, salad and the mandatory 3 tortillas – I ate the lot, it was delicious. The restaurant consisted of 4 tables and 4 large fridges, and it looked like it was in her front room, there were pictures of her family on every wall. The fridges were packed to the brim with beer and there were stacks of it piled all over the place. From what I could see the bedroom was behind a curtain at the far end of the room. Much to my surprise, while eating, she received a new stock of beer, you really couldn’t move for stacks of beer. I expect she is expecting to do a roaring trade at the fiesta.
After eating I had a little stroll, there really wasn’t much to see, so I headed back to the luancho port and waited for about half hour for it to come from the other side. I could clearly see it, I think the captain was waiting for passengers, in the end he came empty handed. The bird display while I was waiting was awesome and some flew in quite near to me. One had a large round bald head and was almost in touching distance, I got my camera out but it didn’t come back. There were also several large fat black birds and some enormous slender birds with long necks, long beaks and split tails. I wish I had binoculars on my phone.
After crossing the gulf, I sat at the bus stop for ages, so long that the launcho had time to go back to Tamarindo and pick up more passengers who then sat with me waiting for the bus. A taxi driver turned up, dropped some people off and informed us that the bus going back to La Union wasn’t running – that explains my long wait. So, the three of us did a taxi share, $2 each and we picked up a 4th person on route. I got dropped off at the supermarket and bought some beers and on my way through the market I picked up two small avocados and some other fruit for my dinner. So at least I don’t have to go out again.
I am a little concerned, when I got out of the taxi my right knee gave way and I hobbled around the supermarket, by the time I left it was ok and I walked back to my room without any problems. But now it really aches. I hope I haven’t done anything serious to it; I need to lug my rucksack and bag to the port tomorrow. It’s only a 10-minute walk but I’ll be in trouble if my knee isn’t better – I suppose I can always get a taxi, the only problem is that Uber doesn’t seem to work in this town