Crossing into El Salvador

In a downpour we walked the streets of Leon in search of the Tica bus agency.  When we arrived, we were shocked to hear it would be almost $60 to San Salvador.  Being budget travelers, this would not do.  Not long after, if not a little wetter, we found our answer.  For $25 we could ride an old school bus bound for Guatemala that makes a stop in San Salvador.

The outfit was definitely a relaxed affair.  We were supposed to have a cab from the company pick us up for the 10am departure.  We didn't arrive at the terminal until 10:30am.  Not to worry.  The bus didn't leave until almost 11:30, a full hour and a half after the supposed departure time.

The ride was initially uneventful.  We all had our own seats on the bus so it was actually pretty comfortable.  It had been raining off and on so the bus was cool, even without any A/C.

As we approached the border to Honduras, the landscape changed.  We saw the severe flooding we had only read about in the news.  Men stood on the side of the road having brought their cattle out of their flooded pasture land.  We saw flooded homes and unimaginable crop loss.  It was truly tragic.

To get to El Salvador from Nicaragua, you have to spend a few hours traveling through Honduras.  That means more passport stamps!  We entered Honduras at the Guasaule border crossing and then on to El Salvador at El Amatillo.

The Honduran landscape was dramatic, but not long after entering Honduras, the sun had set so we passed the rest of the bus ride in darkness.

Not long after entering El Salvador, the bus started to smell foul, really foul.  My friend Derek leaned over the seat and told me why.  The guy sitting across from him had shat himself and proceeded to throw his soiled underwear out the window, but not without leaving some remnants behind.  Seconds later the bus pulled over on the side of the road and the attendant proceeds to pour water over the affected areas so as to create a watery mess all over the back of the bus.  To say it was a complete shit show would be absolutely correct in this case.  It was a throwback to our latrine days as volunteers.  Needless to say, we were glad to get off the bus at San Salvador.