On Saturday we got up early to begin our journey. We took three different public buses to arrive at our destination. Thinking of public buses in the states, having to transfer three times can be a bit difficult but there are so many online resources and the buses are so safe that it is not that big of deal. Well the bus system here is quite different. First of all the buses are privately owned and there is no organization of the buses within their routes. Since there is no public system what ends up happening is people go to the United States, buy an old school bus and drive it back to El Salvador. Once back they trick out their bus, choose a route and begin working. The only way to know how to get places on the bus is to ask Salvadorans and hope they know the routes. Once on the bus, people pack on as tightly as possible and get closer than most Americans would be comfortable with. Luckily we made it out and back without any major problems.
After two hours of bus riding we made it to Juayua. We stayed in a hotel/hostal for $7 a night and the place was amazing. It is run by Salvadoran hippies who are really great. They welcomed us so warmly and went out of their way to make us comfortable. The place itself was so peaceful and a great place to just relax after an intense month. The main reason we went to Juayua was to see the cascadas (waterfalls). The hotel has a guide on staff so we were able to go with him to see The Seven Waterfalls.
His name was Douglas and was a short but well built young man. He led us through the mountains and coffee farms on the mountainsides to the waterfalls. We assumed that we would be in waterfalls so we all decided to wear sandals, which turned out to be a bad decision. This was no leisurely hike but an intense climb. The ground was slippery and muddy from all the rain with steep inclines and declines. Douglas also brought a machete to clear paths for us to walk. I couldn’t believe he had any idea where we were going because it felt like we were just wandering through the thick forest until we reached the first set of falls.
After the first falls we continued on until we reached a spot that seemed impossible to climb down but then Douglas pulled out a rope from his bag and attached it to a tree. I couldn’t believe what was happening but we used the rope to repel the first part of the mountain. Once we got to the bottom I realized that the only way down from there was down a waterfall. So he reattached the rope and we repelled down a waterfall with only our hands on the rope to save us. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
We stopped for lunch at the base of a waterfall and relaxed for a while thinking we had seen them all. Douglas then tells us there are 3 or 4 more set of falls to see so we continue on even though we are all feeling rather tired. The next set of waterfalls that we saw were my favorite. We were right at the base and looked almost straight up at the water misting off the rock wall with the sun right over the top of the mountain. It was absolutely breathtaking.
The final falls we saw were being used in part for a hydroelectric plant so there were tunnels connecting two sets of them. Douglas proceeded to get ready to jump in and I realized that we were going to go through the tunnel. I was scared out of my mind because the tunnel had about a foot and a half clearance from the water to the top and it got dark quickly. I felt myself beginning to panic and didn’t think I was going to be able to do it. But my friends were so great and really helped me through it. It was absolutely terrifying. With such a small space that I felt get shallower as we went and the water pushing us to go faster. But as we came out I realized I was still alive and how crazy of an opportunity it was.
Douglas was a great guide and really made our day wonderful. It was fun getting to talk with him and learn a bit more about the area. Once we got back to the hostel we learned that there was hot water in the showers. After not having a hot shower in a month, the water felt so amazing and I had forgotten what it felt like to feel clean and warm after showering.
That night we went to a bar/restaurant that the hostel owners own (we found that out later). It was a fun place but it felt more European than Salvadoran and there were many different types of people there. For instance I met a woman from Wisconsin who was born in Minneapolis and is working in San Salvador with her boyfriend. It was so crazy to talk with her about her time here and yet talk about home too. Later on there was live music and I never fully understood who was who and what exactly was going on between the restaurant and hostel but it was such a great environment that it did not matter. It was great to get away for the weekend and just recharge. It was also liberating to be on my own and dictate the day without being told what to do.
I almost forgot but I had my first experience of being ripped off. We were walking around Juayua and stopped at a booth selling movies. He had Harry Potter 7 Part 2 for $1 and I asked him twice to ensure that it was in English and he reassured me that it was. Well when I got back home we were so excited to be able to watch it. I stuck it into my computer and we realize that there is Russian (or another Eastern Eurpoean language) subtitled on the bottom, the voices are dubbed in Spanish and it is clearly someone recording it in the theater. It was pretty funny to realize what I had actually bought and now I realize the importance of testing the movies before buying them.
Overall it was such a great time and a good change of pace from the typical routine.
I tried uploading pictures but it was not working so I will have to try later.
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