Sausage-Cheeto - Let the Honeymoon Begin

It's amazing how much we nest when we rent a bungalow for a couple weeks. A few things get unloaded out of the van every day and before you know it we've moved in! This tendency to "roost" always motivates me to get back on the road. Freedom is always just one packing session away. We spent the last couple days prepping for our departure from Tunco. It's sad to say goodbye to our new friends, the beach, and the waves, but we are both feeling like it's time to push on after 16 amazing days. Honduras is calling us and we're ready for our honeymoon.

Our friends Dave and Ann of Advodna had left Tunco last week on their way to explore El Salvador and then Honduras, so we were surprised when they showed back up at our bungalow as we were preparing to leave. They had been robbed by 3 guys with machete knives on a small road heading toward Honduras. I immediately had flashbacks of the movie Blood Diamond when Dave was describing the incident. I was secretly jealous that he had an infinitely cooler story to tell than the one I had of a young Elvis sitting on my lap while robbing my wife in Guatemala. Seriously though, it was a scary thing and we were really happy they weren't hurt. They lost some expensive but replaceable stuff, and fortunately the bandits did not take their vehicle. This was a sobering reminder that we are traveling in some dangerous areas. After collective consideration we decided that it would be safer to caravan as a group for a few days. Chad and Emily also decided to join us in our attempt to avoid the dreaded lower Honduras border crossing by going through El Poy. Our plan is to travel as a group across El Salvador and push into Honduras on Friday. We'll caravan until we reach central Honduras where Dave, Ann, Chad, and Emily plan to head down to Nicaragua. We plan to continue across Honduras toward the Caribbean coast to see the other half of the country and then drop back down into Nicaragua about a week later.

Tonight we find ourselves in the beautiful town of Suchitoto, or as I like to call it Sausage-Cheeto. Since this is technicaly the beginning of our honeymoon, we decided to splurge and get a room at the swank hotel overlooking the plaza and church. Dave and Ann joined us. But not in the same room. I had to tell Dave no dice on that. We lost Kiki's vote, but we still had enough to ensure they got their own room. Here is a photo of the hotel with Sprinter and Advodna parked out front...


They say this town is everything El Salvador was before the civil war. It's gossipy, left-leaning, and full of civic pride. The centerpiece is certainly the amazing colonial church standing in the central plaza. This photo is the view from our hotel balcony...

We know the game with dogs and hotels well, so we never show Kiki until we're paid, checked in, and unpacked. Sure enough we got the knock on the door 5 minutes later telling us they don't accept pets. We introduced the manager to kiki and she decided to make an "exception". Can you blame her? How could you say no to this face...

Our honeymoon suit has a beautiful balcony overlooking the plaza and church. Seriously, a room like this in the US or Europe would be well over $200 a night. We're paying $76 and it comes with free breakfast. I love Central America.

Thursday we went out and explored the town, which sits on the edge of a beautiful lake. We enjoyed the views and had some beers...

more exploring the town and, ummm, nevermind the second photo...

We're a family that truly appreciates fine art. You'll often find us in museums and art galleries where we'll linger for hours, and hours. And hours. My wife calls it "culture". Kiki has a special appreciation for abstract art. I've always liked to color. I'm thinking about going pro. I'm not sure yet, but maybe next year I'll look into some art training camps.

And so we go onward to Honduras, as a group, as a posse, as a sit-tight clique of overland travelers. As friends.