El Salvador

I left for El Salvador with 9 other teachers last Wednesday after enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving feast at school. We took a bus from Xela to Guatemala City, spent the night in Guate, and then took another bus (at 5:30 AM!) to El Salvador. We stayed at a hostel near La Libertad, which was right on the beach. The sand was black, and the waves were strong. We were actually in an area that is a popular spot to surf. I didn't attempt to surf, but I did boogie board, which was a blast! We ate most of our meals at the hostel...buffet complete with fresh fruit and crepes for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and things like seafood spaghetti and curry chicken for dinner. I did not want to leave!! It was so nice to just relax...read on the beach, sit in the hammocks, lay out on the beach, enjoy the heat, eat good food, ride the waves, etc. One morning we helped release baby sea turtles. People in El Salvador used to sell and eat sea turtle eggs until 2009, when it became illegal to do so. With the help of USAID, poachers now educate people about sea turtles and let people release sea turtles into the wild. It was fun to see and hold the little tortugitas. Random fact about El Salvador...they use U.S. dollars. So, it was kind of weird and fun to return to the dollar. Sunday was a day full of traveling back to Xela. We left the hostel at 4:15 AM and made it back to Xela around 7:30 PM! I had such a fun, restful time in El Salvador and now have the motivation to finish strong. We just have about 2 1/2 more weeks of school, and then I will be on my way back to the States.