Paseo del Carmen and Evelyne's House of Shame

The Showbill

Discovered a new amazing nightspot in San Salvador. Having lived in Havana for more than a decade, I was spoiled with its amazing nightlife full of bars, cafes, restaurant lounges, live bands, jazz clubs, techno discos, ballet, flamenco and the list goes on and on.


San Salvador, on the other hand, has a nice bohemian club called La Ventana that you drive to, park very nearby and walk briskly to. Then you go back to car watching your surroundings and drive home. 


Or you go to the Zona Rosa where you kind of can walk from one place to another but the offerings aren't that great. El Rinconcito is full of bars and a karaoke and a disco but it is a bit dodgy. Other bars like 4 and the Red Lion are opened and then closed soon after due to declining crowds and some horrible service (I was once asked to pay a $10 clean-up charge when one of my guests was accused of throwing up in the washroom - and it wasn't even him but some underaged drinker that they illegally served). Republik is a poor facsimile of an Irish pub (no Guinness on tap, just the one national beer!?), Brasilea is okay if you have no other place to go to, and the fancy nightclub (Code?) was empty but the doorman told me that it was members only and I couldn't even look inside.


Then a group of nightclubs was opened in the nearby Mulitplaza Mall. With hundreds of parking spots and lots of security, it soon became popular and numerous bars and clubs were opened. Envy is the most exclusive and is a big, shiny Miami style nightclub.  I was denied entry for being a foreigner - the club caters to the children of the very wealthy who like to feel like the most important people in the club, something harder to do with foreigners dropping lots of money or having tall or blond people around. There are lots of other discos, some nice restaurant/lounges like Mai Thai, and lots of bars with music. But come on, it's a mall! You park, take the elevator or escalator up a few flights, then you walk around to see what the scene is surrounded by hundreds of kids.


And if you want to talk a safe walk around at night, you can go to the Gran Via mall that has a big courtyard promenade, somewhat reminiscent of the Gran Via in Madrid (minus the drug dealers and Cuban hookers) but you are in a mall again. Sure there is a nice fountain and some activities for the kids (mini golf, mini train, and the shortest zip line in the world) and sometimes some live music but you are still in a mall, walking from one retail area to another.

Early and quiet on Paseo del Carmen

So yesterday, when Fatima and her friend said that there was a French dance company doing a parade in Santa Tecla and that we could watch from a bar/restaurant, I jumped at the chance. We headed over around 6:30 pm which was the perfect time to hit heavy traffic and get stuck behind the many buses spewing so much smoke I had problems seeing the road. We finally pulled off the main street and we found a parking lot where a woman assured me that she would watch my car until midnight. So we walked a few blocks to the venue and I had my pocket knife ready in case someone tried to steal my man bag (which maybe stupidly contained my BB, an iPod, a camera and a tablet) and we came up to Paseo del Carmen. It was still very early in the evening but most of the street had been blocked off from traffic and tables and sofas and lounges had been put out onto the street by the numerous bars and restaurants that line this relatively small and quiet street. We walked along for 3 blocks and I was amazed at how many bars and cool restaurants there were. Also lots of cops and one very friendly one on a bicycle who gave us information and stopped traffic at one intersection for us to cross.


We wanted to see the parade so we ended up walking to the big cultural centre (Palacio tecleño?) and got a table at the nearby La Rioja bar for some wine and tapas. Eunice went to confirm that the parade would come by the bar and was told that the parade had been cancelled and the show would only occur inside the cultural centre. So we told the waiter sorry but to cancel our order and we would be back. 

Fatima enjoying the show

Then into the centre to see the show by the French company La Zouze and the Salvadoran National Dance Company and some invited guests. Wow, what a great performance art, cabaret, circus, interactive in-your-face, rock and roll extravaganza. I think the show was called the "Evelyne House of Shame" and was a mock bordello with everyone wearing trim and tight underwear, long stockings and heels (including the men and one guy who must have been 6' 10" with the heels). My favourite character sported a very tall Marie Antoinette wig and a mustache.

I think this French dude was the director of the company. I was tempted to punch him in the face because of the T-shirt ... and it was the kind of show where punching the director would have blended in quite well!

Nice venue with the interior space surrounded by columns and a great sound system with live heavy-duty guitar. They had a bar and cafe set up so we could drink wine and beer and people were smoking ciggies (civilized!). We were famished so ordered a delicious Mediterranean Panini sandwich and munched through the show.

Ooh look, the famous Patricia, one of El Salvador's finest Thespians.

Not sure if there was a plot but lots of random drama and groups running around and then the rock music started with the strobe lights. The crowd was very mixed but mostly artsy and bohemian. Saw lots of actors (including the famous Patricia) and of course, every dancer in the country. Also skater boyz, and funky girls - very reminiscent of the freakies of Havana.

Yes, it was surreal.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the parade had probably been cancelled because the night before, there was public nudity and masterbation on the streets and that probably freaked out the authorities. So instead, they had it inside and said you had to be 18 and over to get in although I must have seen about 30 kids in there so obviously that wasn't being enforced.

Beginning of the show with my favourite Marie Antoinette character.


We were really enjoying the show but after about 90 minutes, we were getting tired, thirsty and hungry and we knew that the show was going to degenerate (or elevate) to the point where lots of people would be taking off their clothes (including audience members) so we left early and went back to La Rioja. No smoking inside so we took a sidewalk table and ordered a very nice wine and lots of tapas. I lit up a big Hoyo de Monterey doble corona and took about 2 hours to smoke it. Hundreds of people along the street, families with strollers and kids with skateboards, lots of couples and young people. I have never seen this at night in San Salvador and it was fantastic. Paseo del Carmen was closed to traffic but full of pedestrians, some beautiful colonial houses, the Iglesia el Carmen, street vendors, nicely decorated bars and restaurants, and lots of live music. At our place, we had a kid with a walkman hooked up to a big powered speaker who played a decent saxophone - went from cheezy easy listening to quite decent lounge bossa nova.

So Fatima and Eunice were saying hi to the loads of people they knew walking by and eventually Mariemm (who had performed in the show) and Jesse came by and they joined us for more food and drink.

The girls had desert and I had a couple of espressos with a small Monte Cristo Especial and then we walked the length of the street to go back to our car. About 11:30 pm and almost every table and every lounge (there were sofas and some low tables and cushions set up in the middle of the street) was occupied. There is also another mini "plaza" where they often have live music.

Eunice and Fatima with their dessert at La Rioja

Cross the street at the end of the Paseo and back to our car - loads of people and traffic and some cafes on that street so still felt safe and back to the parking lot where the young woman was still there watching the cars! So I gave her another dollar for a tip.


I am so pleased to have found Paseo del Carmen - oh, should mention that it is in Santa Tecla. Take the Alameda Manuel Enrique Araujo (who was this guy and why is the street name so long?) road past the malls until it turns into the Carretera Panamericana past Bulevar Merliot, past that giant bike shop, past the big long bus platform, and turn right on 7 Avenida Sur. Two blocks down is 1Calle Oriente (or Paseo El Carmen or del Carmen) on the left and the parking is another block down on the right. You can park on the street as well to get closer but we didn't since it was still rush hour when we got there. Hmm, plus might be a good idea to have someone watching your car to avoid a break in or a pry off.


The place is open all week but the street is pedestrian only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Eunice said that there is a food festival on the weekends as well.


So if you live in San Salvador, I highly recommend you go check out this scene. And if you come down to visit, make me take you there.

Driving down from Canada

Mark Chillin at Dan's beach house

I recently met someone over the internet who was visiting El Salvador and is from my old city of Toronto. Unlike the many hundreds of Canadians who come down by charter flights to stay at the Royal Decameron Salinitas Resort, Marco drove down!

Never thought I would see Ontario plates in El Salvador

Yes, in a finely tuned Nissan Xterra, Marco has made his way from Toronto to St. Louis then down into Mexico, all over and up to Merida, Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador. Even more amazingly, he plans to drive through the rest of Central America and into South America and down to Tierra del Fuego.

Lunch of sopa de patas and fresh lemonade for me and tamales y bebida ensalada for him

If I can, I am hoping to meet up with him in Santiago de Chile for the drive down to the point and then back up to Buenos Aires. Or maybe Santiago, through the Mendoza wine country, and across to BA which would be much slower. But Patagonia sounds nice as well as seeing penguinos.

Diego "El Muerto" taking a time out from chasing girls to have post surf beers with us

At El Tunco. Pretty good food and giant beers too!

Mark almost skipped El Salvador due to the bad reputation that it has. He ended up staying 60 days here! I showed him Tunco and we got a surf lesson from “El Muerto”, went to the Korean restaurant, had lunch in the market, had him over for dinner, and hung out at Dan’s club smoking cigars and drinking a lot of beer (and tequila for him). He crashed at our place off and on when our place emptied of family visiting from Canada. Spent many evenings watching House Hunters International on HGTV.

Indian food with Mariem and Jesse at our place

Marco said that a lot of people are doing this trip and there is a lot of info on the internet about practicalities and nice places to visit. Plus there are people hitchhiking their way down to South America! He mentioned that he drove someone in from Guatemala who only had a small backpack and no money and dropped him off at the junction of the Sonsonate highway and the coastal road. In the dark, at night.

Delicious Korean food at the Pabelion Coreano in Merliot

You can follow his blog at http://25kwithoutmonday.com/

Overate at the churrascaria Faisca do Brasil in the Hotel Intercontinental

I am quite pleased that he liked this country. Like my friend Michael from Antigua, he felt very comfortable very quickly here. The city is quite compact so it is easy to move around in the nice areas (San Benito, Escalon, Santa Tecla, and Antiguo Cuscutlan). And lots of café’s restaurants and bars. I should mention that he got into two scrapes with his truck. He had insurance and cattle guards on his truck which saved him from having to get body work done. One was a bus that cut in front of him and scraped his front in a roundabout ... probably from someone in right lane swerving three lanes to the left to make a turn.

He stayed at the Hostal Australia for $20 per night with parking, breakfast and internet included. The place is on 1ra Calle Poniente which is just beside Escalon and half a block below the roundabout at Beethovern.

I was sad to see him go but he finally moved on and has been to Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

One of the reasons he stayed 60 days in country. Drinking beers at the Rinconcito Karaoke at 3:00 am.

He has motivated me to do the San Salvador to Flores/Tikal to Tulum to Merida drive. That would be a great road trip.

Winter visitors

Coley's yellow shoes in the market in Antigua!

So another winter is passing and we are getting some cloudy days and some rain. I mean “winter” as in the North America season running from December until March. That time period is considered “summer” in El Salvador because there is virtually no rain and no cloud cover so the ground gets a lot hotter. The North American “summer” is our winter in El Salvador since there is more cloud cover and rain and cooler temperatures. Confusing, I know.

Anyways, I had some nice visits this year. My parents came down for a whole month and were joined by an Uncle and Aunt from Dallas and my son came down for a week. The best part of the visit was going down to the fish port in Libertad. They have built a tourist parking lot with guards and restaurants right in front of the pier. Oddly, it is only 50 cents while the other private parking lots which are further, with less security, and are not paved costs more.

Dad and Uncle enjoying the superfresh black clams on the Libertad Pier

Walking to the pier, there is a rather strong fish smell as the fisherman will split and salt fish and dry them on the rocks nearby. Then you enter the covered part of the pier where there are places selling ice, seviche, raw black clams, plastic bags, and of course lots of fish and seafood. Once you reach the outside area, you may be “adopted” by a fish cleaner who will help you find the type of fish you want.

Just pulled out of the water, everyone trying to see what the catch was.

We found out that the best place to buy fresh fish was at the end of the pier where the fishing boats are hauled out of the water on a small crane. Usually there are 20-30 people waiting to see what comes in. There is some haggling going on but if the fish is really fresh, they might not move on the price. Along the pier where the boats are parked, you can usually get better deals. At one place, we wanted to buy a 1 lb bonito and were told it was a dollar but we could have 4 for two dollars.

My Dad supervising the scaling and cleaning.

So once you have purchased your fish, the fish cleaner will take them to a station and will de-scale and lean out the guts. They will filet as well if you ask. You should bring a cooler or heavy bag but you can buy large plastic bags there. Then you can get ice at the front end of the pier. The fish cleaners will usually charge two or three dollars to clean up to half a dozen fish. Interestingly, I am pretty sure that most of the prices quoted are the regular prices with no gringo mark up. And the prices are pretty cheap. For Red Snapper, you will pay about $6/lb in the grocery stores, $4/lb at the fish market in town, and $1 or $2/lb on the pier.

Dad cutting up some fresh sashimi

My Dad kept trying to buy the really cheap fish since he likes a good bargain but I tried to get him to buy the better fish so we usually got some of each. He made some great brined bonito and we had a lot of different types for sashimi and sushi.

Sashimi dinner with Pollo Campero!

We also made Kamaboko which is Japanese fish cakes. Very long process of cleaning, shredding, and filtering the raw fish and then mixing with Mirin, salt, sugar and egg yolks. Turned out pretty well though.

Looking down into the crater at Parque Boqueron

We also did the Parque Boqueron and tried to have pupusas for lunch at one of the fancy places up there but they said we could only have them as appetizers and would have to order a full meal.

Family Photo

Since we weren’t hungry, we went down the road to the Mirador place where they have a big raised platform with a great view of the city.

Breakfast at the Decameron

When Elliot was down, we went to the Decameron for a couple of nights. I was trying to rent a decent beach house for us all but couldn’t find anything reasonable and I didn’t want my Mother to think she had to cook all the time.

Poolside at the resort.

We ended up paying $40/night per person which was great since it included all meals and booze. Ate pretty well at the Thai restaurant and the seafood/Italian place. I snuck away one day for golf at the adjacent Veraneras. Elliot who is turning into a club promoter took it upon himself to get the party going at the disco every night and he did a pretty good job considering there was a lot of Reggaeton being played (which only about 7 non-Latino Canadians can dance to).

Part of Elliot's photo essay.

Also had a trip to Antigua where I very unadventuresomely checked us into the Hotel Aurora and we ate at Hector’s and Welton AGAIN! But at Hector’s the food was great and I ordered two plated of the sweet potato fries with the homemade horseradish ketchup. Fries were incredibly good. The duck was good too. At the Welton, they didn’t have any charcoal to burn in urns to keep us warm but they did have a lot of thick wool wraps that we could use.

Mmmmmmm Yum. Hector's sweet potato fries with homemade ketchup.

Under cover at the Welton.

Quite chilly at night with Antigua being 1,530 m above sea level. San Salvador is only 560 m above which gives us cool but not cold nights.

In the ruins of Antigua

The drive was pretty good as well. The Hachadura bridge at the crossing along the coast was still down from last year’s storm so we went up through Santa Ana and crossed at Chinamas. That went pretty easily although everyone has to get out now. Once we crossed over into Guatemala, we got stopped by some cops who went over all my documents for about 10 minutes trying to find something to fine me for. I had lost my Salvadoran driver’s license so only had a temporary paper one. The cop said that that document didn’t state that I could use it outside of El Salvador (and it didn’t say I couldn’t) but luckily I had my Ontario license which he accepted. Then he pointed out that the car registration was not in my name but in Fatima’s and asked if I had a document showing that I was allowed to drive it. I said no and I asked him how many chinos were crossing the Guatemala border to sell cars stolen in El Salvador. He told me there were chino gangs doing that! Ha, ha. Again, luckily I had my insurance card which had Fatima and my names on it so he finally let me go.

The reason why this road work has been going on for years ... hiring 5 year olds as managers.

Due to this delay, we hit the big roadblock construction site. They let people through every 40 minutes and we just missed it and my car was second in the queue. Ugh, 40 minutes in the car. Finally we got through and had crazy chicken bus drivers passing me as the cars were being flagged down to stop. I though that they were complete *ssholes since I would have to pass them after we cleared the construction zone … but no, these guys were driving superfast and I never caught up with them despite having a 244 hp Honda Pilot with new tires.

The public wash station build hundreds of years ago still be used today.

The Hotel Aurora was its usual homey and comfortable place although the price did go up somewhat from before. Nice breakfasts, free parking and wifi. We went to see the giant church ruins and they did a tour of the city. I took off with Michael and a friend to the Reunion Golf Course.

Larry lining up his drive.

About 20 minutes from Antigua, this was a project that cost $80M that was financed by 8 Guatemalan families. Typical business plan … buy a giant plot of very cheap land, build a golf course/hotel, then sell plots around the course for a lot of money. Turns out that with the recession, there isn’t much property development and this incredible golf course only gets about 10 rounds a day! The owners fly in from Guatemala on their helicopters to play golf but since there are so few golfers, they have dropped the course fee from $200 to about $50/$80 a round. We pulled up to the main gates and said we were there to golf but since we weren’t members, we had to drive another 10 minutes to the back employee entrance! What a joke, especially since the owners fly in on helicopters and don’t use the road entrance.

Michael holding his follow through.

So we get there, eventually, and get two carts and two female caddies. They did a great job helping us out and we really needed it since there must have been about 100m of elevation changes. I couldn’t drive at all on the front nine so shot something like 57. We stopped for lunch and found out that there was no cafeteria or food given to the caddies so we ordered a hamburger and fries for them. Then off to the back nine which was much hillier than the front. I was driving much better and managed to squeeze out a 52 which I was really happy with. One par 4 was 605 yards long off the whites. Yikes!

Larry with one of our excellent caddies.

The course itself was in perfect shape and quite stunning. Some drives you would face a wall of fairway and you had to try to aim for plateaus. One drive I hit went about 225 yards and rolled back 50 until it hit a catchment area. Anyways, we had a lot of fun and I kept marvelling at the incredible amount of landscaping that was done. Most of the paths had walls covered in river rocks and some vast areas were covered in these hand placed stone.

Earthquake!

On the way back, I stopped at the Pricesmart to buy some different beer and cheese and we hit the Pollo Campero in the last town before the construction site. Back on the road, we hit that site at 12:00 noon and the workers were having lunch so the road was wide open!

So all in all, a good trip.

Visits to Antigua

Buy the Ebook!

I know that I have posted this comment before but if you tell a Salvadoran that you are visiting the country and ask what you should go see, they will tell you Antigua. The funny thing about that is, Antigua is in neighbouring Guatemala.

Me and the famous author!

But Antigua is amazing and only 5 hours from San Salvador. The drive along the coast is nice and I heard the Hachadura bridge is open after the crazy rain storm hit and took it out. Last time I drover over that bridge, I recall the stream below it was a good 40 feet below ... well during the storm, the water was going over the bridge. That route is quite scenic and it avoids Guatemala City and the traffic there.

The high plains drifter.

Antigua has great little inns, great restaurants and bars. It is great having a friend of Michael there since he is an insider and local now and knows all the best places and the good gossip. And if you don't have a friend like Michael living there, you can buy his insider's guide book at https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=our+man+antigua for only $4.99. It downloads onto any E-reader (I put it on my iPad) and it will give you a lot of good information for your visit. Plus he is a very witty writer.

My favourite place is the Hotel Aurora - very central, just a few blocks from parque central, some lovely rooms, beautiful flowers in the courtyard, decent breakfast and one of the cheapest places in town. We like to eat at the Welton and Hector's and drink wherever there is a lot of noise and where Michael and I can sneak in a good cigar.

And come to think of it, if you are visiting the area and are going to download Michael's local insider's guide, you should download Paige Penland's excellent guidebook on El Salvador that became available recently on Kobo at http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Explorers-Guide-El-Salvador-Great/book-X5HCdmjsekOnQieRy_hApg/page1.html.

HAV and SAL again

Hanging out at a company end of year party in the country

I know that this is supposed to be about a blog about El Salvador but I was just in Havana and wanted to talk about the trip and some changes going on over there.

American Airlines plane leaving Cuba

At the airport, I saw an American Airlines plane taking off ... coincidence that they filed for bankruptcy protection and they are back in Cuba? Or a communist plot?

There has been a lot of talk about the new rights to purchase cars and homes. Of course it is just talk until someone actually buys a car or a house. I have friends looking to do both but, so far, I haven’t heard of anyone closing a deal.

Great art in Cuba: Jurgen Rodriguez - 'Sweet girl' 0.85cm x 1.00cm. acrilico/lienzo

Another big change has been the closures of the highschools and technical schools in the country. There were dozens and maybe hundreds of these spread out through the country. I asked a

Cuban friend what the reasoning was for their opening ... and he quoted Karl Marx and something about working the fields creates good socialists! Wowzer, what a reason. So the schools are closed (except for one or two), the kids get to stay in the cities with their families, and the government saves money on maintenance, food and transportation. Good one Raul!

Hey, you can buy cold Crystal in bottles at the liquor store at the side of the Melia Cohiba but good luck trying to buy ice anywhere! We checked 5 places in Vedado and no one had any to spare, even when we offered money.

Looking down the hallway at the new Chansonnier

Restaurants continue to be a new adventure in Havana.

Cool bar at Chansonnier.

Didn’t make it to Atelier this time but went to Hector’s revamped Chansonnier and saw the dude and his partner, the designer, Elizabeth? Beautiful place and nice drinks although they have a self imposed no smoking rule in the bar – there is one front room where you can smoke as well as the terrace.

Ruben singing his heart out at La Terraza - Prado esq a Virtudes 07 862-3626

Also ate at la Terraza at the top of Centro Cultural Astoriana again. Another great meal and Ruben was there playing the guitar. Unusually, there was a group of about 14American kids at the next table and they were so frickin loud! The Cubans, French, Spaniards and even the Italians eating there were disturbed by the level of noise. They have an art gallery now on the third floor and the curator, Hilda Barrio, has an exhibition called “Colorfull” with some amazing pieces. They are asking about a grand for each large piece which is a bit high for a young artist in Cuba but I hope to pick up some paintings the next time I am there.

Dayana, Fatima, Delia and a great photo bomb from Hector.

Also made it to Tien Tan and El Aljibe and both were quite good. Nice to see that some places have maintained their standards as other places (like El Palenque) have greatly diminished in terms of service and food quality – they just don’t seem to care anymore.

Ana Rosa and Grupo Ecos doing a tablada at the party.

Had a Christmas party and served tacos again. The usual suspects showed up and it was nice to see some old faces going back a decade or so dropping by. Grupo Ecos did a few flamenco numbers and that was nice but, as a sign of us getting old, I think the party folded at around 1:00 am!

Our typical dinner of tacos - a spicy corn and jalapeno topping and fresh pico de gallo.

On the flight back, Fatima took the direct 2 hour flight from HAV to SAL. I have turned into a frequent flier mile junkie and to make sure that I would hit elite gold, I booked my flight SAL SJO HAV LIM BOG SAL. So instead of 2 hours, my flight was 17! I did get upgraded all the way and the first few legs were okay. Flight left an hour late and had a few drinks on the way to Peru and a nap. Had to deplane onto a bus to get a ride to the terminal (even though there were a bunch of empty gates) but still, got to be outside in Peru for a few minutes! Cool and dry.

Pisco Sour at the Lima airport.

Then went to a nice bar right beside my gate in Lima and stupidly asked the barman if I could have a Pisco Sour. He looked at me like I was a “tired Asian-Canadian tourist hungover and very sleepy on a 30 minute stopover” idiot and said yes. Delicious and deliciously over-priced at $9 but he liked the tip I left.

Back onto the plane for a shorter flight to Bogota. 136 people turned left and I turned right into the departure lounge – no one telling me which way to go at 1:00 am but I figured I was one of few stopping over. Turns out, in the entire airport, there were only 6 of us. 3 cops, 8 cleaners and about 5 people staffing and stocking the kiosks (including a Dunkin Donuts). The next 3 ½ hours before the lounge opened up was a bit challenging. Quite cool so I was lucky to have a warm sweater. A dozen departure gate lounges, maybe a few thousand seats but not a single one that didn’t have big steel arms to prevent you from lying down. One smart person parked themselves behind a bank of chairs in a distant lounge and fell asleep on the floor. When the lounge finally opened – hot coffee, juice, fresh fruit, little sandwiches and big soft couches!

Went into the washroom and a sign in Spanish said, please do not flush anything into the toilets but I figured that no way do they mean the toilet paper. I mean this is an international airport! I was terribly wrong.

Jurgen Rodriguez - How tall you are? 1.85m x 2.20m. acrilico/lienzo

Back on the plane, short fight to San Salvador, quiet airport and Fatima was back, 12 hours after her arrival, to pick me up. Had a few cigars with me from Cuba as well as a pile of books that I was muling up to Toronto for Monica so thought that I would have to open my bags but the guy, after asking if I had anything to declare, told me to go and told me not to push the button (which randomly flashes green or red which means you have to open your bags for inspection). Don’t know what that was about since everyone is supposed to push it and it is supposed to be random so he wasn’t trying to ding the guy behind me.

Okay, so after this ridiculous flight, how many points did I get? Total miles earned with bonuses was 18,676 which ain’t bad since a ticket from HAV to SAL return is as low as 14,000. So one night of discomfort and a free ticket for a Cuban friend to visit me in El Salvador. Only 7,763 qualifying miles for the elite class target so don’t think I’ll be hitting the 70,000 diamond level very easily.

Corn pie with two cups of parmesan cheese!

Back in San Salvador and Christmas is just a few days away. I have been away for the past two Christmases so it was nice to cook for the whole family. Made a brined roast turkey with a sausage, onion, leek, bacon, mushroom and zucchini sage stuffing, corn pie with two cups of parmeian cheese, maple glazed carrots, roast vegetables, fluffy mashed potatoes, two types of cranberry sauce, and about a gallon of pan gravy with some extra chicken stock/broth that I made. Also a brined, rubbed, roasted and wine/coke braised pork shoulder with cider vinegar cole slaw and a Jack Daniels bbq sauce.

Snow in San Salvador!

Then the usual dancing and fireworks. I smoked a couple of cigars and enjoyed all the noise! New years we changed the menu with Fatima making some of her amazing lasagne and a cousin made a delicious rolled and stuffed beef tendloin that he had marinated in beer for a few days to tenderize. Delicious. Then a nephew gave us a real treat with the fireworks. The guy is quite the pyro and has had a few accidents with bottle rockets and firecrackers since he has no fear and even less after several drinks. H e was lighting fairly large firecrackers and letting the fuse burn down before tossing them in the air. They would explode in the night sky and the shredded paper would waft down like … snow! It was actually quite beautiful and made me think of Canada.

So after a week in Cuba and a week in El Salvador, the differences became a lot more crystallized for me. They are almost the complete opposite of each other. Cuba is full of charm and culture with great friendly restaurants and bars and lots of musicians and everyone is in your face. You can walk anywhere safely, day or night, but the public transportation sucks as does having or renting a car or finding a taxi. It may take years to buy a car, cell service is extremely expensive, and internet is difficult to obtain and very expensive for crappy dial up service. You can’t buy shit and there are only a few stores and everything is a pain in the ass. Everything is falling apart but the city is still gorgeous with beautifully designed buildings and charming and very unique neighbourhoods.

A typical highschool girl in Havana - Jurgen Rodriguez: Natacha la Especilista. Acrilico-Lienzo. 150x125cm. 2010 1000cuc

El Salvador is more buttoned up, a lot less culture (unless you count the excellent and very cheap modern movie theatres), has a lot of charmless places, and people are very proper and polite. You can’t walk anywhere but public transportation is everywhere (but not generally for gringos), cars are cheap and easy to buy (I could walk out of my apartment and buy, plate and insure a car in about 90 minutes), and you can rent a car for $10 a day. And you can buy anything you want between the Costco (signed Pricesmart here), Walmart, several grocery chains, and many huge and modern shopping malls. Cell service is excellent and cheap (I can call Canada/US on my cell for between 5 and 10 cents a minute and my Blackberry service only costs $14 a month) and there is wifi (often free) everywhere including a public park (which would be an excellent place for muggers to hang out). San Salvador is not the prettiest city in Latin America and most nice houses can’t be seen because they are behind 10 foot walls and razor wire.

They both have their advantages and I guess that I am lucky to be able to travel freely between the two.