BUSES, BEACHES AND A BROTHER IN EL CUCO

El Cuco's main street leading down to the beach during rush hour.

After cooling off in the mountains, it was time to get back to the beach before heading south to the volcanoes of Nicaragua. Plus, Kip's brother Todd had joined us for a couple weeks and he really needed to learn to surf.

A kid about to smash an egg on Todd's head.

We headed to El Salvador's eastern beaches and the town of El Cuco, famous for wide swaths of sand, nesting sea turtles, and the nearby surf break Las Flores. 

Cuco would be our last stop in El Salvador, and probably our last time (and Todd's first) riding the country's bone-rattling local bus system, so we made the most of it. 

At the San MIguel bus terminal, after a three-hour slog from San Salvador (we splurged...no chickens allowed inside the bus), we convinced a cheeky young Salvadorena to crack some cascarones, eggs filled with confetti, on the head of an un-suspecting gringo named Todd. Both were terribly amused.

After an hour waiting at the station, we hopped a local bus from San Miguel to El Cuco. 

As is typical, the already full bus stopped every few hundred feet to pick up additional passengers, who simply have to wave an arm from the side of the road to get a ride.

 

Todd and Kip prepping to surf.

"How many people are gonna fit on this bus?" Todd asked. Great question.

As we crammed together a little closer, allowing for six women in starched nurse uniforms to squeeze past, Kip gave him the standard answer -- "at least one more, brother, always one more."

An hour later, the bus pulled into El Cuco, a dusty, oceanside town frequented on weekends by vacationing Salvadorenos and most other times by international surfers.

Besides a few food stalls by the water, there's not much for visitors to see. The main attraction is a long walk or short pick-up ride over rolling hills to the famous surf break of Las Flores.  

As seen in the photo below, the waves were a bit large for us, so we surfed the waves right in front of our eco-friendly hotel, La Tortuga Verde.

Yes, Todd learned to surf. Skip one photo for the visual proof.

No, it's not Todd or Kip surfing. But Kip did take the photo.

Yes, Todd caught a few waves. Mission accomplished.

We squeezed in a little fun at sunset. 

For some reason, Liz loves beach cows. The herd of adolescents above was even more fun than Zanzibar, she says. 

AMAZING MURALS OF ATACO

Bikers check out Ataco's vibrant murals after cruising along El Salvador's famous Ruta de las Flores. 

Visitors to El Salvador usually do at least one of two things--they surf and/or they travel the famous Ruta de Las Flores, a twisting, turning drive lined with ornate murals, flowers, and some of the richest coffee growing territory in the world.

Liz with pig and cow.

We'd already put in some time on the waves, so we headed down the highway out of San Salvador to the tiny town of Nauhizalco, famous for homemade furniture and for being the first stop on La Ruta. 

While the hand-hewn chairs, tables and lamps that lined the highway were uniquely impressive, none would fit in our backpacks. Plus, Kip was hungry, so we headed to Juayua, famous for its weekly food festival and a roaring waterfall (and also our Habitat build). 

Grilled churrasco skewers devoured, waterfall swam, we hopped a bus to the hillside town of Ataco. 

We came for the day but we ended up staying three. The air was cool, the food was tasty, and the murals were spectacular, and plentiful. 

Around every corner of the stone and brick streets, another brightly-painted wall awaited. Scenes of coffee pickers working, children reading, old people smiling, and even a little green alien flying a spaceship decorate nearly every street.

The story behind the murals is somewhat hard to unravel. Wall art in El Salvador is prolific. It's hard to find a vertical stack of bricks without at least something painted on it. 

In Ataco, we were told the first murals began popping up more than a decade ago to beautify the town and attract tourists. The art's beauty, style, and complexity, as well as a related controversy involving an artist, the town's conservative mayor, and the U.S. State Department, continues to evolve.

But enough with the broken history lesson. Below is a sample of Ataco's amazing murals. By the way, in our next lives, we're going to be highly-skilled artists and move to Ataco, where we'll volunteer to touch up the murals whenever necessary. 

OK, so this isn't really a mural. But it could be.
If Rockwell were from El Salvador, surely he would have approved.

FUNNY MONDAY: SURFER CROSSING

Liz hangs on tight in the back of a pickup as our driver completely ignores a sign asking motorists to reduce their speed and watch out for passing surfers.

Click here to check out some warning signs for weird things on the road in South Africa.

EL SALVADOR'S HIGHEST PEAK, EL PITAL

From Honduras to El Sal, Liz and Phil fist bump.

What is it about tall things that makes people want to climb them? 

We're not sure either, but when we read about El Pital, the highest mountain in El Salvador, we knew it had to be done. And our friend Phil knew he had to join us.

The touristic trick to "climbing" this mountain, which rises more than a mile and a half toward the sky, is that you can drive nearly the entire way to the top. Not exactly a Himalayan adventure, by any means, but still worth a look.

If you're slightly more ambitious, as we decided to be on a chilly, fog-coated morning, you can hike from Rio Chiquito, a small town near the summit, at around 7,600 feet. 

Hard core. But not.

The border marker. And Liz's feet.

We prepared for a serious mountaineering day, loaded down with cliff bars, water and wearing our best hiking shoes. And the hiking was totally strenuous...for almost the entire 30 minutes it took to reach the summit.

Our reward was a misty view of the barbed-wire fence border with Honduras, which we climbed under, standing proudly in both countries.

On our way back down, not far below the summit, we passed through a camp ground.

There, we found a few local families cooking out, playing stickball, having beers. All we had were granola bars and water. 

Next time, we'll be better prepared.

Kip hikes into a split between two massive rocks near the peak of El Pital.

PHOTO FRIDAY: SURF LAS FLORES, EL SALVADOR

Broken boards, big waves at Las Flores, El Salvador.

One surfer's session ended far too soon after a heavy set snapped his board on a wipeout. 

It was a big day at Las Flores, one of El Salvador's consistent but sometimes punishing point breaks. This particular Pacific swell delivered waves that reached more than 12 feet.

We decided to stay on the sand, snap a few photos, and take in the view, which wasn't bad at all.