Saturday March 5, 2004

I didn’t get up until 11:30, which wasn’t that big a deal except that I was supposed to meet my friend Eddy at the hotel at 11:00. (background: Eddy is from Monterrey Mexico...I met him there back in 2002...he know lives and works in Guatemala City. It’s only 4 hours by bus from San Salvador so he came down so we could party and go to the wedding). Everybody was hanging out at the hostel though and was a little slow to leave. I ended up meeting the guy who I had helped make a phone call the night before, Jess/Portland, and the two guys he was traveling with, Shea/Portland and Gavin/Portland. They had also picked up a Scottish girl, Jennifer, along the way. They had been traveling for about 2.5 months...starting in Panama and they were working their way back towards the States. Man, I was so envious! They starting talking a little about all the cool stuff they had experienced so far...especially about their Carnival on a Panamanian island called Isla Canas. It was the first backpacking trip for all of them and the first time they had been immersed into a culture so wildly different from their own. They had been overwhelmed by the generosity and friendliness of the people on that island. Just hearing them talk about it and seeing the expressions on their faces...I could see that they had been touched by the experience in a way that only another traveler can understand. I still remember exactly what Gavin said as he was trying to find the words to describe what they had all shared with the people back on that island...he said, “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life...well, not the best thing, but the best EXPERIENCE.” I’m telling you folks, without knowing it, he touched on the essence of why so many of us are out here doing this...the thing that makes you know that it’s worth it all and that you can’t put a price tag on...those types of emotions, we can only get by getting out there and experiencing as much as we can. I forgot to mention something before...I was actually shocked that there were so many Americans at the hostel. I ran into very few in my travels in South America (with the exception of those studying in Buenos Aires) and I was certain that Central America I would find far less. I guess the point is that I was glad to meet some other people, who come from the same place as me, where very few are bold enough to get out there and push their comfort zones far beyond the limits. They were out there doing it...living things that most only dream of. Maybe it just makes me feel like I’m not crazy after all.

Anyway, it was tough, but I had to tear myself away from the backpacker world for one day and I headed across town to check into our 4 star hotel, where the rest of wedding party was staying and where the reception would be. The place was super swanky...I even had a great balcony in my room that overlooked a gigantic pool area. After I checked in, Eddy called me up and told me he had already arrived. We headed down to the pool area of the hotel where we had a breakfast of champions...a full buffet of just about everything you could ask for...just what I needed to beat my hangover. By the end of our “brunch” we were already drinking beers. We ended up sitting out there for about 4 hours, just drinking and telling stories. We even called up Tony just to let him know he was missing a great time. It’s pretty weird when you think about it...I mean, I hadn’t seen Eddy since December of 2002, and that was in Monterrey. Who would have ever thought back then that the next time we’d see each other it would be at a random hotel in El Salvador!

After a few hours we were ready for a change of scenery. I still hadn’t dined on the Salvadorian delicacy of Pupusas (tortilla stuffed with beans and fried), so we went in search of a place. Problem was, the hotel was in a rather nice area of town, so finding a place to buy what amounts to more or less street food was a little difficult. Something to note about El Salvador, which I also saw in Brazil and Argentina...although not to such a drastic extent...there are armed “security” guys posted every 3 or 4 blocks. They are supposed to ensure safety...although it’s probably more of scare tactic than anything, they certainly appear ready. Each guy carries a huge rifle and they are often standing with fingers on the trigger. It dawns on my that things like that have lost their shock value for me at this point...it is very different from what we know and see in the US. I oftened wondered though, without the prescence of these guards, would crime rates in San Salvador go soaring? Perhaps the guards perpetuate the problem to some extent...sort of like the strict laws we have about the drinking age in the US seems to spawn many college binge drinkers, resulting in people going out of control with it. It really gives you something to think about.

Anyway, we ended up asking a few “security” guys if they knew a place to get pupusas, and in true latin fashion, we didn’t get a “no” but rather we were aimlessly pointed “a few blocks down” a couple times. After meandering a little way, we ended up at Zanzibar, the same place I had met up with everyone the night before. We even ended up sitting at the exact same table! It’s a cool outdoor place though, with a good atmosphere and a lively scene, so we sat down for a beer. We probably stayed there for about an hour, having a couple drinks and just people watching. We stuck out like sore thumbs because of the way we were dressed...we seriously couldn’t have looked more gringo. Oh well though...a girl even came up to us and took our picture for some random website. I guess they wanted to show that San Salvador has some tourists.

Finally we went back to the hotel to get a little down time in before the wedding was to start. About a quarter to 8, we all met up downstairs, piled into a couple cars and we were off to the church.

The wedding itself was a pretty nice ceremony. The church was pretty huge, but lacked one essential thing for a country where it’s 90 in the middle of winter...air conditioning. It wasn’t that bad though. It was cool to see Karina’s family again...especially her younger sister, who is definitely not hard to look at. She had come to Houston a few years back so I already knew her. Her dad also remembered me pretty well...he’s a super cool guy and you can tell he was a pimp back in his day...actually, he’s still a pimp. I’d love to hear some of his stories from back when he was in his twenties. No doubt they wouldn’t disappoint. The only other thing of note from the ceremony was that the programs were an exact transcript of EVERYTHING that was said throughout the entire mass. It was literally like 15 pages long.

After the wedding, it was back to the hotel for the reception. So here’s the thing about latin weddings that I absolutely love. First of all, as in this case, the wedding is usually at night...so it’s not uncommon for the reception to go until 3 or 4 in the morning. But the thing is, everybody parties the whole time...from the grandmothers to the grandchildren. Everybody is way into the party and it takes forever to dwindle down. The other thing that is different from US weddings is that when you get to the reception, the party is already going. The band is playing and everybody drinks and parties for like 2 hours...THEN everybody sits down to eat. We literally didn’t eat until like midnight. Despite the band being subpar, the reception was a blast. Of course, there was no lack of hot women there...one funny thing was this girl who was stunningly beautiful and probably in her late twenties/early thirties. She had this unbelievable backless dress and she was even wearing a tierra. Who wears a tierra??? Anyway, she was with this guy who was no less than 75 years old. I’m guessing he’s got a standing order for Viagra at the local pharmacy. There was another girl in a green dress who was the clear winner for “hottest chic in the room” award that later I found out was actually Miss El Salvador last year. Shouldn’t she have been the one wearing the tierra?

Anyway, one of the key people I hung out with for most of the reception was Nina...who I actually re-met that night. We had met in Houston a few months before I left, but we didn’t really remember.

Funny side story: when I got back to the US, I was talking to Tony about Nina and he was telling me that he remembered that I met her and that there are pictures of her and I on my website. So I went and looked, and he was right...she and I were in like 6 or 7 pictures together...in several of them, we were the only two people in the picture! Afterwards I remembered that night I met her, I was pretty taken by her, but I didn’t know who she was. It turns out she’s the sister of my buddy Guillermo.

So around 4 or so, when the reception was finally dying down, Nina and I went out to Alambique, the same bar I had been at the night before. Another couple also went. The bar was pretty empty, but still we had a few drinks and danced for about an hour. It was great...needless to say, none of us were very sober. At some point I saw this cute girl sitting on the bar and she was wearing a Brazil shirt (if some of you don’t know, I have developed a slight affinity for Brasileras) so I went and talked to her. It turned out, she was just wearing the shirt and she was actually from El Salvador. Fine with me though...that didn’t mean I didn’t want to talk to her. Well, everyone else wanted to leave right then...we were going to go to some guy’s house and keep partying. I was a little upset because I wanted to keep talking to the girl, but oh well...I said goodbye and we were on our way.

After a quick pit stop at a gas station, we got to this guy’s house (can’t remember his name...but he was originally Australian, but had lived most his life in El Salvador). Anyway, imagine my surprise when I walked in, there was only one other person there...it was the girl who had taken Eddy and I’s picture during lunch that day. She instantly recognized me and we both had a laugh about the whole thing...I decided to return the favor and I took a whole bunch of pictures of her. Anyway, as if that wasn’t crazy enough, imagine my surprise again, when 10 minutes later, the girl with the Brazil shirt walked into the apartment. I’m in El Salvador, at this random little after party, and I already knew all the people who were there! Not bad for having only been in the city for two days.

We stayed at that guy’s house drinking until like 8 in the morning. At some point I passed out for awhile though. Not that I was surprised, but the Salvadorenos know how to keep a party going. All in all, it was one hell of a day...partying strong until the sun came up. If I didn’t know any better, I might think I’m back in SP. A big thanks to Nina for being the ultimate party girl and congratulations to Karina and Mario.

AC