hanging ten...

el salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in latin america and upon arriving in san salvador, i can vouch for that. its a manic haze of people, buses and buildings. after reading the stern safety warnings from the lonely planet guide and a small amount of google research, we were advised to minimise flashy items, keep an eye on our bags and be aware of our surroundings.

keeping that in mind, we made our way through the overly crowded bus station and out to the road to try and hail a local bus headed to the beach. after some communication with locals (thank god our spanish is good enough to ask for directions) we were in the bus before dark (which is strongly advised). we made it to playa el tunco around eight pm, after a mammoth 14 hour bus trip from flores, guatemala.

this sleepy little beach town has been our home now for the past three nights and kurt is loving being able to hit the waves, although the swell is nothing to write home about. after not hearing the australian accent since mexico city, we have found ourselves a base for aussie surfers and have welcomed chatting about the waves with our compadres.

while not as beautiful as the caribbean, the pacific coast has amazing sunsets that literally linger for hours. the black sand here sticks. it sticks to every nook and crevice. the world class waves that el tunco is famous for are starting to build so kp is happy about that. tomorrow we are off to nicaragua for a few days before heading to costa rica and panama for the last few weeks of our backpacking adventure. that is of course all before heading to the usa for a few weeks of exploring.