Suchitoto

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Suchitoto. I said it out loud to myself a few times, in different accents (especially the Italian variant could please me). Suchitoto, sushi-tó-to...It sounded kind of cute. The photos I Googled looked cute too: Some bright 'n shiny curvy church, fountains, cobble stones, even the trees looked kind of adorable. A big colonial mish-mash. I circled it on the map and put it on my El Salvador itinerary.

It took me as much time to get out of San Salvador as to get from there to Suchitoto, but the trip is a newcomer on the cheap-list: $1,35 for 2,5 hours in a not-even-that-bad-autobus. I recognized my point of destination easily from my expectations and hurried to the central square (free WiFi) to inform the world and my Couchsurfing host about my arrival. I had a few hours to kill, so I started vagabonding around a bit in the hope to stumble upon some treasures.

Life was generous that day: I got completely lost and got treated on the most breathtaking view I could have hoped for.

Lago Suchitlan (El Salvador's answer on Guatemala's Lago de Atitlan), in all its majesty, captured within the rough overgrown mountains, spread itself in the valley in front of me. Green moss covered the endless blue, shapes connected into a pattern, houses seemed little paint splashes from that distance. I put on my music and started dancing. Out on the streets. Celebrating my happiness, embracing a feeling I only sensed at that moment. I suddenly got overwhelmed with the realization how grateful I am to be alive and being granted these experiences.

Josué waved at me from a distance and formally shook my hand. I was welcome in his house and the town that was not his, but the place where his family had a holiday home. I seemed to be a lucky bastard, as my host appeared to be a tourguide as well. To not let him weaken that skill on his days off I made sure he gave me a private 'city' trip, showing me the highlights of Suchitoto. That didn't take that long, as the town is tiny, but we managed to see the market, an art gallery and experience the local specialty: Coffee! Imagine how a caffeine addict like me feels when getting presented 1001 options of filtercoffee, dripcoffee, French press coffee, Italian espresso, macchiato, latte, moccachino, ice blend, frappucchino, light blend, dark grind, local-grown, continental, imported AAAAAAAHHHHH! Stop it! Continue! I didn´t know if I had to feel stressed or hysterically accelerated! It was awesome. And cheap. Casa de Abuela, remember the name… coffee g-spot!

After a foodie pupusa-demonstration (where we could eat the result needless to say)…

... I went for an early night to gain strength for the big day to follow: Hiking Bosque Cinquera. Even Josué had never visited this national park before, while living right next to it, so it wasn't 1 big Stephanie-show: He got something out of it too.

That's what I love about being a Couchsurf-host: Getting to experience your own country through the eyes of a tourist.

You tend to oversee the beauty when you’re standing right in it. He arranged a friend that was apparently familiar with this natural area to go with us and the two of them decided we should set the alarm at 6:30AM… I would never come up with an outrageous idea like that, just let me sleep goddammit. It was supposed to be 20km, so I packed well, prepared for all that nature could force me to face.

Once there no ranger could be found. Awesome, free entrance! I don't know why, but Josué had a strong desire to pay. He even called someone from the natural ministry to tell them we're there. I don't want to discourage them to be loyal citizens, but I as a foreigner have to pay an entrance price three times as high, so I wasn't too happy… But well, karma can renew my membership.

After 10 little minutes walking his friend almost passed out: He lied flat on the floor, sweating, panting, hyperventilating and with a grey face. He immediately grabbed a roll of cookies as he assumed he was low on sugars, but considering the extraordinary sugar intake and average body size in Latin America I considered that highly unlikely. I avoid sugars as the pest and I hiked half the mountains of the continent.

Josué and I continued the trail leading to two different waterfalls and an altitudinous look-outpoint. After about 1,5 hour we were done... Apparently the 20 km had a zero too many, which secretly relieved me somewhat given the amounts of sweat the tropical temperature made me wade myself through. It was a beautiful place though, a very satisfying encounter with nature.

Well, that was it. There's not much more to do in Suchitoto, besides an indigo or cigar-rolling workshop. And that's okay, I don't need to be entertained 24/7. I walked back to my favorite spot, Casa de Abuela, and concluded this nice little get-away.

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