Day Seven

The lush growth on the volcanic hills ...
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Hello to everyone - Thanks for the e-mails - Glad you are enjoying our trip with us.  We had a really full day today.  We had a really fun day today.  First we met up with Gloria Stanley (a friend I met at the synagogue the last time I was here ) and went to her beach club, EL BALSAMAR, on the coast of La Libertad in the southern edge of the country.  The beach is beautiful and all the sand is black - volcanic black.  Walking on this sand is like walking on velvet.  So soft.

This outcropping is the result of the water eroding the bank over who knows how many decades or ceturies ...
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We drove back around noon - about an hour and a half each way - lots to see from the car - huge piles of watermelons for sale along the road - lots of folks walking - goats tethered along the roadsides - cows in the street - men on horseback with big b rimmed hats.  We went to POLLO CAMPERO for lunch - it is an amazing chain of restaurants - you are greeted at the door walked to a table and up walks a server with a hand-held computer to take the order.  All dressed in bright yellow and green and the food comes fast!  Apparently chicken from there is the big thing people ask others to bring back - they even have a restaurant in the airport.

The other side of the bay ...
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We went to a shop called "La Costura" to look for an embroidery thread - they had DMC - and other items - displayed like a Lower East Side NY store - tons of stuff crammed into a small space.

After visiting our lawyer,we went to the downtown of San Salvador.I hadn't gone there in December when Yesenia and I were here.  It was exciting - in an international way - looking like the SHUK in Jerusalem or the street markets in any developing country.  El Salvador uses dollars as its currency and cries of "two  for quarter" or "five a la dollar" rang out over and over.  Except they say "Dos a la cora" not quarter! Several blocks of wide streets were converted into this market.  We bought pencil cases for her cousins and - of course - a coffee ice cream cone for me.

Looking back from the shore to the cabanas at the Beach Club ...
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Safety concerns?  We didn't carry purses although other women were walking freely with them.  We stayed closely together but in general - it felt comfortable but clearly a different rhythm - very crowded and very STUFFED with merchandise.

Gloria had recommended a restaurant - "A LO NUESTRO" and we went there for dinner.  It is a new manner of presenting traditional Salv foods.  Everything was delicious.  We had a soup made from an asparagus type local vegetable.  Delicious and a delicate flavor. I had a cesar salad with chicken and it was prepared in an interesting way.  The chicken had been [laced in an envelope of bread so when yu ate the salad, the chicken had the "crouton" right on it!  Brenda had a chicken dish - small bits a la Chinese  - set on top of a "cama" bed of corn and other vegetables in a pancake -looking pile.  And the decor was lovely as well - very simple and elegant.  A great meal - the best overall restaurant experience I have had here on both trips.

The cabana area connects to other areas of the club via this bridge ...
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What else?  We came back to the hotel - walked up to our room and televisioned ourselves to sleep.  Well, Brenda is asleep - and I will be as soon as I add the pictures.  I am really enjoying using this website.  It makes the daily reporting seem so easy and it looks so good when finished.

Now to add the pictures and go to sleep!  BYE

PS As people are asking for Brenda's comments and she was asleep last light, she will add in her ideas here - only one day later!

A block away from the Central Market, the vending begins ...
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So I had to wake up early which is something I don't like to do, but we were going to the beach! So we arrived at Balsamar around 10 and it was beautiful. The sand looked like black glitter and the water temperature was great. This beach is very different, but very beautiful and so relaxing. I even felt asleep in a AMACA and it felt very nice. We left around 1230 and then we ate lunch at Pollo Campero again! Then we went to a place to buy different stuff for sewing and the place was tiny, but it had a lot of stuff. Then we went to our lawyer and after we went to el centro. It is very different there and there were people everywhere! I really liked the experience because it brings back more memories from my childhood. After el centro we went to a restaurant called Alo Nuestro and it was delicious. I ate Grilled Chicken with chipotle chile sauce and mango juice and I loved it! As always after dinner we came back to the hotel and as we were arriving the president was leaving the hotel and then I got ready to go to sleep as you guys may know.