The artifacts in the museum were really interesting especially the artwork on the pottery and clay figurines. Tegan performed her Irish dance in front of one of the Mayan ruins to fulfill another portion of her commitment to dance in all 7 Central American countries. The ruins at San Andrés are of a smaller scale than other sites in Central America, we easily walked through the property in an hour or so. There was a Mayan man outside near the café who offered a good explanation of Baktún and spoke in the native Mayan language and shared translations of some words for the kids.
Our next stop was Lago de Coatepeque, a large lake that formed when the Volcano Coatepeque erupted 50,000 years ago in a fierce explosion that left a crater 40 kms in diameter and 2 kms deep. Rainwater and groundwater filled the crater over the years and created the lake we saw today. We drove a few kilometers down a dirt road around the lake. Access to the lake is limited as most of the properties bordering the lake are securely fenced off up to the road. We finally came to a public access spot that was more of a boat launch with 3-4 comidas setup near it. There were a couple of kids swimming in the water and I got the kids into their swimsuits before they went for a dip too.
A young man on the dock offered us a boat ride around the lake for $20. We weren't sold yet but decided it would be fun to do and I could get some good photos of the lake and volcanos. We were showed the Presidential property on the lake as well as some of the other elite properties around a single cove. He took us to shore and the kids were offered a chance to swim in the water as well as jump in from the shore. Tegan enjoyed this a little more than Elliot. We got back in the boat to continue our trip but it ended up being the end as we were now heading back. Not the best $20 we had spent. Oh well. Also my point and shoot camera decided to have a lens malfunction. So we were now two cameras down for our trip! *I learned later that Canon offers a free fix for this particular issue. The good with the bad.*
Today's journey continued with us heading towards the Rutas de Los Flores. We stopped a few more times to take in some stunning vistas of the lake and volcanoes while driving on the ridge of the crater. The road down from the lake to the highway ended up getting pretty rough and if you had an aerial view of the cars weaving across the road it would probably look like an intense game of chicken. Slalom racing at its best! ...Correen again; not impressed.
Sonsonate was the start of our trip down the Rutas de Los Flores and it is maze of one way streets and street markets. Our gps hadn't been prepared for all the one way streets and so the shortest route wasn't as easily navigated as the gps would suggest. We ended up making a few mistakes but applied the rule of follow the leader and don't go down streets that appear to be one way; they likely are. You might suggest I just look for the UNO VIA signs... well there aren't any, only half concealed signs indicating the next turn on the Rutas de Los Flores.
Out of town, things begin to behave again. We passed by 2–3 dozen furniture makers with their wares on the side of the road. This was pretty cool to see with some of the furniture was very skillfully made. Nearing Juayua we drove past a man sitting on what could described as half go-cart and half sled with the man sitting at the front steering the large load of wood down the hillside. The wheels looked to be out of metal and although crudely made looked to harness the power of gravity well enough to deliver the load of wood quite efficiently. We found our hotel, Hotel Anahuac, tossed our bags into the room, got a recommendation for a restaurant nearby and set off for some dinner.
R&R was the restaurant, it was created by some chef who basically invented a recipe which came in 4-5 options. I chose a beef dish that was marinated and grilled and it came with vegetables and rice. Everything was super delicious and when finished, I wished I had chosen the 8 oz cut instead of the 4 oz. Correen had vegetable lasagna and Elliot had a plate of papas fritas that came with a cheese sauce drizzled on top and Tegan had a salad. Elliot and Tegan after dinner went across the street and shared some English words with the local kids as they were eager to know some. We then went for a walk around town and admired the Christmas lights and browsed the wares in the market as we strolled.
Back at the hotel, the kids watched the Karate Kid outside in the common area with a snack. Correen and I just chilled in the room, I working on the blog while Correen contacted the outside world via Facebook etc.
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