San Salvador, El Salvador

El Salvador is country #52. Our TICABUS rolled into the dark eastern suburbs of San Salvador at 10pm. For mid-evening on a Saturday night, the streets were completely empty. In a city of 1.8 million, that can't be a good sign. San Salvador is ranked among the most dangerous cities in the world with a murder rate of 9 people per day.

However, most of those deaths are gang on gang violence. Lonely Planet assures me that the area around my hotel "The Boulevard of the Heroes" is safe to walk around even at night. I shared a cab with my new Israeli travel mates Tal and Gadi to Hotel Tazumal, and on checking in found that they are as frugal travellers as I, as they offered to split a big three bed room with me to save money. We enjoyed the A/C and Wedding Crashers on cable TV. I had hoped to hit some of the bars, but we all agreed it was out of the question by the looks of this moribund city.

In the morning I went for a slightly nervous walking tour of the city. Every house and business has thick metal gates and razor wire. Nearly every business has a private security guard with a shotgun near the entrance. I've never seen anything like this before, even mom and pop convenience stores have an old man with a pistol sitting out front. At this point I pull out my cash and divide it up into different pockets, and tuck a $20 into my underwear. I try to look like I know where I'm going and have nothing worth stealing. There is a lot of graffiti, and I'm starting to sweat in the morning sun. After a week in placid Nicaragua, I'd lost all my fear of Central America, but now I'm feeling like San Sal is a whole new ballgame.

Just then I turn a corner and stretching out ahead of me is strip-mall America. Huge signs for Burger King, Wendy's and Subway are lining the street. To my left is a shiny shopping mall, MetroCentro, the largest in Central America. I step into a coffee shop, nod to the ever-present armed guard, and order something resembling a frappucino. The currency in El Salvador is the US Dollar, and the prices in these American chains are about what you'd expect to pay in the USA. I don't know how the Salvadorans get by here.

I continued on through Parque Cuzcatlan, where kids are playing soccer and couples are relaxing on benches in the shade. On the edge of the park is the Monument to Memory and Truth. Patterned after the Vietnam War Memorial in DC, it lists the names of the thousands of people who were murdered in the civil war of the 1980's.

After visiting the mall and the park, I could see that San Salvador has some bright spots, and people are living comfortable lives here. I wouldn't have minded having more time to explore, but I had to head off to the airport and back to the US.