28/1/10 - day 50.

got up at 6am to find a cockroach lying upside down, legs slightly twitching on the floor by the head of my bed. dont know if it was the same one id seen in the shower before i went to bed cos this one looked bigger. one thing i do know is that it wasnt there when i got up for a pee at 5. anyway, after a stuffy, sticky nights sleep, i left to catch a bus to perquin.

i was waiting where i thought i needed to be for the bus when i was approached by a father and son who had pulled over to ask me if i was alright. i said i was waiting for a bus to perquin and they said they would take me to the bus terminal, which they did and showed me exactly which bus to get on. (the buses in el salvador actually have numbers!!)

after a couple hours the bus stopped at a place called san francisco gotera where i had to change, not for another bus, but for what they called a "pick-up". as usual they packed this thing with far too many people and i had a really uncomfortable, rather blowy hour long ride the remainder of the way. couldbt argue with the 50 cents it cost though. id been thinking lately of staying somewhere a bit nicer for a night or 2 and that time, i had decided, had come. the next 2 nights in perquin i would realise that dream. i had stayed in some seriously dingy holes so i felt id earned it.

i got off the pickup at "hotel perkin lenca" which was a 20 bucks a night place including breakfast. it was classy. it was the kind of place your parents would even stay. a cabin with a double bed, private bathroom, 2 towels, soap, 2 bottles of water, my own hammock on the decking outside and the best part - a shower with a hot AND a cold tap meaning i had a choice of temperature!! trust me, this was a big deal for me. it was perched on the side of a mountain overlooking with some seriousy good views of the surrounding area.

went into town to find the tourism office and get food (3 pupusas). the people at the office were helpful and gave a me about a dozen leaflets, albeit in spanish, so my understanding of them was limited. went online to find arsenal had dropped points against vill and then went to visit the museo de la revolucion. during the civil war from about 1980 to 1991, perquin and the surrounding area took a particular battering at the hands of the military and a lot of people were killed here as a result. this museum basically paid tribute to them. it had bombs, big gun, massive guns and enormous guns, grenade launchers, uniforms worn by the guerilla fighters and radio equipment - all of which were actually used at the time. pity they dont allow you to take photos.

there was a fella there who walked around with me talking me through some of the stuff there, giving explanations etc and answering any questions i had. the language barrier posed a bit of a problem but they did have labels in english as well. outside they had helicopter wreckages and a bomb crater. i really liked perquin and had 2 or 3 locals come up to me and just start chatting. they seem genuinely happy to have visitors around.

i went back to the hotel afterwards and had a rather late 4pm lunch (more pupusas - cheapest thing on the menu) and a nice cold beer outside in the sun. then retired to my hammock for a bit of a read and spoke to a retired old american lady who was beside herself that i was travelling central america alone. when she found out i only know a little spanish i thought she was gonna have a heart attack. i ended the conversation there before anymore revelations came out, as i dont know first aid.

went for dinner around 8 (chicken, rice and eggy salad) and sampled another beer. there were about 50 american volunteer workers there who were doing some kind of eye care program in the local community and they were having some sort of big do, and i kid you not, the woman at the head of the table was using a megaphone to address them. in a restaurant. with other people in it.

went to bed about 9pm.