El Salvador Part 2: Welcome to Fancy Prison

They’re almost home, but first, another stop in El Salvador...

Where they stayed: A place of true Quality – Quality Hotel, aka fancy prison.  Once they actually made it to El Salvador (again), Avianca gave them a welcomed reception: first, they let the travellers skip ahead of a very long line of angry people looking to…surprise, surprise, rebook missed connecting flights, and whisked them off on an airport transportation cart (you know, those golf carts like things that drives old or infirm people around the airport) down the long hallway that is the San Salvador airport all the way to the immigration line up. They then gave them a voucher for transportation to and from a very swanky hotel near the airport which featured the following security features: 1) a very strong gate with barbed wire, 2) security guards patrolling the gate with large guns, and 3) off-duty US Marine officers “staycationing” in the hotel.  Avianca also gave them a complimentary phone calls home so they got to call and thank the Boudreau parents for negotiating the stay.

What they ate and drank:  Buffet food, yum!  Alice and Ash got their pina coladas and JD, Lara and Britt tried El Salvadorian beer, meaning that they officially have travelled to El Salvador.  JD wanted to try a different beer, until the woman beside him at the bar informed him that “That beer is for girls”.  So he went with a manly beer instead.

What they did: Swam in a soupy warm pool with a view of palm trees and sexy US army men.  Lara and Alice did their ice bucket challenge (SO challenging, in the 40 degree heat), made even more amusing when they were hooted at by a table of army men for not using a big enough bucket of ice.  Later on that night, after enjoying yet another hot shower, they put on their best (aka cleanest) outfits and ate one final meal together, complete with a fancy prison selfie to close off the night.  They had the best sleep of their life after many days of Incan sleep deprivation and made it to their connecting flight the next day, in time for Lara and JD to get to work.  

Lessons learned:  The standard of ‘go to the airport at least 2 hours before a flight’ only applies if you aren’t flying with Avianca.  If you’re flying with Avianca, go to the airport 40 minutes before your flight, because that’s when the Avianca staff will have decided it’s time for them to start serving customers.  El Salvador isn’t so bad when you’re with good friends, have good food and security, and never leave the hotel (much to the disappointment of Alice, who wanted to see the city and visit the zoo).

It’s hard to put into words what an amazing adventure they had in Peru but the group tried their best.

Until next time…stay tuned!

Machu Picchu: Patience is a Virtue

This is the story of how the six travelers experienced one of the most breathtaking places on earth.  

Getting to Macchu Piccu: For the three lazy travelers, the day started at 3:26 a.m., when they all woke up having to pee thanks to the apparent sound of rain pouring down outside.  They waited 5, 10 minutes, to no avail, and then decided to just brave the weather and get themselves on their way to the bus – which turned out to be a good thing, since it wasn’t actually raining it was just the sound of an earlier rain in the trees.  Success!  They made it to the bus stop and were fairly close to the front of the line… after standing for about an hour they made it onto the second bus, along with a super annoying couple who cut into line.  They wound their way up the switchbacks to Machu Picchu, passing those hiking beside… if they had decided to hike instead of take the bus it’s very likely they would still be on the side of the mountain today.

The meet-up: JD, Ash, and Britt hiked (yes, hiked) 15 minutes up to the lookout point to a) gain the quintessential view of Machu Picchu and b) wait for the rest of the group to come off the Sun Gate trail.  Upon getting to the lookout point they saw… pure white… FOG.  Thwarted again!  They took some obligatory fog selfies and … waited… eventually the fog rolled out … and then in … and then out… and then in… this is one of the magical facets of Machu Picchu, that it continually hides behind a wall of clouds and reveals itself every 15 minutes or so to regal awestruck tourists in its beauty.  So for 2 hours, Britt took 500 photos, fog, no fog, medium fog, fog with light, light shining on fog, no fog no light, no fog bright light, cloud, cooler cloud, different cloud, no clouds… you get the drift.  Because they were up so early the view was uninterrupted.  JD found a great rock-like couch and footstool and Ash interspersed sitting zen like and pacing waiting for their friends to arrive.  David, the trusted guide, had told the three lazies that the group would be around the third group coming off the Sun Gate Trail.  Twelve groups later they first saw Alice come around a bend, and upon first glance of her beloved friends she bellowed, “We got food poisoning!”  By this time, it was after 10AM and the lookout point was packed with hikers and tourists…who collectively turned to look at what random person was announcing their bowel misfortunes to the world.  Lara, Jenna, and the rest of the group followed, taking in the stunning beauty and briefly forgetting their sore knees.

The day: After meeting up they had a washroom break, where the hikers got to use a real functional toilet with a seat and everything for the first time in 4 days, followed by a guided tour of the ruins.  David walked them around the ancient Incan site, pointing out the surrounding mountains, explaining their meanings, the temples, and the story of Machu Picchu’s discovery.  They then had some free time to check out the many temples, a sun dial carved from thick stone, and had their cherished moments with Julia the llama, each posing with her.  Julia the Llama was kind enough to give her finger puppet doppelganger a ride after Alice (the human) launched it onto her back, and politely refrained from eating her.  After Machu Picchu they enjoyed a pizza lunch and a beautiful, but sleepy  train and bus ride back to Cusco. They picked up their luggage, found Alice’s “lost” camera battery, and enjoyed hot showers before having a goodbye dinner with the group, where Alice (of course) was nominated to make a speech thanking David that (of course) made him cry.  Keep this in mind for anyone seeking a wedding speech maker.  They finished off their night packing and preparing for another trip to El Salvador and an early morning date with Avianca (oh joy!)

Lessons learned: Don’t leave your phone on the side of a mountain in Peru.  It is highly unlikely that said phone will ever be seen or heard of again.

Questions for El Salvador:

1) Will Avianca actually follow through with their promise of a 5 star hotel 

2) Will Ash and Alice get their pina coladas?

3) Will Lara and JD make it home for their first days on new jobs?

Stayed tuned!