Spring Training was happening and we caught the open practice session at Camelback Ranch where new Dodger Roki Sasaki faced live batting practice for the first time:
There were like two dozen teammates watching each pitch:
The sainted Catholic priest Óscar Romero, who was assassinated in 1980 and is revered in El Salvador for speaking out against the military government of the late 1970s/early 1980s, is buried at Catedral Metropolitana. You see tributes to him all over El Salvador.
The Mayan archaeological site Copán is the main attraction here, but first a visit to the fascinating Macaw Mountain, which began on the Honduran island of Roatan as a sanctuary to care for unwanted parrots and evolved into raising native scarlet macaws that are eventually reintroduced into the environment (we encountered many several hours later when we visited the Copán archaeological site):
We capped the day off with a relaxing couple of hours at Luna Jaguar Spa Hot Springs, north of Copán Ruinas on one of the bumpiest rides we’ve ever experienced:
Buena Baleada serves up a great rendition of the traditional Honduran folded tortilla dish:
August 13, 2024
Back to Suchitoto, El Salvador with Bukele souvenirs for sale near the Guatemala border:
For part of the trip we worked with Roberto from the excellent Gringo Tours (as for the company’s name, Roberto grew up in the Bay Area with a Salvadoran mother and ended up spending much of his adult life in El Salvador) who assisted with some travel arrangements and took us over to Copán. We got to spend several days with him and learn a lot about El Salvador, both its history and what’s happening currently. He is an excellent resource and is highly recommended if you are considering traveling to El Salvador (especially if you want to add a side trip into Honduras). Roberto’s wife Tita runs the Gringo Tours Pupusa Class, which was one of the highlights of the trip:
August 14, 2024
Early morning run around Suchitoto, through Parque San Martín . . .:
President Nayib Bukele has made Bitcoin official currency in El Salvador (alongside the U.S. Dollar — when you go you see where all the $1 coins end up!), in part to facilitate remittances from Salvadorans abroad, but stores also encourage its use:
Eventually we got the hang of parking in the position of the salida:
There is a Pollo Campero at the airport but NB: it’s not *in* the airport, so you have to check chicken at security. Otherwise you’re left with the Diana snack outlet:
Barcelona and a day trip to the Dalí Theatre-Museum and Girona in Catalonia at the end of April.
For Barcelona, get a Hola Barcelona Travel Card, which affords you unlimited travel across the various transport options in the central part of the city, as well as local bus fare to and from the airport. You can buy them online and scan a code at the ticket machines in the airport.
April 24, 2024
The local bus from the airport drops you off at Plaça d’Espanya:
The Barça Store Canaletes is on La Rambla in the former Hotel Montecarlo, and retains some of the building’s former glory (so worth it to see even if you aren’t interested in Barcelona FC gear):
April 25, 2024
Barcelona is dominated by works from architect Antoni Gaudí and the Basílica de la Sagrada Família is at the top of the list:
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