Juayua, Ruta de las Flores, El Salvador, and Juayua Hotel

We had taken a bus from our not so pleasant time in El Tunco on the coast.

We were then greeted by the pet bunny.  She was so tame she would let you hold her, never hopped away, and loved to beg on her hind legs for tortillas!

We then met the hard-working Lorenzo.  He did the muscle work, and I honestly never saw such a hard-working local man.  He had pushed the lawn-mower, and macheted the sides – for 3 days!

We then wandered down to the main town.
My son saw a deserted moto-taxi or tuk-tuk, and hopped in – glad the keys were gone!

We found the main square easily.
It was surrounded by local sellers all sitting, chatting and playing games.
It was a lovely place, and for once the fountain was filled with water.

On the opposite is one of the old churches.
The doors seem to be open day and night and for a small place, it is a well-kept building.

We found the grocery store/supermarket and stocked up on food for a few days.
We were pleased we had a kitchen to cook in, and a good sized fridge and freezer to use.
I am sure it was only a staff kitchen, but Florenth was happy to let us use it.

Opposite the 2 corner supermarkets, there is a great little Mexican Restaurant.
They have combo deals with soup, a main meal, and a drink and some of them are less than $3.50.

But what I loved, and I mean loved, was the best soup I have ever had. Tortilla Soup.  In fact, it was such a shame my son didn’t like his and I had to eat two bowls!

We walked home, laden with bags of groceries and lovely fresh fruits and vegetables.
As we did we noticed many of the stores painted with scenes depicting the local area.

This is one of the little convenience stores on our road.
A bit different from those back in Australia!
In fact, it was such a quiet little road, there were children sitting right in the middle of the road, talking to an old local man.

Next day we wandered down to the town again.
I needed to explore.
We found ‘Reptile-land’ and for 50 cents each we went in and saw a variety of disgusting snakes.
For $1 you can have a massive big snake wrapped around you and take a photo.
A live one and I mean meters long! No way!
We ducked and dodged the snake skins that had been shed that hung from the roof.
It was kind of a creepy place.
I wondered how legally he was able to have them in glass cases with little aesthetics.
I also wondered also how he managed to have an Australian Lizard.
I did like though that when the boss was not around we could get up close the chameleons.
This little one was the baby and was just in a tub with a few leaves.

There were two larger ones, but this Daddy was fabulous.
We counted 6 colors, and it was so interesting to watch the eyes independently move.
The amazing thing was that just two days ago we had been talking about them.
Now we could learn about them in real life.

Over the next three days, we pretty much experienced afternoon showers and a downpour in the nights.
Am so glad the room never leaked.
I loved waking up and enjoying the under veranda couches and to have a freshly brewed coffee and time of peace and tranquility.

At 6 a.m. each morning there was a lovely dark blue hummingbird fluttering around the vines.
But the biggest thrill was to see a fluffy, massive bumble bee.
I have never seen one before and it was right in the center of a purple flower.
I loved the butterflies. In fact, there were so many each day, and with so many variations I was always jumping up with my camera to take a photo.

Hostel or Hotel Name: Hotel Juayua

Location:  Juayua, El Salvador – refer website for directions and address

Telephone:  503 2469 2109

email: hoteljuayua@gmail.com

Website: http://www.hoteljuayua.com

Date stayed: October 2013

Breakfast: optional

Bar: No

Kitchen: A staff kitchen was available for our use

Wi-fi:  YES

Child-friendly: YES

Review:

I can’t fault our stay at Hotel Juayua, it was an amazingly restful and tranquil time.
It was an amazing time, and we made a new friend with Florenth!
I recommend this hotel to anyone going to this area as a great place to stay!

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