Day 12
Thursday, January 26. Puerto Acajutla, El Salvador
The daily newsletter announced there would be free shuttles to the Acajutla Heritage Park and Botanical Garden. Later announcements were that it would also stop in a market square, and we would find restaurants there.
The first stop of the shuttle was the botanical and “heritage” garden. Waiting there were three unhappy people there from the earlier shuttle, almost desperate to get away from it. They reported “There is nothing to see here. Don’t get off. We’ve been waiting for a half hour to be picked up. From where I was sitting in the bus I couldn’t see very well, but what I could make out was a dusty playground surrounded by a lot of gray, dead-looking vegetation. So dusty I think I wouldn’t want my kid to climb on the cute animals or the monkey bars (can I still say “monkey bars”?), not just because they’d come home dirty, but for safety’s sake.
The next stop was a couple of overgrown properties with signs out front—the “restaurants.” One of these restaurants may have been nice at one time. It had a white balustrade in front, but many of the balusters were gone, and vines covered most of it. Now there were vehicles parked here and there, and two soldiers with MK47’s out front. No surprise that there were no takers there, either. People from in back of me started to shout “Take us to the central square! To the central market!” We moved on.
Well, this town has no central square. The market area is a few blocks lined with small shops selling what looked like the necessities: cases of dry goods, tools, home goods. No fresh food that I could see. Certainly nothing for tourists to buy. The guide was finally persuaded to head back to the ship. Total time: an hour.
Considering the build-up we were given, this was a disaster. I suspect Acajutla is a town that was once a vibrant place, but has been pretty much abandoned. Now it’s just a tiny Port Elizabeth with trees instead of petroleum refineries.
It was a challenge for me to find something I wanted to draw or paint. I decided on this scene: a grain hauler at the pier next to us, being unloaded; a garish green ship, outfitted with huge spheres (some sort of gas?), anchored in the near distance; with a container ship being carefully ushered between. Perhaps it will make an interesting engraving.
Next is two days at sea, and the equator!
