Exciting El Salvador Excursions ~ Day 4

 We were going to try and got to church this morning, but Savi's family said they really wanted to take us sight seeing. So, we got up and got ready this morning. They were supposed to be at our house by 9:00 but they didn't get there until 10:00. We've just realized that everyone here is on "island time" and if you just plan on that then it's not as frustrating. We all piled in the van and headed to the Santa Ana volcano. Since I have no one to fan me w/ palm leaves I'll just have to do it myself ... look at how big this leaf is!

 This is Lake Coatepeque, which is down inside the old volcanic crater. The views are just breathtaking!

 Here's our crew (minus Mom who opted to stay in the air conditioned van).

 We had to take a WRETCHED old dirt road full of rocks & pot holes to get down to the lake. But, it was worth it for this picturesque view. I think this might be my favorite scenic picture from this trip! 

 By this time it was after noon, and we were all really hungry. So, we went to this restaurant which is on a pier out over the water.

 At the end of the pier they had jet skis that you could rent. It was only $20 for 25 minutes. How cool to be able to say that you've ridden a jet ski on a lake in the middle of a volcano. I didn't go out b/c I didn't want to get all wet, plus I got to take all the pictures.

While they were out doing that, our food came. It was funny to see Mom & Savi's Mom sitting there w/ all this food!

Here's the crew that went out on jet skis. Jorge (brother) & Christopher (cousin), Dad & Sofia (sister), and Nate & Yaso (sister).

There are SO MANY security guys EVERYWHERE, and they all have these big scary guns. But, I never felt unsafe here ... even when we were walking around the market at night in Santa Tecla. This was probably the tallest guy in all of El Salvador. LOL!

After the lake, we drove over to see the Tazumal Mayan pyramids/ruins. They had a few areas of the ruins blocked off that you couldn't climb on, but I was surprised at how much of it we were able to climb and walk on.

After all of the fun & excitement of the lake, pyramids, and having Jorge drive us around (YIKES!!!), it was time for dinner. We went back to the Big Bagel Burger place in Santa Tecla. Everyone enjoyed the burgers that we had talked about so much! What an awesome way to end an awesome day and an awesome trip. I packed a little and then stayed up until midnight editing pics and watching the newest episode of Poldark!