Baby gets a hot shower...

So this past weekend, Deborah, Marla and I decided to take a holiday to Lago Coatepeque, a beautiful lake nestled in the crater of a now non-active volcano. The guidebook likened the hotel we chose to stay at as "similar to the lakeside resort featured in Dirty Dancing with its wrought-iron chairs, sprawling lawn and patio overlooking the lake". Well Hotel Torremolinos didn't exactly prove to be Kellermans but this "baby" finally got her hot shower.

I was a bit wary of the accomidations after I booked the room last week and only needed to give my first name and a time I wanted to show up. However, when we arrived they were expecting our group. The hotel concierge is run by a transvestite. She/He was incredibly accommodating and made sure we had all that we needed. The view was breathtaking. There was a charming funkiness to the place that I really enjoyed. I walked around without shoes on the whole weekend, from the pools to the deck out to the lake. I contemplated running out into the lake water to jump into someone's arms as tribute to the late, great Patrick Swazye, but we were cautioned not to swim in the lake as it had many fish and algae and I think pollution (my Spanish is still in its early stages). Turns out, we were the only guests staying there on Saturday night. We weren't alone however, the friendly staff was frequently asking if we needed anything, locals tried to get us to take boat tours and stray dogs and cats wandered about the property and the dining room keeping us company.

We spent the weekend lounging by the pool, reading and watching the soccer game with the staff members (the boat tours were too expensive). The hotel had a restaurant and this morning I had pancakes- they were surprisingly delicious!

Apparently Lago Coatepeque used to be a popular destination for both local and foreign tourists, however in the last few years has greatly suffered. Most of the properties around the lake are now gated homes owned by the elite members of Salvadorian society, and the bus route is difficult and a bit dangerous, making it a challenge for visitors (thus the emptiness). The road to travel around the lake is dirt and stone, a tough passage for cars. This afternoon on our way home, a friend of Joaquin our coordinator came to pick us up in his 1990 Nissan Sentra. Carlos, or "Gordo" as he is called by his friends (and rightly so) and his car had some difficulty, so much so that at one point the rest of us had to get out of the car and stand on the side of the road so that it could make it over the potholes. There is an irony to the fact that "Gordo" got to stay in the car....anyway....pleasantly there were some day visitors Sunday. Couples stopping by for lunch or to enjoy the view and a group of low-budget models having a photo shoot in the dining area.

Amidst all of this, I neglected to mention perhaps for me the most exciting and wonderful part of the weekend- Hotel Torremolinos did offer a hot shower. The flow was more of a trickle, but for for the first time in almost 6 weeks, I washed my hair with hot water. And for those minutes in that shower this weekend, I just might have had the time of my life...