08.11 We've woken up in Copán Ruinas, Honduras. Something hums outside and my hair is wet. I do not know if these two things have something in common. Another day of traveling is here. We will leave Hotel Don Udo's and Copán Ruinas to see more of Honduras before we leave this country.

08.32 There is some superstition here. There is no room 13 here. In addition to "regular" numbers on the doors are also the ancient Mayan figures. They were way ahead of us in Europe to use the digit is 0.

09.32 During breakfast here at the hotel Christer recognized the four guests at the table next to us. They were the same people who had dinner last evening, those with meat-free orders. On the way back to the room, he thought that he recognized a man we saw at the ruins yesterday.

10.15 Something strange happened to us at check out. The woman who checked us out wanted an additional 54 lempira. It seems that we paid too little when we checked in. We paid the required amount. We then wandered through the small city center and found the right minibus. Now we are sitting in the bus and the backpacks are on board as well. We're going east towards La Entrada. Behind us are some English girls that gossip about a common non-present friend and her life situation.

11.04 We are on our way. We are currently 22 passengers, including two children, plus the driver and the bus host in our small minivan. I have seldom traveled with so many in a minibus. It has a front seat and three rear seats. This is even worse than the trip we experienced in Vietnam 2008.

11.59 When it was most people in the minibus we were 21 adults, two children and a driver. In addition, we had a bus host hanging out from the door. One of the older ladies in the bus was uncomfortable and talked about the Virgin Mary and the great power during the voyage. Now we are in a large common bus. We got out our can, crossed the road and entered this vehicle. Soon we will leave La Entrada and will continue a bit further.

13.12 We arrived in Santa Rosa de Copán, crossed the road and walked a short distance to the Hotel Santa Rosa. Here we have a double room but there is a third bed here. It does not stand on its own feet, but on the long side. Now let's wash ourselves before we see the city. There are no cheap hotels but we have no pre-booked here and sketchy details about accommodation. We are pleased to have found a hotel at all.

13.27 There was a knock on the door and there was one older and one younger lady. They wanted the third bed. They got help from me and now the bed has been carried from our room 222.

14.01 We realized before leaving the room that we had no toilet paper. Christer informed about this at the reception and everything was OK. I managed to make everything chaotic by leaving the key, a gesture that could be interpreted as if we were unhappy and wanted to check out. Christer fixed everything and we still got the room and some new toilet paper. It's time to discover yet another city on our long journey.

Christer has found a way to cross this busy street.

Boulevard Jorge Bueso Arias, Santa Rosa de Copán.

Uphill to the centre of Santa Rosa de Copán.

14.25 We walked along the highway, crossed it over a footbridge, turned in towards the center and we are, after taking us up a long and very steep hill, now in the Parque Central, there has been some Parque Central on this trip. Here we have a classic bench break. We look at a little guy who does his homework at a table here in the park. His mother cut out animal pictures, mostly frogs. The guy then pastes them, with tepid interest in a book.

14.50 We set off in search of an eatery. We followed the right avenue, but it was wrong anyway. There are namely two kinds of the same avenue, depending on which direction Avenue extends from the Parque Central. We found, however, not the cafe, Ten Napel Café, which the guide book says is located along this stretch of the avenue. The only thing we found is a pole with a number of electric- and telephone lines.

The white cathedral in town.

Santa Rosa de Copán

15.14 Christer led us to the pizzeria with the somewhat repetitive and unimaginative name of "Pizza Pizza". Here we have ordered pizza (!) Christer has asked if it is okay to pay with U.S. dollars here. Before we left the Parque Central we took the opportunity to buy some homemade bread from some women who sold it along a sidewalk. Along the way we met two small boys. One said to his friend, "gringos" strangers. To us, he said, "one Lempira".

16.19 It was not so large but tasty pizzas. Now we have in our search for something else found Ten Napel Café (http://www.tennapelcafe.com) which we looked for earlier. It has either moved or the guide book put out the error. Here it will be coffee and a cookie. It is, besides being a café, selling plants. One of the other guests is playing chess. He moves both the black and the white pieces. The radio is playing Crowded House, and now the first journal ended. This is such a lovely oasis, a perfect life pleasing café.

Ten Napel Café, a calm oasis.

17.42 The first words have been written in the new journal. We're back in the dose, dose, dose, 222. Christer checked up about tomorrow's bus before we entered. It seems that there a bus to San Salvador at 08:45. We bought breakfast sandwiches and necessary drinks at a Texaco station a short distance away before entering. Now we have checked how much money remains and compared it with the ticket prices. We simply doesn’t have enough money

19.05 I've just showered. There was a knock on the door just before I went into the shower. We were given two bars of soap and a small garbage bag for the bathroom.

20.08 There is not enough Lempira in our wallets to pay for the bus tomorrow. If we pay the bus with dollars we will get Lempira over, money that we may not be able to exchange. Hm, what should we do?

20.51 Christer may have solved everything, well, not world hunger and racist crimes but our economic problems. We have exchanged $ 10 each in the hotel reception and received 180 Lempira each. Now we have enough money. We also had money for another breakfast sandwich and some Argentinean cookies for later.

22.17 Another day draws to a close and Phil Collins sings on the TV, well not on it, rather in it.

Friday 22nd of July

07.17 CNN reports about the phone tapping scandal in Britain. They are talking about James Murdoch's testimony. Our journey continues today. We will ride a bus that hopefully will show up near our hotel.

07.57 The breakfast which we bought is eaten. CNN has just reported an explosion in central Oslo. Now we are soon ready to return to the bus station.

08.32 An explosion, or is it explosions, it is reported of two, has been at the government building in Oslo, Norway. A live report from Norway speaks of "8 damaged". Damaged, isn’t that connected to an object? I thought injured was used as it regarded persons. The Norwegian Prime Minister has in strong terms condemned what has happened and said that Norway is a united nation that does not give way to threats from outside. Now we are at the bus station and the JM Restaurant. We have been led here by a man from the bus company Sultana de Occidente. Our bus departs at 09:00.

09.15 A bus rolled right in and a man came and informed us that it was the bus to San Salvador. It started in San Pedro Sula and unfortunately seems quite full. Now it's time to buy a ticket.

09.21 The payment is done. 260 Lempira is what it costs to go today. It is more passengers on the bus than there are seats. Christer has left his place to a gentleman who evidently sat there before Christer. Now the bus has begun to move and the man who sat down at Christer’s seat has just offered it to a young man / boy.

09.59 From the departure of the bus and until now have a man on board preached about Jesus, drugs and Satan. The only time he was interrupted was when a heavy carry-on bag fell down from the parcel shelf and landed in front of him. Was it a sign? From whom were the sign? The man talked about his previous life filled with drugs and crime and how he changed when he met Jesus.

10.56 The bus preacher has finished. Our passports were just fetched and we have after having wormed our way up for a while, started to roll downhill. Only a few passports seem to have been fetched up. Should the rest of the passengers get off before the border or is it a passport union?

11.01 Ok, we just got back our passports. I guess they were just curious about us.

11.26 The bus stopped outside Nueva Ocotepeque. A passport police checked my passport and asked me, well pointed at me, to go out. There it was more checking and the passports were returned. Now we roll on and a number of fellow passengers seem on be on their way off the bus.

11.48 Well, we were stamped out from Honduras and got back on the bus. Today we travel with Line Coach Capital, Contradors.

EL SALVADOR

12.15 Now I am confused. We stopped at the El Salvador border. All identification cards and passports were recorded in writing by a woman and a man dressed in white. All documents were recorded carefully but ours. Just now a guy got on board; I think he is a passenger. He asked for our passports. He brought them with him as he went out and he has just returned with them. The passports bear no trace of a stamp. On the bus are beside us some other tourists, two Swiss and a couple from Canada. Why are we remaining here?

12.29 We did not get away. It seems that the customers have taken a good look at all luggage. Now, however, we are on the road again.

13.04 Outside the bus, it is green, hilly and isolated houses. Everything is as before on travels and countries here in Central America.

14.42 El Salvador is a small country. It goes pretty fast to travel despite the mountainous landscape. Our bus finally came to the capital, San Salvador, Bus Terminal Puerto Bus and now we have changed our means of transport to a taxi which will take us to our pre-booked overnight spot. The taxi was paid with U.S. dollars. El Salvador uses the U.S. dollar as its currency, practical and good.

Outside our room at San José Hostal.

15.07 CNN continues to report on the explosions in Oslo. There have also been some shooting on an island outside of Oslo. We are in room 11 at the San Jose Hostels (http://www.sanjosehostal.com). Now, let's refresh ourselves. Christer told me that we need a place to get something to eat.

16.35 It is am excellent shower which we have. It is perhaps the best so far this year. Now we have monitored a press conference with President Barack Obama from the White House. The press conference was the American debt crisis. In ten days, there will be no money left to pay the debts. The speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner, has dropped out of the planned talks.

17.33 We have familiarized ourselves with the neighborhood and almost ran into the Canadian couple who were on the bus. From the speakers Tina Turner is singing 'We Do not Need another Hero." We are eating a Whopper Grande each at Burger King in the shopping mall Centro Comercial San Luis.

Christer is walking around a corner in San Salvador.

This small place gave us a necessary cup of coffee each.

17.59 The Whopper was perfect. Now both of are enjoying a Styrofoam cup of coffee each from Genesis Coffee Place. The name sounds flashy but it's just a small red kiosk. Now I'm wondering if it was so clever of me to replace the book The Redeemer a couple of days ago. I should have made the change in this city, San Salvador (Holy Redemeer). At Burger King Christer said that some rain would be refreshing. The city's air is filled with exhaust fumes and the hot afternoon sun is on and makes the air worse.

18.40 I sit backpack guard while Christer has gone to shop at the grocery store Super Selecto. It seems that Christer plan will come true. The sky is ever so dark and now it starts to rain.

19.23 Christer got what he wanted. It was perhaps a bit too much of it. It literally flushed down and it became worse with the wind. People did their utmost to escape into the cars and go home. We waited for over an hour for it to stop. Eventually we got tired of waiting and went home in spite of the rain. Now we dry the sandals in the room and umbrellas on the patio outside the reception. Inside the shop Christer witnessed an act of crime. A girl brought a hammer past the counters without paying for it. The girl in question was called Ally and was about three years old. The hammer was made of plastic and green and pink. She was called back by his father. Christer has bought 10 green fruits of the model small limes. They called Arrayan libra.

19.50 We went in because of too much water. In here, there is no water at all. There is nothing in the shower, toilet or sink.

20.56 When I was sitting at the computer near the lobby the hotel manager came and said how sorry he was that the water was gone. On the Internet I learned that as many as 80 young people may have been shot to death in Norway. The shooter is thought to be a right-wing Norwegian and he is probably also behind the bombs. The young people were members of the Socialist Youth League and was in camp on the island Utøya. Our thoughts are with the victims in our neighboring country. When Christer was online, he learned that Arrayan Libra is a Central American form of guava. In English, the name of the Sartre guavas.

21.56 It has been the fruit while. First, guava, which wasn’t ripe, I wonder how often we managed to buy unripe fruit. Second, the lime we got in Bocas del Toro. It was ripe and was freshly sour. Mexican TV has told about the terrorist attacks in Norway and if any infection, sarampión, which apparently reached Mexico with a child who came by plane from France. Now they have begun to vaccinate people in Mexico. I wonder what sarampión might be.

Tourist propaganda in our room.

Saturday 23rd of July

08.40 Ninety-one, 91, dead. That is, according to reports on our TV, the latest figure from Norway. It's an incredible tragedy. In the U.S. the war of words about the debt crisis continues. Here in El Salvador we are getting ready for our first breakfast in the country. Imagine how many countries that we had breakfast in during the trips over the years.

09.25 This was a strange breakfast. We ordered the "continental", which according to the menu in the room means pancakes with honey, juice and coffee or tea, or cereal, milk, toast, margarine, jam, coffee or tea. What we got was scrambled eggs, coffee, juice, toast and bits of pineapple and kiwi. Alongside were two bowls of jam and cream.

10.05 It is time to leave the room to get acquainted with our new hometown. The plan is to first take us to a mall to make the necessary purchases. El Salvador is a country that is very inspired by the United States. It's not just because of the currency. There are shopping malls after shopping malls and lots of different fast food restaurants. It may have to do with that many Salvadorian lived and worked in the U.S.

Walking through "our" part of San Salvador.

Boulevard de los Heroes.

10.36 Safety is priority in this city. We walked past a small bread shop where a lady was selling freshly baked bread. Such a site should not be robbers' primary targets, but despite that the lady and the store was guarded by a guard with an automatic weapon. Certainly there are crimes in the city but much of this is also a legacy of chaos days during the civil war in the 1980s.

11.17 We found the large broad Boulevard de los Heroes and walked along it to a large shopping mall. This is what I call a shopping center! It is huge. In order to find better here, we need a mall map. Next it would be fun to find a post office for our postcards. We have found postcards and coffee shops here in the mall Metrocentro (http://metromall.wsiefusion.net/inicio-SS).

11.53 The post office will have to wait. Now we have soon finished a paper cup of coffee at the diner "The Coffee Cup, Los Especialista del Cafe Gourmet". We have also written some postcards. Now it is time for some $-withdrawal and some purchases. We have some things that need to be purchased and this mall should have what we need.

12.17 Now we are outside the mall for a while. It's time to do something we usually do at this date but had not done for three years. It is time to call our friend Roberth. Today is his birthday. Last year when we were in Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil, we had no connection and two years ago, he was with us in Johannesburg in South Africa. Now, however, a Spanish-speaking voice announced that the line was busy.

Do like this during earthquakes and fire.

Inside the mall Metro Centro.

Metro Centro has both an indoor and outdoor area.

Peter is drinking from a coffee mug at "The Coffee Cup".

13.00 We have spoken with birthday boy. He was at a movie theater and was about to see Transformers 3. It's evening at home. I bought new shorts. The old pair is worn out. Now let's go and eat. It should be easy with all the fast food places that are available here.

14.00 Not just us but everyone here wanted food. It was crowded and long queues exactly everywhere. This was also queues at the theater which showed Transformers 3 and Harry Potter. We left the area and now we are in a new Burger King. A bit boring with the same kind of food again, but it is food and there is seating.

15.02 After dinner we left the shopping world behind us, caught a yellow vehicle and let that taxi ride us down to the center. Here we have, after a tip from a tourist of Asian origin, entered the church Iglesia El Rosario. From outside it mostly looked like a concrete colossus, a prominent semicircle. Inside it is beautiful with the light that shines through different coloured glasses. The church stands at the Plaza Libertad.

Plaza Libertad, San Salvador.

Inside the amazing church Iglesia El Rosario.

A catholic procession on its way through San Salvador.

15.25 We saw more of the center. We visited the Plaza Barrios, saw the cathedral, Catedral Metropolitana, Palacio Nacional, and some other things. There were more churches, a statue, a street named after San Salvador's Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez. He fought for the poor and the oppressed before he was murdered 1980. Furthermore, we have seen a religious procession of men and women dressed in white and purple, a street with shoe shiners and a few watchmakers that all worked outside. Finally we managed to hear a lady who sang a Spanish version of a song we heard several times in Sweden. No, the truth is that the original, Gracias a la vida is written by Violeta Parra from Chile. Now we are on the way home in a taxi with a cracked windshield.

16.05 We are back in room 11. CNN just reported that the arrested shooter in Norway believes that the attack was cruel but necessary. They just reported that the British singer Amy Winehouse has died 27 years young. There has been much tragedy in a short time.

17.10 After washing and shower it is time to leave the room to find a place where we can sit and read a bit in our books.

Musicians playing in memory of the murdered singer Facundo Cabral.

Catedral Metropolitana, San Salvador

18.06 Now we are reading on the patio. During the reading we have been served coffee and apple cake. It's a really cozy place here. The family who runs it is doing its utmost to serve us in every possible way. We begin to believe what we read in a guidebook, that El Salvador has the world's friendliest people. Now it's time to head out for the purchase and ingestion. I must also say goodbye to a faithful companion.

18.17 We're back at the shop Super Selecto. Christer inside and purchase and I'm sitting guard outside. Yes it is, as usual the backpacks, which are guarded. They must not be brought indoors. I just left my worn shorts among some rubbish. The pants have been on many trips but now our paths are separated. Now, we travel further each one individually.

18.51 Now we're back in the room. Christer bought drinks, new sunglasses, and a new umbrella. The old umbrella is now resting in the room's trash basket. It is completely depleted. It was badly damaged in Nicaragua and never recovered.

19.41 The room and the key were left and we walked a very short walk to the Restaurante El Establo (The stable). It's dinner time.

20.41 We have returned to the room. The food was hearty and good. We were served a hefty piece of meat, tomato, lettuce, onions, and something more, someone bean mix and fried potato wedges. For this good drank the beer on tap. Now we are as mentioned at home. It is another packing evening. During dinner we saw on TV that Peru defeated Venezuela 4-1 and finished third in the Copa America.

San José Hostal

Sunday 24th of July

09.39 It is Sunday again. The stay in San Salvador and San José Hostal has come to an end. Today we had pancakes with pieces of papaya and pineapple and honey for breakfast. Today's drinks were juice and coffee. It is generally good coffee here in Central America. Something we have not tried yet is the wine. During breakfast, we were asked if we needed anything. Christer said that we needed a taxi to the bus station Terminal Occidente at 11.00. The owners promised to arrange with it.

10.52 The phone in our room just rang and we were told that the taxi is here at 11.00. This is what I call a quality service.

11.14 Due to closures and road works, we had to drive around a bit before we reached the station. Our poor taxi driver was both amused and frustrated by this. Well here at Terminal Occidente (Western Station), we went through an indoor market before we immediately got on the bus. I messed things up during the payment. I paid with a dollar bill and four 25-cent coins. I had misread the numbers and thought the fare was US$1,85 when it is actually US$1,35.

12.32 The bus journey was along a highway and passed various small towns and we soon reached Santa Ana and people got off. However, it was at a mall in the outskirts of town and not at any station in the center so we stayed onboard. The bus started again and head away from the center. We got forced to make contact with the driver. The linguistic confusion was total but we were let off at the company T.U.D.O's garage in the outskirts of town. This is not good.

12.39 One of the security guards here at the garage has spoken to us and called for a taxi. Things sure can go wrong. We had expected that the bus would go to the station in the city center but that apparently wasn’t the idea for this bus.

12.45 The taxi (if it is one?) came quite almost at once. Christer and the driver sits up front, belted. I sit back with backpacks and with a sliced seat belt. The rear doors have no handles and window cranks. However, the window is open so it is easy to get out if necessary.

12.58 The taxi or whatever it was, a gray car, anyway, took us to the accommodation Hostal Casa Verde (http://hostalverde.wordpress.com) here in Santa Ana. There, we found things are not so bright today. They do not seem to have had our reservations here even though we paid part of the cost in advance. We will spend the night in a dormitory. There is room available the night after but it unfortunately only has one bed. We were asked if we were Serbs as we checked in.

Hostal Casa Verde

We didn´t want it, but we are having it. It will be a dorm this night.

14.20 We wondered if we should only have one night here before we went outside. When we went out there were a sign at the front door that said we could not open the door. This was not to keep us inside as we first thought. We weren’t allowed to let in people. Now we´ve ordered lunch from Elizabeth. We are at Pollo Compero and she is one of the waitresses here. Pollo Campero is a fast-food chain with a chicken theme. Christer ordered Menu de Pollo and I take a Menu Ensalada Latina. In the final of the Copa America, Uruguay-Paraguay us the score 2-0. We see this on TV here in the restaurant.

15.10 It's stone dead in Santa Ana today. It is Sunday and most things are closed. We are pleased to have found this place.

Santa Ana, very quiet on a Sunday.

Narrow streets, large buses.

This Sunday´s lunch restaurant.

16.27 Uruguay won and we finished our meals. After that we walked a little in the area before we went to the grocery store Super Selecto. There, I started the visit with two baskets instead of one with me. The second one fell to the ground with a crash. Inside the shop Christer had the great idea that we should cook our own food because we haven’t found an open restaurant anywhere. As we stood at the counter, he said something that I missed completely. We need oil to fry. Oil was bought and now we are home in the dormitory again. It is time for reading and drinks. We sit in one of the residence rooms at ground level.

17.30 We have been reading and surfing. We also have the possibility to let in any caller at the door. The staff has left the building. It is time to treat us some coffee and cake. We also talked to the owner, Carlos.

A view of Santa Ana.

Tropical evening on the roof.

18.21 I prepared the coffee in a mocha maker. It was anything but the best that I have prepared. Carlos has recommended us to go up to the terrace on the roof. It was a wise idea. We are sitting on the roof with a nice city view. Soon it will be sunset.

18.42 We have spotted a minaret from our roof. It feels a little odd with a mosque in El Salvador, but it certainly is one.

20.10 We came down from the terrace and are in the dormitory. Soon we continue down to the kitchen to try something which we previously done in Olomouc in 2001, Johannesburg, Mbabane and Rome in 2009 and Vienna 2010. We will cook our own meals.

21.49 The cooking started badly. The pasta bag burst and all the macaronis ran across the kitchen floor. They were caught and later ended up in the water. The sausages were fried and pretty soon everything was ready to be eaten. After finishing the meal we did the dishes and now we are in the dormitory again and thinking about next day's strategy. Several of the regulars here have gone out on the town for eating, partying, or both.

22.30 The night and sleeping here. At least for us. The other five beds are empty for a while. The people who are sleeping there are still awake and out there somewhere. Sarampión which we read about the other night, by the way measles.

The kitchen at Hostal Casa Verde.