Posted by Today started with breakfast at 7am, bags out at 745 am and on the bus at 820am.
We rode 40 minutes to the Cihuatan Archaeological Park. It was first built in the 9th century AD and destroyed by enemies and burned around 1100 AD. They have found pieces of pottery and wood attributed to two different Mexican areas. It is not a Mayan ruin. We walked around and then climbed to the top of the pyramid, Julio explained the significance of the site. We spotted some birds while walking.
Back on the bus we headed to Ataco which is on an extinct volcano. On the way we stopped at a typical cafeteria for lunch. I had chili relleno stuffed with creamed chicken. It was very good,
We got to Ataco around 2pm and walked around the town. We stopped at a coffee shop to try some locally roasted coffee. I bought some beans to bring home. We arrived at our hotel at 3pm. Some of us decided to go to a hot springs nearby for a soak. They had multiple pools with different temperatures. It was very relaxing after all our hiking and walking these last 3 days.
The place we are staying is run by a woman who welcomed us and said to consider ourselves guests at her home. The grounds have beautiful gardens.
Our pre-trip Farewell Dinner was a delicious chicken with mushroom sauce, rice, and salad. Dessert was a hot banana, cinnamon, milk, and cream pudding that we drank from cups. It was really good.
Tomorrow we go to Cerro Verde Park before arriving to San Salvador to be joined by the rest of our group (7 people) for the main tour.
Elsie's Travel Blog 
It takes a while to figure out how to pronounce some of the native town names. I eventually figured it out with a little practice. ¿Como es tu español? The food in El Salvador is definitely different than further north in Mexico. When we were there, in the homes, there was a big focus on vegetables. I loved all of them, most of which I’d never seen before. I hope you are enjoying all of the new food. The pupusas you had were enormous. I see that local artisans are selling things alongside the road, as is common in Mexico, too.
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Wow, you certainly are having a lot of chicken, all of which sounds good! This trip really does sound nice. I generally travel spring and fall ( Idyllic Great Britain this spring) but warm weather in January sounds great. I’m looking forward to learning about the rest of your trip.
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