Moon Over El Salvador

Technically, the moon is not full this month until tomorrow night. But the friendly white face I see staring back at me from a cloudless sky is pretty darn close to perfect tonight. The setting of the sun and the arrival of a gentle breeze drew away most of the blistering heat of the day, leaving just enough to make walking downtown a pleasure. I know snowbound readers must be getting tired of weather updates from the tropics. Sorry. Your cold reality will soon be mine as well, so I'm trying to appreciate the climate here as much as possible in my last few days. Writing about it helps sharpen my awareness.

I played Ted the Tourist today. After a late breakfast, I donned my full Gringo costume of bright white New Balance running shoes (does mentioning the brand name merit some compensation? Even a tee shirt or a pair of shoelaces would be nice) and a camera slung over my shoulder. Frank and I trudged up the hill in the scorching heat to Pascal's gallery. I had noticed a few interesting pieces in the gift shop last week and this morning I chose a few souvenirs to take home. The salesperson carefully wrapped up each item in newspapers, and when I expressed concern that they might be damaged by airline baggage handlers not known for their light touch, she added a blanket of bubble wrap around each bundle. I left the store with everything packed neatly in a paper shopping bag with loop handles, just to complete the tourist image.

The rest of the day was spent acting like someone on vacation. I slathered on some sunblock and hung around the pool, in and out of the water, for the rest of the afternoon. The remainder of this lazy day was equally uneventful. Downtown for drinks on the square and then a simple but delicious pasta meal around the corner at Harlequin's.

And now I'm alone on the hotel terrace. Off in the distance I can hear loud dance music playing, muffled and not at all unpleasant. The pool pump had been making soft splashing noises up until a minute ago, but it just shut itself off and the silence of the night is deafening. There is not one dog barking, not one rooster crowing. Other than the crowd at the disco, has everyone else gone to San Salvador for the weekend? And taken all their pets and livestock with them?

If I wake up in time in the morning, we're planning on driving to the beach tomorrow.It's apparently a two and a half hour drive, so we'll probably stay overnight at the ocean. That way we'll be able to avoid the San Salvador-bound evening traffic, watch the sun set over the Pacific and see the entirely full moon reflected in the water. Because I don't intend to lug my lap top to the beach, tomorrow is shaping up as a blog-free day. Maybe we could all use a break.