Ataco to Santa Ana

Well since the elections messed up my plans I decided to go to the ruins of Tazumal today and go to Juayua for the food festival on Sunday. I woke up and ate breakfast. Then waited around. For Alexis to wake up so I could say goodbye. At around 11 ish I set out for the bus stop. I took the bus from Ataco to Ahuachapan. I then caught another bus to Sanata Ana with my big backpack riding on my lap the entire time! Should I take a picture of my backpack so you get the picture? I got off at a bus stop that someone told me was near Hostel Casa Verde. Of course it was a couple blocks away and after asking some people where it was began to walk toward the destination pointed out. On the way a drunk decided to walk with me and try to chat with me. When I stopped he stopped. I stopped to ask a lady in a store for directions and the drunk guy stopped with me. The lady told me to come in her store and sent the drunk away. I then walked the rest of the way to the hostel. I was let into the hotel, got my room key, and put all the stuff in the room. I asked Carlos (guy that runs hostel) how to get to Tazumal and he showed me the bus stop on a map. Since I wasn't quite sure where the stop was and I had walked to the area I thought it was I asked a man. He told me it was the opposite way about 4 blocks down. So I started walking that opposite way (way the man pointed out). I stopped again and asked someone else and they sent me back the way from which I had just come! I have come to realize that people -especially men because of the machismo thing- don't like to admit they don't know. So if you talk to about 20 people you will get different directions to the same place! So I went back to the hostel and asked one of the ladies that work there. She told me it was just around the corner. So I walk back to the area I was before and asked a woman if I was in the right place and she said I was. I waited for the bus and took the bus to Tazumal. I got off the bus at some unmarked stop that I was told to get off on. I walked down the hill and asked a man where the ruins were. He pointed it out so I countinued down the hill. I then asked a lady and she told me a  different way :-/ than the man. So I went into the gas station and asked. I was told to go straight up the street and I would encounter it. So I walked up the street and found the office for the ruins. I paid my $3 and went into the ruins. Now I'm not saying that someone else wouldn't enjoy these ruins but for me it was a waste of my $3. First off I could have stood outside the gate and looked at them from there. You can basically walk around the ruins in 10 minutes.

A lot of the ruin you can't walk up as it is gated off. I was there about 40 minutes most of the time spent sitting looking at the ruins and trying to figure out if this was it. I walked around the garden and through the museum in this time as well. I then walked to the bus top as caught the bus back to Santa Ana. A well meaning man told me to get off near a green church to get to my hostel. Of course - you guessed it- it was not the stop for my hostel. I however, after walking a block or so, recognized the place and found my hostel quite easily. After I got back to the hostel I went and found something to eat then spent the night on the internet emailing people and what not.