Buenos

"I can't go today"  groaned Adi from the bathroom.  After spending most of the night on the toilet seat, she was both in pain, and exhausted.  It was just an hour before the guided tour, and I timidly explained the situation to Gisela, the very attractive manager of our hostel in Juayua.
"Don't worry", said Gisela without a trace of frustration.
Within minutes, she called the guide, postponed the reservations in our next destination, and directed me to a good pharmacy.

Juliana, a New York girl who intended to go with us, could not hide her disappointment.  She stayed an extra night in order to join the (minimum-two) tour. After hearing her sad story on the phone, the blue-eyed, rasta-braided guide showed up.  He was cheerful and enthusiastic.  He conducted the tour even though Juliana was the only participant.

These are just two examples to the friendly, helpful behavior we have encountered in El Salvador.  So far, I have yet to meet a grumpy El Salvadoran.  Even the town drunks, and every small town has a staggering, bare chested derelict asking for handouts, are not too pushy.  During our trip to Lao, I was impressed with its friendly and gentle people.  In El Salvador, people are just as friendly and gentle, and here I can speak the language.  Lao just got pushed into second place.

It is puzzling that Guanacos (as El Salvadoran are called here) are so friendly.  It would be perfectly understandable if they were hostile towards foreigners.  Only twenty years ago, El Salvador concluded a long and violent civil war, which was prolonged and made more deadly through US funds.  In Cinquera, a village situated in what used to be guerrilla territory, we met a woman who, with all the other inhabitants, fled the village due to the Army's "Scorched earth" tactics.  After the war, she came back and  rebuilt  her flattened home.  Now she stands proudly in her pretty courtyard garden.  "We are happy people"  she says.

It would also be perfectly understandable if they were suspicious and cold.  The homicide rate in El Salvador is one of the highest in the world.  Yet despite the shotgun-wielding guards in every store, and the barbed-wire fortifications surrounding every house, Guanacos, even in the capital, make eye contact, smile, and greet you with Buenos, or Buenas (Good morning, or Good evening).

El Salvadorans defied their circumstances, and are the opposite of cold, suspicious, and hostile.  Furthermore, they are smart and efficient.  And if that's not enough of an endorsement, let me add that  the women are stunningly gorgeous.

P.S
For those concerned about Adi's health.
I do learn from my mistakes.  Trekking in Nepal, I talked Doron into ascending a 5500 meter mountain pass  while suffering from a raging diarrhea.  I thought he should let his body do the cleanup.  He almost died in the process, and got well a few hours after taking a pill, which he had in his backpack all along.  This time, a few pills of Loperamide, administered promptly, quickly improved Adi's condition.  The next morning, we took the coffee tour.