Guillermo and I met while I was solo backpacking through Central America.

I was staying at a tourist destination and local hangout called Lago de Coatepeque (Coatepeque Lake) in El Salvador. That morning, a friend and I hopped on the back of a truck, trying to get transportation to a morning volcano hike.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the right bus to take us there. Disappointed, we turned around and decided to spend the day hanging out at the lake instead.

When I walked up to the bar, I was so excited to see they had my favorite American beer. I asked the bartender for a Michelob Ultra, but he couldn’t understand my American pronunciation, and I couldn’t understand a single word he was saying in return. Just as I was struggling, a cute guy came up to the bar and translated for me. He was from El Salvador but lived in Canada, visiting family and friends for the holidays.

We started talking, and I complained about how hard it was to get around El Salvador as a tourist. He asked where I was heading next, and I told him I planned to go to the beach. Then he said, “I’ve got a truck. I can take you.”

We spent the rest of the day together—hanging out, swimming, listening to the band, and talking all night long about everything.

The next morning I was so excited to tell my friend about the guy that I met and anxious to see if he would actually drive us to the beach, but he didn't let me down and showed up right after breakfast. He drove my friend and me all the way to El Zonte and helped us check in. Then he asked us if we wanted to go to his house in San Salvador to eat soup with his Grandma.

So, the day after meeting Guille, I found myself at his house, meeting his entire family and making tortillas with his mom and grandma in the kitchen. Later, Guille took me to hang out with his friends before driving us back to the beach. I guess he liked me so much that he really wanted to show me off! ;)

When he dropped us back at our hostel, I convinced him to stay the night there—and we haven’t been apart since. He ended up staying the whole week at the beach with me, then traveling with me through Honduras, Mexico, and eventually back to my home in Alabama.

Needless to say, my Central American trip turned out to be 1000 times better than what I could have hoped for.

Registry