Landed, ran got on board. Third plane catching "issue". Wish I'd got off and bus´d. [View Full Entry]

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Wow! i didnt realise it has been so long since ive written and ive crossed 2 borders! El Salvador is not really on the Gringo/Lonely Planet trail...many people avoid it due to its dangerous reputation. Lucky me! It is a beautiful country with fantastic people, who just want to talk to you. They are a very proud people and have put up with a ridiculous amount of torture, oppression and poverty over the years, being the US puppet in Cental America didnt help their cause. However the country is outstandingly gorgeous and clean, the roads are good are the towns completely [View Full Entry]

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Here comes Nicaragua!! Yes, our time here in El Salvador is up... just one last night in San Salvador and an early departure tomorrow... followed by a full day of travel. We have seen far more of this country than I ever imagined... especially thinking back to when we were first plotting our travel itinerary. El Sal was initially just going to be a few days on the beach between Guatemala and Nicaragua... but it turned into 6 full days of sightseeing and exploration. Places like Suchitoto and Lake Ilopongo really won us over. Are there markets like Chichicastenango in Guatemala... [View Full Entry]

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Here we are.... in the heart of El Salvador... which feels like the true heart of Central America. It was sad to leave Suchitoto, as that place was a real gem!! But, am thankful that at least we were smart enough to plan a 2 night stop there. Yesterday was a blast... as we left Suchitoto with a contact that I have made here... and went down to Lake Ilopango.... which is much cleaner than Lake Suchitlan. Our friend has lakeside property... lots of it!! So, we chilled... went boating around the lake.. swam... soaked up the sun... and chilled some [View Full Entry]

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Although I am home and the next few entries will be some days behind, I still want to share my experiences from my last 3 days in El Salvador. Since I was going to the Center for Malnourished Children today, I was able to sleep in a bit. I didn't leave quite enough time for breakfast so a packet of cookies on the way to the clinic was all I had until lunch. I was very aprehensive about today's visit, since yesterday at the orphanage was really difficult for me. We headed over to the clinic around 9, only a 10 [View Full Entry]

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So I know yesterday's entry was pretty heavy, and today's might be even a little more so. Because it is Sunday, we got to sleep in until 9:30!! It was so nice and well-needed. We departed around 10 for the beach!! Some of our group members had never seen the Pacific Ocean, and while we couldn't go in the water, we could walk along the beach and get our feet wet. The undercurrents here are so strong it is too dangerous to go in any deeper. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, and is divided into departments, or [View Full Entry]

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When I went to bed last night it was raining, but I assumed it would stop so we could still have our Field Day. But no, was still raining and pretty wet in the morning, and since Field Day takes place on the soccer field, we had to postpone it until Tuesday. Aside from the wet field, the roads in the village are not paved and it would be dangerous to try and drive the vans through. So, we our modified schedule for the day and headed first to UCA, the University of Central America, run by Jesuits who aim for [View Full Entry]

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What a long day!! But a great one. Did so much today and I am exhausted, it is after midnight and I want to go to sleep but need to blog!!!! Since I did not leave myself enough time this morning, I had to rush through breakfast and packing lunch. And when we got to the work site, I did not know I was supposed to get on a different van to go to the church so I could be with the kids today. But no matter, I planned to deliver invitations to the kids at school for the Health Fair [View Full Entry]

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So much for a 7am wakeup call, I was awake by 5:30am!! Luckily though I was able to fall back to sleep until about 7:30. No showering in the morning, we get too hot and dirty during the day. So I save my cold shower for after a day of work when it feels refreshing and I can go to dinner nice and clean. The day began with breakfast - cereal and a banana, and then we made our lunches. Peanut butter and jelly!! Every day, all week, that will be my lunch. But no worries, I love PB & J!! [View Full Entry]

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I awoke in a panic this morning, convinced I had overslept. And since I took my watch off last night, I had no idea what time it was!! The only person still in the room was Kathy, and since she was going to the Center for Malnourished Children today, I assumed everyone else had left for the village. And it was fairly quiet in the house, which added to my anxiety. So, I jumped down from the bed (I sleep on top bunk) and grabbed my watch, only to learn that it was 6:30am... I will definitely keep my watch on [View Full Entry]

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