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Boys Will Be Boys
David had great fun crawling around inside old war bunkers Three Countries In One Day
Ok, we have to admit we told you a wee fib. In our last blog we took you on an adventure overland from southern Nicaragua directly into Honduras and the town of La Esperanza. This was not exactly true, in fact it was not at all true as we actually passed straight through Honduras and into El Salvador.
The reason for this "massaging" of our geographical whereabouts is that little El Salvador lies directly below Honduras and the two places we wanted to visit happened to be at either end of the country. To get from one place to the other required (a) a very long, slow bus ride on windy mountain roads and (b) a stop over in San Salvador, the only city rivalling Venezuela´s Caracas as "Murder Capital Of The World". On average 12 people a day are killed in San Salvador but in the recent spirit of Easter it semed the whole city was geared up for a slaying as there had been 31 murders on the first day of the holiday alone! Grisly pictures of blood splattered corpses grace all the newspapers here so every time you pop
into a store for water or some chewing gum you always get a reminder of what high velocity brain fragments look like.
It would be fair to say we were less than keen to get within bullet range of the capital which led to a decision to visit one place in the north east first and then the other place two weeks later on our way from Honduras to Guatemala. Thus, although we didn´t go to Honduras first we did eventually end up in El Salvador last, which, patient reader, now brings you totally and correctly up to date.
(PHEW)
But First, Some History
Our first destination was Perquin high in the mountainous north east corner. This area is as poor and rural as it gets in El Salvador and is the furthest point from the capital. To appreciate why we came here we need to give you a short history lesson.
Like all of Central America El Salvador eventually broke free from the Spanish and spent the the next hundred years enduring political struggles, war and poverty. In El Salvador the inequality between rich and poor was greater than all
A Life Less Ordinary
Tracey listens and translates the amazing stories from our guide their neighbours. By the end of the 20th century 95% of El Salvador's wealth was controlled by just 2% of the population. Eventually this led to a 1932 uprising by peasants and indigenous people led by a man called Augustin Farabundo Marti. As you would expect the ruling 2% who also controlled the army responded by brutally killing anyone who looked indigenous or supported the revolt. This included the death of Marti who became a matyr to the cause and whose name the FMLN (Frente Farabundo Marti de Liberacion) revolutionary army would later take up in his honour.
Skip forward 50 years of various uprisings and brutal repression and nothing much has changed for the poor, except now some of them have organised themselves into guerrilla groups allied with the FMLN. Meanwhile next door in Nicaragua a successful revolution there has given El Salvadorians the belief that armed struggle against the ruling elite can lead to change. Then on March 24, 1980 Archbishop Oscar A Romero a supporter of the cause was assassinated by government troops while saying mass in the chapel of a cancer hospital. His murder was the final straw for the struggling masses and later that
year the FMLN declared civil war.
Oh and here´s a surprise. Guess which warmongering country pumped over US$6 billion into supporting this corrupt and unimaginably cruel government as they violated every human right you can think of in order to maintain their enormous wealth and power? Answers on the back of postcard please.
Anyway, for 12 long years civil war raged on which finally brings us back to Perquin. This little town was the headquarters for the FMLN. As punishment for this treachery it saw some of the worst fighting in the war and these days Perquin and the surrounding villages offer a chance to learn about the history of the conflict and to met and talk with people who fought for the cause.
Pupusa Me Up baby
After arriving and finding somewhere to stay we ventured out to discover the delights of a new country. Since we are constantly changing currencies we have established our own little consumer index to quickly work out how pricey a new country is compared to the last. Items up for inspection are beer, water, chewing gum, bread, breakfast cereal, milk powder and late afternoon street
Sorry Tracey, You´re 17 Years Late
Somebody couldn´t resist getting back behind the mic food. For all of these items El Salvador was definitely more pricey than Nicaragua and probably on a par with Costa Rica. However, when you learn that nearly a third of El Salvadorians live and work abroad, sending back money every month it is no surprise that things are a little more pricey. It also explains the huge queues outside Western Union every morning.
Sadly according to a few articles we read this income from abroad is affecting El Salvador´s once famous work ethic. While poor old Miguel is slaving away in LA washing dishes for McDonalds the family back home are now chosing to pay migrant workers from Nicaragua or Guatemala to do all the work while also getting themselves a big screen TV and Levis all round. (Thinking about it, this sounds a bit like the subsidy rich French farmers back home. Grrrrrrrrrrr European Union)
The one wonderful and tasty exception to this price hike was the Pupusa, a fat pita bread sized tortilla stuffed with refried beans and cheese and cooked ´til steamng hot on a grill. Apparently all across the country 4pm is Pupusa time and as we settled down with a cold beer
Tune In And Die
The remains of the helicoptor that was blown up in a radio trap and rumbling stomachs we can see why. These things are tasty and at 15 cents each, including salad and sauces, they are incredible value.
Ground Control to Major Bomb
The next day we dedicated to the Museo de La Revolution and to exploring the bomb craters and bunkers of the surrounding hillsides. The Museum was really interesting although in desperate need of investment. A lot of the pictures are damaged and nearly all the text is in Spanish. The best part of the experience was the museum´s passionate guide who was only 11 when the Salvadorian army murdered his family. He joined the FMLN as a child soldier and spent the next 8 years fighting. As we were the only people there he took us around the whole place giving us first hand stories of the conflict. Tracey translated for David and this personal account and the questions he could answer made for a much better experience.
Our favourite story related to the remains of a downed helicopter. Throughout the war the FMLN broadcast a secret radio station to drum up support and share news of victories. The building behind the museum was
one of the studios. At one stage the FMLN created an elaborate hoax in order to kill a Colonel who was the head of a notorious death squad. Somehow information about the whereabouts of a radio transmitter was leaked to this Colonel. Thinking he could silence this pesky voice of the people he flew in by helicopter, loaded the transmitter into his craft and scarpered. Little did he know that the transmitter was actually packed full of dynamite and as he took off for home a radio signal was sent to the bomb that blew him to oblivion.
The Long And Winding Road
For our second blast of the past we decided to walk 13 km to a village called El Mozote. We could have taken the bus but it was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed our stroll through the farms of villages of the surrounding hills, plus it is always fun to see the surprised look on peoples faces when a couple of smiling gringos wander past.
On December 11, 1981 Government troops leaked information that the Red Cross would be coming to this village. In desperate need of food
and supplies this news brought men, woman and children into the village from all around and as they stood waiting for relief to arrive Govt troops surrounded the village and captured them all. After a few hours torturing them for information all the men were taken to one place, all the woman to another and all the children to a third site and then ALL of them were massacred for being supporters of the FMLN. The youngest "supporter" was just 3 months old.
Once again the services of a local guide made our experience here all the more moving. The most heart wrenching was the peace garden where the names of all the children who were killed are written on plaques on the side of a church wall accompanied by bright murals painted by children who live there today.
Although this is considered the worst atrocity of the war it could easily have gone unrecorded had it not been for one woman who survived. The blow to the back of her head didn´t kill her and as she lay still in a pile of bodies pretending to be dead the soldiers didn´t notice their mistake. Her story, although
To Young To Know
A memorial to the murdered children in El Mazote denied by the Govt, is the reason we now know about this event in such detail and when she died her body was buried next to the monument to the massacre in El Mazote town centre.
In all this was quite a sobering two days and as we walked the 13 km back home we were both in quiet reflection until Dave suddenly desperately needed the toilet and then much humour was had finding a suitable off road location for an outdoor number 2.
End of El Salvador Part 1 All A Bit Creepy Crawly
Skip forward two weeks and after a fun time in Honduras we called back into El Salvador. Once again David gave thanks to the CA-4 agreement that allows for 90 days of "one stamp only" travel between Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Without this agreement all this crisscrossing of borders would have resulted in a full passport and a no doubt protracted and expensive replacement fiasco.
Take note big stamp wielding Chile - you don´t have to stamp someones passport when they are only spending 45 minutes passing through your country!! Table For Two Sir?
Breakfast on our hillside balcony in Perquin This time we stopped in the mountainous north west at a much bigger town called La Palma. To quote Lonely Planet"... La Palma resembles a colouring book zealously attended to by a 7 year old. Its narrow streets are populated with tiny, tiled homes in garish tones of plum, mint and tangerine, some covered in fanciful murals and drawings." Fair play LP but what you didn´t mention is that the main road from the border runs smack through the middle of town so any hint of artistic tranquility is shattered by thundering truck horns and manic bus drivers. Oh well, we suppose that is what you call progress.
For our lodgings we did manage to find some mountainside senerity in a small wooden cabin on the outskirts of town, accessed by a rickety swing bridge and a thigh destroying path. Although there were six cabins and the World´s coldest showers, once again we had the whole place to ourselves except for the menagerie of spiders and creepy crawleys that kept appearing out of the wood work. This led to a rare use of the mosquito net and we´re sure, a much better sleep for us both.
Who You Calling Naive?
The wonderful colours of Perquin Addicted to Dominos
By the way there is a reason for all these funny coloured houses and murals. During the war painter Fernando Llort took refuge here and created a style called Naive Art as a contrast to the violence. Although we have never seen it, examples of his work represent El Salvador around the World in places like the White House and The Vatican. After he became famous he started teaching the townsfolk how to do it and these days 75%!o(MISSING)f the village makes a living by mass producing these bright motifs.
We had come to see some of his original work and to maybe purchase some art for our home. Instead we fell in love with naive art dominos, but if we´re honest, got a little obsessed with finding the perfect set. This led to a two day pupusa fuelled hunt through nearly every art store and market in town before finally buying some. Unfortunately, as is the trouble with packpacking, now we have to carry the weighty thing through 5 more countries.
Overall the trip to La Palma was a bit of a let down. Sure there are some
Entering In Style
Our favourite door in Perquin pretty bits and pieces but these days the town is now little more than a mass produing art factory acompanied to the sound and smell of constantly passing traffic.
Pig Flu? What Pig Flu?
For our last hurrah we got some take away Pupusas and caught a bus back out of El Saldavor, through Honduras and into Guatemala. During this time Pig Flu was dominating the media and if either of us had been sick with it we would certainly have been spreading it far and wide. As it was El Salvador was the only country making a token effort to do anything about it. At the border, people in white coats and masks were peaking into truck windows and occasionally looking up from their lunch plates to see if any nasty pig flu was sneaking past.
The "funny" thing was Tracey actually had quite a bad cold and a respiratory illness. To kill time we decided to approach a clip board carrying offical and let them ask a few questions. "Any signs of cold or flu?" Yes. "Any issues with your respiratory system?" Yes. "Hmmm, other than that are you feeling ok?"
Victory!
After the recent national election victory these flags were flying everywhere Yes. "Ok then, please sign this piece of paper and have a nice journey through two more countries". Genius.
As a nice end to our time in El Salvador we learned that in recent national elections the FMLN, now an official opposition party, had just won the vote to become the Government. It had taken 17 years since the end of the war to finally bring about change and to open a new chapter in their history. Here´s hoping they can avoid the temptation of corruption and revenge and actually make a difference to all the poor people who´s lives they fought for.
Just for the record, Tracey didn´t have Pig Flu.
Oh and no prizes for guessing that warmongering country was good old Uncle Sam, the answer was both easy and predictable.
We´re off to Guatemala now. With all that is going on in the World right now one big burning question remains in our minds.
Will they have something better than a Pupusa?
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