Day 4: July 28 Awoke early and left Honduras via Guatemala to cross into El Salvador. El Salvador was never in the plans until we arrived in Central America, so visiting here was unexpected. The political problems in Honduras meant we needed to make up 4 nights, so why not hit up El Salvador. One of the ladies on our tour got very ill and threw up on the bus. Poor lady. After a long day of buses, we arrived in the small town of Suchitoto. Not to many years back, El Salvador was in the midst of a bloody civil [View Full Entry]

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The home visits were so interesting. It showed me things I never knew existed. [View Full Entry]

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Las delicias is like a rec center run by the nuns. [View Full Entry]

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We also got to do some sightseeing throughout our time there. [View Full Entry]

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We had a big fiesta the last night. Professional dancers and a professional band played for us. [View Full Entry]

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Monday, Liz provided Jason and me with a tour of the U.S. embassy in San Salvador. After our go round, we quickly came back to pack up necessities (summer reads, Ipod, and sunscreen) for the beach. I was extremely eager to spend the day relaxing. I swear I could hear a hammock on the beach calling my name. Our days here in El Salvador have been so jammed with activities, that a tranquil afternoon by the ocean was much needed by our trio. Luckily, for us Liz’s mother volunteered her friend to drive us. (If it weren’t for her kindness (and [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday Liz provided Christina and me with a tour of the U.S. embassy in San Salvador. You will not see pictures of this tour posted on my travel blog because visitors are prohibited from bringing any recording devises on the premises. Personally I was quite impressed with the tour. The security of the embassy is unrivaled, yet subtle. Security cameras monitored our every step; armed security guards supplemented the U.S. Marines (though I doubt they needed the help). Christina and I had a pleasant chat with Liz’s immediate supervisor. She shared stories about various duty stations she [View Full Entry]

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¨That´s exactly why we had the war. For freedom of expression, for democracy, for the rights of the people, of the farmers and of the Earth.¨ He spoke passionately but I could tell it was not the first time he´d said the words. I was speaking with Don Miguel, the owner of our hostel who, along with most of the other citizens of Perquín and, indeed, the whole state of Morazán, had repopulated the abandoned mountainsides. The whole region had been a war zone little more than a decade earlier but already you can hardly tell. Looking around town there are [View Full Entry]

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Saturday Finally, Saturday was the day to get a late start. Caesar, our tour guide, picked us up for a ‘ruins and volcanoes’ tour. He was a very knowledgeable and friendly local who was very helpful in describing each site. First stop, we visited the Pompeii-style Mayan ruins of ‘Joya de Ceren’, which was buried under lava and ash after a volcanic eruption in 595 A.D. We continued our trek towards Cerro Verde about an hour away (uphill, both ways, winding roads). This road trip made me queasy and brought back nightmares of my trip to Pai. On the way up, [View Full Entry]

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so today i leave el salvador :( if this experience has left me with anything, it is to be grateful for what i have. i know i take advantage of everything i have, and then i see these people. These people have NOTHING. they barely have a house. This experience is going to make me see my life in a whole different way. I will now be soo much more appreciative for the things that i have and my family. I will be greatful that i have a family who loves me enough to care for me and feed me ( [View Full Entry]

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