Blogs from Central, El Salvador, Central America Caribbean - page 2

Geo: 13.7069, -89.2018Today was cause for celebration - having wreaked too much havoc in the Guatemalan and Salvadoran criminal underworlds, we received word that the gangs had given up on getting revenge on us. So we honoured this most special occasion in the most Salvadoran way possible - with several rounds of beer at a ... Salvadoran craft brewery???!!? Who woulda thunk it, that a place like El Salvador would have a cool, hipster-esque craft brewery?Sure, we had sampled some Cadejo beer in a few different places in El Salvador, but it really didn't clue in to us how unique this truly was in a developing country such as this, until we rolled into San Salvador. Not having traveled through any of the more affluent parts of El Salvador until today, we had almost forgotten that ... read more

That is just what God has done. He has opened doors for us. This month has been one filled with new ministry opportunities, and new experiences. And finally, God has opened the door to allow me to share the team’s experiences with you. So here’s what’s up… Spanish classes have started. And not too to my surprise I was placed in Basico 1. So yeah it’s a bit humbling to start at the basic level, but it also presents an opportunity for me to get better at the Spanish I do know, and learn more in class. I quite enjoy my Spanish class, although the idea of being in school is kind of a drag. Also the atmosphere in class is very different. Our teacher says about five English words per class, which is good cause ... read more

Our next stop was Santa Ana because we heard from friends it had the best hostel boasting a well deserved high nineties review rating for little over USD11 per night. Make sure you take extra change from home to Santa Ana since there is an ice cream vendor (we encountered him near Parque Libertad) who seems to genuinely want to chat and collect foreign change. He was excited to show us his collection that he stores in a styrofoam cup, but we still made sure to be watching our backs since we can never tell what kind of distractions people may come up with to get a drop on you. From Santa Ana we were able to take a bus to a national park, Cerro Verde, that contains several volcanoes, including the Santa Ana volcano. We ... read more

Another great Habitat build done and I am now back in Canada at the cottage for the summer.Thirteen people this time and it was an excellent group. In spite of the fact we only had 8 days, we were able to quickly function as a team throughout the trip and everyone had a great time. Some of us (10 which turned into 9) arrived the evening before at the main airport in San Salvador. One member of the group who shall remain nameless fell asleep in the Toronto airport and missed her connection. After gathering everyone up, we were transported to the Morrison Hotel by van( about a 45 minute drive) On the way downtown, we learned that the people of the city were in a major state of anticipation for the Oscar Romero beatification ceremony ... read more

Up early, and came out to watch the lake in the morning as our hotel sits on the cliff, get caught up on my blogging and listen to a parrot repeat Ola over and over and over and over and over again. Ah, welcome to El Salvador:-) Had a great breakfast, and then we all piled into the vehicle to head to the Indigo Farm owned and operated by Dona Rina. It was only about 20 minutes away from Soshitito and typical roads. Arrived and went for a tour around her farm; really is quite majestic. She is a small run business, creating indigo (which in itself would take forever to explain on a blog - let’s just say it is an incredible tedious, long arduous process.), and grows cashew fruits, has turmeric flowers (which are ... read more