Blogs from Perquín, Eastern, El Salvador, Central America Caribbean

So how do you guys feel about a history lesson today? Well, you'd better be up for it because it's coming! But don't worry, it's a very simplified version (and hopefully accurate)... Going back as far as the 19th century, the gap between the rich minority and the poor communities in El Salvador was vast. The rich in power were very busy trying to make sure things stayed that way and the poor weren't too chuffed about it. This caused tension in the country for a long time, including what was called “The Massacre” of 1932, when 30000 opposing the government got killed by death squads. So the civil war had been brewing for many years when it finally broke out. By the end of the 70s, several left-wing guerilla groups joined forces to form a ... read more

Perfect timing was to be our bag for the next day. We slept in a bit, then stuffed around a bit getting organised to leave. As we left the hostel we asked what time the bus would be coming past – there was only a couple a day, and we didn't want to wait until the afternoon. I had asked someone the day before, and they had concurred with the, now increasingly unreliable, Lonely Planet – the bus should come in about 9. “El autobus? Esta alli” she said as she pointed out the bus just about to leave from near the plaza. Happily they didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry and were happy to wait for four backpackers to crowd in with their stuff. From Alegría we headed on into the ... read more

¨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 only shy, smiling faces to be found. Its hard to believe that within many of these people´s lives, whole towns were massacred a few miles away. As the night sets in so does the fog, ... read more

At the bus station in San Miguel, we were told by bus drivers the next bus to Perquin is at 10am so we have a few hours to kill then a young lady grabbed my arm and told me it was a lie and that in 10 minutes a bus will pull up, and indeed it happened, so we hopped on the very crowded bus, pedro sitting next to the pretty young lady who befriended us. The bus ride was long took about 3 hours to get there and quite slow on the way uphill, Joey was frustrated! Arriving in town we looked for the hostel Perquin Real but no one we asked can point us to the right direction so we decided to go where they said is another hostel, we followed the directions but ... read more

... or Gorilla War according to the museum! Tim Version: * Took a colectivo from Gotera to Perquin - my first one! Stayed in an average hostel. * Looked around town and the museum - a little disappointed and sad! The version I wish I didn´t have to write a big negatively, but its the only truthful way: Perquin! Famed Perquin! Or at least it is if you are heading to El Salvador. A hotbed and control point of the rebel geurillas of the FMLN, its where the museums in San Salvador and elsewhere tell you to go if you want to see the real thing! I´d also heard of many other travellers going there and coming back saying its well worth a visit! Well, it is, but my reasons I think are a bit different ... read more