Indigo and the Mayans


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Published: December 18th 2007
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Santa AnaSanta AnaSanta Ana

The cathedral
At the Terminal Occidente in San Salvador we had our first Pupusas. Cheese stuffed tortillas which were quite delicious. We found the bus to Santa Ana but I had trouble getting on with my backpack. Pieter had to push from behind while the bus driver pulled me up.

Arriving at the market in Santa Ana after an uneventful ride we took a US$3 taxi to the Hotel Libertad. We had booked ahead but there were plenty of rooms. We had thought it was US$12 per person but it turned out to be US$12 per room. And they had bell boys who were very nice. Our room was upstairs and from the end of the internal balcony you could see the cathedral. The stairs leading up to the balcony were worn and wooden and moved to an alarming degree as you climbed them. A Canadian guy called Larry was outside his room and we got chatting. He had visited many times and was now visiting a girl friend.

Santa Ana had a nice atmosphere with a lively main square. The cathedral is very beautiful and it was pleasant to walk around. The next day we walked to the market quite
Santa AnaSanta AnaSanta Ana

Iglesia El Carmen
early and passed another very pretty church, Iglesia El Carmen.

At the market we looked for the bus to Chalchuapa, home to some Mayan ruins. We didn't find one so took a 210 to Ahuachapan and got dropped at the edge of town, right in front of Casa Blanca. It was US$3 each entrance to the white house that contained rooms of archaeological finds and the history of the site. They were also big on indigo here and there was some very pretty dyed cloth. Some ladies had some dye on the boil. It smelt quite bad. The site had two main exposed structures. The second was being excavated which made it very interesting. As we left we asked the way to Tazumal, the most important ruins in El Salvador. It was a 15 minute walk and another US$3 entrance. There was an interesting museum and the site was very impressive. We took a walk around the back of the site which was adjacent to a very colourful cemetery.

We took the 218 back to Santa Ana but had to do some walking when we realised the bus had gone around the market in Santa Ana and was
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A housing development just outside Santa Ana. Pretty little houses but I don't think they are very big.
now heading back to Chalcuapa. We were quite tired by the time we arrived near the center but spotting a museum we had to stop. It was the Occidental Regional Museum, housed in an old bank, with a money display in the old vault downstairs, a bunch of religious things and a collection of indigo cloth. One small piece was of an elephant and I really wanted to steal it for my blue elephant collection. A lovely guy, learning English, showed us around.




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Santa AnaSanta Ana
Santa Ana

The market
Santa AnaSanta Ana
Santa Ana

The Occidental Regional Museum
Santa AnaSanta Ana
Santa Ana

The Theatre
Santa AnaSanta Ana
Santa Ana

I reckon it is the town hall. Notice the sign about not being allowed to take guns inside.
Casa BlancaCasa Blanca
Casa Blanca

Excavating the Mayan ruin
Casa BlancaCasa Blanca
Casa Blanca

Excavating the Mayan ruin
TazumalTazumal
Tazumal

The cemetery behind the site
Road worksRoad works
Road works

Not bad for a photo taken from a moving bus. Road construction here makes use of these big monsters to spread concrete.


4th January 2008

Beautiful shots. Happy New Year
Beautiful shots. Have a fun filled time friends and Happy New Year. God bless. Lincoln

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