Blogs from Santa Ana, Western, El Salvador, Central America Caribbean - page 4

We got our first introduction to the family-centered culture of El Salvador at the airport. Huge crowds of extended families waited at the arrival doors. Team members felt they were stepping onto the red carpet. Grandparents, babies, cousins and neighbors warmly greeted each other - then 20 at a time - crammed into Ford Ranger size trucks and sped away. We rode a comfortable bus for two hours to Santa Ana through lush green mountains, past road-side cows and sugar cane fields. It seems to be incredibly green here because it rains several times a day. Our guide, Luis Fernando, said the heavy rains are washing away the mud, cardboard and tin shacks. Change of plans - the community center cannot be built because of the bad weather continues well past the rainy season. We will ... read more

Hola todos! It's a humid afternoon here in Santa Ana and the heavens have well and truly opened! They say the rain is set in for a few more days, 'la temporada' as they call it. Everything is going really well here in El Salvador. For the past week we have been celebrating the Week of the Child in the two projects, organising different activities which inform the children about their rights, from songwriting to collages to dramas, it has been so much fun! This Saturday the week will end with a big celebration in the project with games, party food, a football tournament, disco and karaoke, haha! I am so excited! Last weekend Jesus and I traveled to Ataco, a beautiful town hidden away in the mountains south of Santa Ana. The area, known as ... read more

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 ... read more

Day Eight - Tuesday September 26th Woke up Tuesday feeling sick. I can't remember if it was a regular headache, or not. I think it was a combination of my antibiotics that I had to keep taking and a headache pill that didn't react well with the meds. Either way, after breakfast and while we were on our way to the mountains, I started feeling like ass. We arrived at a restaurant which was outdoors in a series of gazebos placed along the side of one of the mountains. From there all you could see is green mountains, with thousands of coffee plants growing and lines of trees planted amongst them to prevent erosion of the mountain sides. Yani's dad insisted on taking pictures of me against the backdrop of the mountains and my batteries died ... read more