Last weekend I received a short visit from my friend Constance (aka Tumbler), a fellow PCV in Costa Rica, but who is now living the power-suit life in New York's financial district. She was only here for a few days but we made the most of it.
On Sunday, we went on a day trip "excursion." We hopped in a bussetta with other Salvadorans, guided by don Mario for a tour of the Ruta de las Flores (Route of Flowers). The Ruta de las Flores is a stretch of highway that runs between Sonsonate and Ahuachapan in the western department of Santa Ana. It is so named because of the flowering trees that line the highway. The trees weren't in bloom when we went, but it was still a beautiful drive. Living in the city, which one can accurately describe as a bubble of concrete and pollution, I miss terribly green and living things. So much so, that I didn't mind the rain at all. In fact, it made everything look greener.
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We had breakfast at a restaurant in Apaneca called Jardin de Celeste (Heaven's Garden) and then went for a short hike at to see the Cascadas de don Juan. We had lunch in a town called Concepcion de Ataco, that hosts a Feria Gastronomico (Food Fair) each weekend. They are also known for weaving tapestries, so we were able to see their looms. El Salvador makes beautiful textiles. It is one of my favorite things here. We had lunch, wondered around, checked out the galleries and artesian shops and took some pictures. We rounded out the afternoon with a quick stop in Salcoatitan, which hosts yet another Feria Gastronomico. Constance particularly liked the qu
esedillas. If you are from Colorado, or probably anywhere in the Southwestern US and ordered a quesedilla in El Salvador, you would probably do so expecting a flour tortilla folded over melted cheese. When you got your quesedilla you would be confused. In El Salvador, a quesedilla is a slightly sweet bread made with cheese. They are pretty good, but example of the phenomena that occurs when one is traveling in a foreign land and orders something that seems familiar but is in fact not familiar at all.
On Monday we headed to the campo in the Bajo Lempa a region Southeast of San Salvador. The area is literally called the "Lower Lempa" and is appropriately named as it is the area surrounding the lower end of the Lempa River. It is a striking contrast to previous day for many reasons. Geographically, Santa Ana is volcano and coffee country. The climate is cool and the terrain is lush and green. The Bajo Lempa is in a flood plain, and is sweat-from-the-exertion-of-blinking-hot, sugarcane is grown and cattle graze. Politically, Santa Ana is pretty conservative. There was an ill-fated indigenous uprising in 1932 that was met with brutal repression. The results have been that many indigenous identifications, such as dress, language, and religious ceremonies were dropped, and assimilation became, literally, a survival skill. The department is predominantly ARENA territory and is privy to national funding. So it has enjoyed infrastructure development that has not been extended to the Bajo Lempa region which hosts many resettlement communities,* is a stronghold for the FMLN, and is NOT privy to national funding or infrastructure development.
We met with La Coordinadora which is another grassroots community development group that works in the area. We also met with a group of Engineers Without Borders students from Clemson University (Shout out to Clemson!) that were visiting the area and working on water projects. As I have mentioned to the point of tedium, water is a HUGE deal in El Salvador. There are a lot of communities that do not have potable and still get their drinking, washing, etc. water from rivers, which are amazingly, fish-killing, grow-a-third-arm kind of polluted. But that's another entry.....
We stayed in a small community called La Isla Mendez, which is not an island at all but is surrounded on only three sides by water. As usual, the families we stayed with were incredibly hospitable and kind. The EWB students are working with La Coordinadora to bring potable water to La Isla. Tuesday a.m. we went to Nuevea Esperanza and Constance gave a short accounting charla to a women's cooperative that SHARE works with. We met up with Carmelina who is one of my coworkers and hands down, one of the coolest people I know. We headed back to San Salvador, and stopped for lunch at Pollo Campero (viva la resistancia), and then Constance left for Honduras on King Quality Wednesday morning. It was a packed couple of days but lots of fun.
*Resettlement communities are communities that are primarily composed of Salvadorans that fled their native communities in other parts of the country during the civil war and were not permitted to return to their original communities and, instead, were placed in the harsh environment of the Bajo Lempa region.
On Sunday, we went on a day trip "excursion." We hopped in a bussetta with other Salvadorans, guided by don Mario for a tour of the Ruta de las Flores (Route of Flowers). The Ruta de las Flores is a stretch of highway that runs between Sonsonate and Ahuachapan in the western department of Santa Ana. It is so named because of the flowering trees that line the highway. The trees weren't in bloom when we went, but it was still a beautiful drive. Living in the city, which one can accurately describe as a bubble of concrete and pollution, I miss terribly green and living things. So much so, that I didn't mind the rain at all. In fact, it made everything look greener.
View Larger Map
We had breakfast at a restaurant in Apaneca called Jardin de Celeste (Heaven's Garden) and then went for a short hike at to see the Cascadas de don Juan. We had lunch in a town called Concepcion de Ataco, that hosts a Feria Gastronomico (Food Fair) each weekend. They are also known for weaving tapestries, so we were able to see their looms. El Salvador makes beautiful textiles. It is one of my favorite things here. We had lunch, wondered around, checked out the galleries and artesian shops and took some pictures. We rounded out the afternoon with a quick stop in Salcoatitan, which hosts yet another Feria Gastronomico. Constance particularly liked the qu
esedillas. If you are from Colorado, or probably anywhere in the Southwestern US and ordered a quesedilla in El Salvador, you would probably do so expecting a flour tortilla folded over melted cheese. When you got your quesedilla you would be confused. In El Salvador, a quesedilla is a slightly sweet bread made with cheese. They are pretty good, but example of the phenomena that occurs when one is traveling in a foreign land and orders something that seems familiar but is in fact not familiar at all.On Monday we headed to the campo in the Bajo Lempa a region Southeast of San Salvador. The area is literally called the "Lower Lempa" and is appropriately named as it is the area surrounding the lower end of the Lempa River. It is a striking contrast to previous day for many reasons. Geographically, Santa Ana is volcano and coffee country. The climate is cool and the terrain is lush and green. The Bajo Lempa is in a flood plain, and is sweat-from-the-exertion-of-blinking-hot, sugarcane is grown and cattle graze. Politically, Santa Ana is pretty conservative. There was an ill-fated indigenous uprising in 1932 that was met with brutal repression. The results have been that many indigenous identifications, such as dress, language, and religious ceremonies were dropped, and assimilation became, literally, a survival skill. The department is predominantly ARENA territory and is privy to national funding. So it has enjoyed infrastructure development that has not been extended to the Bajo Lempa region which hosts many resettlement communities,* is a stronghold for the FMLN, and is NOT privy to national funding or infrastructure development.
We met with La Coordinadora which is another grassroots community development group that works in the area. We also met with a group of Engineers Without Borders students from Clemson University (Shout out to Clemson!) that were visiting the area and working on water projects. As I have mentioned to the point of tedium, water is a HUGE deal in El Salvador. There are a lot of communities that do not have potable and still get their drinking, washing, etc. water from rivers, which are amazingly, fish-killing, grow-a-third-arm kind of polluted. But that's another entry.....We stayed in a small community called La Isla Mendez, which is not an island at all but is surrounded on only three sides by water. As usual, the families we stayed with were incredibly hospitable and kind. The EWB students are working with La Coordinadora to bring potable water to La Isla. Tuesday a.m. we went to Nuevea Esperanza and Constance gave a short accounting charla to a women's cooperative that SHARE works with. We met up with Carmelina who is one of my coworkers and hands down, one of the coolest people I know. We headed back to San Salvador, and stopped for lunch at Pollo Campero (viva la resistancia), and then Constance left for Honduras on King Quality Wednesday morning. It was a packed couple of days but lots of fun.
*Resettlement communities are communities that are primarily composed of Salvadorans that fled their native communities in other parts of the country during the civil war and were not permitted to return to their original communities and, instead, were placed in the harsh environment of the Bajo Lempa region.
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