All's Well. Not So Much For Blogger

The blogger server has been s*it lately, I was not able to publish any posts..Sigh. Well, the illness lasted 3 days and then we were off and running!
First was Ruta de la Flores. Two of my cousins, hubby and I were off to follow the Route of the Flowers. El Salvador has brilliantly designated towns or points of interest in certain geographic areas or with common themes as a "route". There are a few: Route of the Flowers, Route of Volcanoes, Route of Peace (more on that one later), Route of the Sugar Cane.

All of these routes are encompassed within a project called "Pueblos Vivos" or "Living Towns" and the major attraction is that tourism is still in its infancy and you are not bombarded by Mayan Spas or Colonial style Mcdonalds restaurants (more on that later also), but actually get to see how people live. This is Flowers route sure delivers. It si in the mountains of the Ahuachapan and Sonsonate Departments on the western side of the country. Here there is a large Nahuatl population who are not living quite in a traditional, aboriginal way, but sure are living in a traditional country side Salvadorean way. The people in this area are of mainly Mayan blood and it's obvious the moment you see them and hear them speak, this area of the country has seen an amazing resurgence in its quality of life because whole towns have become involved in the rebuilding, clean up and security. No one is rich but no one is poor, everyone is happy. A kind of open-market socialist utopia.
Here is a snapshot.

El Salvador's economic engine is micro-businesses. Here is a sample

First Stop on the Route: Izalco (not actually officially on the route but worth seeing.

Izalco Municipal Market. Hard to see but most people in town is 5'5 and under.

Izalco Church, an impressive volcano which erupted non stop for 95+ years sits in the distance behind the church, this day it was covered over.

Second stop, Nahuizalco, 12 Km up the mountain, a heaven for woven arts and artisan creations

This town is completely safe and well taken care of, though having an active volcano nearby has its consequences.

Next. Juayua! Great church and gastronomic fair.

but we were late. Sad times

This is just for the white horse.

Apaneca! On top of the mountain, 23 more kilometers of steep climbing (for the car). This is the rebuilt church after it fell in 2001 in an earthquake

Our hotel on the left.

Sometimes murals are even more beautiful with the passage of time

12 km. down the other side of the Mountain, the last stop of the route. Concepcion de Ataco, This is the view from the cross on the hill.

A kind of easily found route Marker in the forests here.

Ataco's market

Goodbye Salvadoran mountains and hello Guatemala!

Dougieo Howsero M.D.

Well..there it was a shinny plate of freshly sucked conchas, a kind of round shellfish found mostly in the small pools of muddy water where fresh water meets salt water, and should that not be the first clue? The common wisdom is that if when served and lemon juice is sprinkled, they should move. Life = freshness, freshness=safety...Uhm....The dish wasn't even mine. Hubby saw the black little devils move and couldn't handle it, so as the good husband I am, I ate them...Uhm....Here are the results:
I wish there were a way to add music to each photo, the first would have of course that Corona beer sound of waves crashing and seagulls chirping or squawking or whatever the hell they do while they watch you eat the poison that is going to, withing 24 hours, dehydrate you through a series of upstairs AND downstairs activities and send you to the second picture.

 Where the music changes to an ominous "Lost" kind of violin tremolo because they full mystery is not yet revealed, but let me tell you..the clues have been there..many of them, at every turn...they WON'T STOP COMING!!!!!

 Well, here the music stops cause you're so sick and dehydrated and the needle going into you hand hurt so much! However,there is a diganosis..severe infection (and will spare the details and the name of the syndrome because more than a name, it's a description of things no one needs to know about)

 This was a wonderful hospital. The doctor visited me 8 times in the 4 hours I was admitted. High quality care. The music returns to a hopeful, a better day will come theme because once they pump antibiotics right into vein, no disgusting little bug can survive. This is the Terminator of antibiotics.

 The after care. 4 pills, one of them once a day, one of them twice a day and two of them 3 times per day. No matter, though I am feeling bad that since i am not to be trusted to remember things, hubby will have to be in charge of doling out the medicine.

Just as the credits are about to roll, and just as we learned in the "Scream" series of movies, the villain either tries to get revenge before finally dying, or does somehow get to screw everyone over from the grave. The doctor says light eating for the first day (that's manageable I don't much feel like eating anyway) and no coffee for 3 days...WHAAAAT?!?! Damn you! damn you to hell!!!! This is not good! but suddenly, I realize that it's ok, because now with me not drinking cofee, hubby will suffer more pain than I suffered while being a human fountain.
Hugs,
Rigo