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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

A wedding, a first communion and a baptsim... A saga

Part one of the Saga and it so happens all three events are happening in one family. A dear family, life long friends starting with our fathers. They met on a bus while in accountant school almost 40 years ago. The youngest son was married in a civil wedding (in El Salvador the civil wedding is performed separately of the religious one and generally and possibly by law, there is a week or so in between both events). For my friends, there is a 5 month span, but no worries, there was still a reception and cake!

Civil weddings are usually (contrary to the photographic evidence) a small affair attended by only family and very close friends. In this case, the church wedding in december will have at least 250 guests.

Civil weddings in El Salvador are officiated by attorneys (not marriage commissioners or judges thought the latter is possible). There are a number of laws (concerning the equal rights of both parties within the marriage, equal responsibilities, and expectations outlined in Salvadoran family law) that must be read out loud and understood by those being married. The civil wedding must be performed before a religious one in order for the marriage to be legal. The separation of church and state has been included intermittently in Salvadoran constituion since the early 19th century although his separation is mostly theoretical. Did this get super academic?

Santa Ana

El Salvador's second largest city. Beautiful and celebrating its patron saint in July. What a party and the tortas...OH the tortas!!!!

Santa Ana's Gothic style cathedral

The Cathedral sees a lot of activity. Some are tourists

Some are there for mass

Still others are there getting married

Artisan candy shop inside Santa Ana's city hall

 

 AND THEN....

 THE TORTAS!!!!

 These are called Torta Loca (crazy sandwich)

 If you eat one in less than 3 minutes and 21 seconds (the current one torta record) you get the torta free of charge. If you are a slow and steady wins the race kind of gal/guy, you can take your time and eat 3 in order to have them free of charge... Only in El Salvador!, in this case in fact, only in Santa Ana! Happy Santa Ana days!

El Salvador? There was a war right?...

Well, yes and you can Google all about it ,but what IS hard to find, are pictures and stories about how wonderful this place is. Yes, there are gangs and poverty and crime (and it should come as no surprise to anyone that the first and last things are perpetrated and suffered by the same group as the middle thing) Anyway, I am in love with this place and its people and here is partly why:

Lago de Coatepeque. A volcanic crater lake in the Santa Ana Department (or province) of El Salvador

Restaurant-side, lake-water pool

Lunch

The family (or a part of it anyway) in the background Jonathan, a kind and smart 14 year old who works weekends as a tour boat operator.