Waking up in San Salvador

It is great to be back!  After a crazy day of travel, we have woken up to a beautiful morning, lovely coffee and mango juice.  Not a bad way to start the day.  A great relief after a full day of travel and cramped conditions on the planes.

We are waiting for our guide, Miguel and our driver Nixon - they will be here shortly, they are always on time.

Today, we start three days of orientation in San Salvador.  We will be meeting CRIPDES and CORDES, the teacher's union, Equipo Maiz and we will be travelling to the local Mayan ruins and climbing a volcano - not a bad start.

I will try to blog as much as I can over the next few days before leaving here for San Jose las Flores and the Bajo Lempa area - not much in the way of wifi there so I will have to catch up after these visits.

Back soon.

Related articles

• Ex-guerrilla sworn in as El Salvador's president

12-DAY COMPADRES/COMADRES EL SALVADOR EXPERIENCE

Here is the final schedule for our trip in July.   There are all sorts of new activities in here for this year's participants including a trip to El Boquerón National Park, a prolonged stay in Cinquera, Cabañas and visits to a variety of eco-tourism resorts.

This promises to be an excellent trip!

We will return to the cashew plant in the Bajo Lempa area

PROGRAM

FOR 12-DAY COMPADRES/COMADRES EL SALVADOR EXPERIENCE

(2-13 July 2014)

Wednesday, July 2

Travel to and arrival in El Salvador (Archbishop Oscar Romero International Airport) with transfer to San Salvador

guesthouse (Hostal San José) and brief introduction/orientation by SalvAide El Salvador Representative, Miguel

Thursday, July 3

8 AM: Breakfast

8:45 AM: Meeting with CRIPDES and CORDES executive members

10:30 AM: San Salvador Volcano (El Boquerón National Park)

El Boquerón National Park

12:30 PM: Lunch

2-4 PM: Meeting with the National Association of Salvadoran Educators – 21 June (ANDES 21 de Junio, El

Salvador’s teachers union)

Evening: Dinner at guesthouse

Friday, July 4

7:30AM: Breakfast

8:15 AM: Introduction to the socio-political history of El Salvador with popular education experts, Equipo Maiz

10:30 AM: Monument to the civilian civil war dead in Cuscatlán Park and visit Tomb of Archbishop Oscar Romero in

National Cathedral

12:30 PM: Lunch

2-4 PM: Visit Divine Providence Chapel and Romero Centre – site of Archbishop Romero’s assassination in 1980 by a Salvadoran government supported right-wing death squad

Divine Providence Chapel

Evening: Dinner at guesthouse

Saturday, July 5

7 AM: Breakfast

All day: The Mayan Route – a visit to the Zapotitán Valley and its impressive Classic Period Mayan archeological sites

9-11 AM: Joya de Cerén archeological site (UNESCO World Heritage Site) – Mayan village from 650 AD buried and

preserved under volcanic ash

Lunch: Lake Coatepeque

1:30-3 PM: San Andres archeological site – Classic Period Mayan ceremonial/political/commercial centre

La Palma, Chalatenango

3:30 PM: Depart for La Palma, Chalatenango

Evening: Dinner in La Palma

(overnight in La Palma)

Sunday, July 6

7:30 AM: Breakfast

8:30 AM: Visit to ACOPROARTE artisans cooperative (started by SalvAide sister organization, CORDES)

11 AM: Possible trip to Miramundo (weather and transportation dependent)

Late PM: Travel to San José Las Flores, Chalatenango

Evening: Settle at Pastoral Centre accommodations and dinner at Women’s Cooperative Kitchen

(overnight in San José Las Flores)

Monday, July 7

7:30 AM: Breakfast

AM: Visit town primary/secondary school

Early PM: Oral histories of San José Las Flores repopulation during popular insurrection and of recent anti-mining

struggle against Canadian mining companies

Late PM: Visit Lempa River Eco-Tourist Park

(overnight in San José Las Flores)

*OPTION: work in school garden

Tuesday, July 8

7 AM: Breakfast

7:45 AM : Depart for Suchitoto, Cuscatlán

9 AM: An introduction to the work of SalvAide sister organizations, CRIPDES and CORDES, in the region

11 AM: Walking tour and history of Suchitoto

Lunch: Women’s community kitchen

PM: Visit artisan’s cooperative, free time

Evening: Dinner

(overnight in Suchitoto)

Wednesday, July 9

8 AM: Breakfast

8:45 AM: Depart for Cinquera, Cabañas (settle in eco-tourist cabins upon arrival)

9:30 AM: Meeting with ARDM community association for a brief history of Cinquera along with tour of community

Lunch at eco-tourist centre

1-4 PM: Hike in Cinquera Park (site of conflict during armed insurrection) and swim in natural pool

Evening: Dinner at eco-tourist centre

(overnight in Cinquera)

Thursday, July 10

7:30 AM: Breakfast

All day: “Yes to Water, No to Mining Tour” – a trip to Cabañas, site of protracted struggles against Canadian gold

mining with a workshop on the issue with local activists

10AM - 12:30PM: Meeting with ADES in San Isidro

12:30 – 1:30PM Lunch

2PM: Brief discussion with MUFRAS in San Isidro and a tour of the village to see the murals dedicated to Marcel Rivera (murdered environmentalist leader) plus a visit to the library

Afternoon: Return to Cinquera or to ADES for overnight stay

Friday, July 11

6:30 AM: Breakfast

9 AM: A meeting with CORDES San Vicente Coordinator, Mauricio Orellana – CORDES’ work in the region, exposure to the effects of climate change, and the possible consequences of “tourism” investment

- Visit cooperative cashew seed processing plant in San Carlos Lempa

- Visit the Lower Lempa River Region (Bajo Lempa) for an eco-tourist boat tour through the Bajo Lempa river estuary, its mangrove forest, and the cooperative cashew orchards on Montecristo Island

(overnight stay in Bajo Lempa Tehuacán ecotourist centre)

Saturday, July 12

7:30AM: Breakfast

Beach outing (Costa del Sol)

3PM: Return to San Salvador guesthouse

Farewell dinner (pupusas)

Sunday, July 13

Travel to and arrival back in Ottawa (depart guesthouse at 5AM)

Related articles

• The road to La Palma, El Salvador
• Interesting Facts About El Salvador
• Ex-rebel becomes El Salvador leader

Day by Day in El Salvador - Day Five

street in Suchitoto

On Day five, we get out of San Salvador for the first time.  We will travel to Suchitoto, a cultural center in El Salvador. This is a beautiful town with a great deal to see and do.



The Los Tercios Waterfall is just a 1.5 km walk from the city center. Its uniqueness and beauty lies in the vertical wall behind the water that is composed of large hexagonal columns of rock. This very rare rock formation is the result of nearby volcanic activity, although numerous folkloric legends also claim to explain the origins of the shape of the rocks.

Los Tercios has water between May and November, although it is worth a visit between December and April too in order to see the stones most clearly.

There is a great amount to see in this town.  There are wonderful old buildings to visit and the history of Suchitoto stretches back to the 1700's.  There are lovely restaurants and a Spanish school for those who are able to return to become more fluent.

cigar making in Suchitoto

Suchitoto was also a major conflict area during the war and you can still visit some of the insurgent bases that were located in the area.  Suchitoto was also the site of a more recent confrontation between members of CRIPDES and the the military.  The Suchitoto 13 were detained during a protest on the outskirts of the town.  The group were eventually freed after international pressure came to bear on the government of the time. CRIPDES is our host while we are in El Salvador and we have met some of the people who were detained.

For more information on tourism in El Salvador, please take a look at Tim's Blog - he has over 50 posts on this topic.

Related articles

• Suchitoto
• Legends and Art in Suchitoto
• Interesting Facts About El Salvador
• Twenty destinations for 2014: El Salvador
• Latin America on a budget: Suchitoto, El Salvador

Reading about El Salvador

Tim's El Salvador Blog 

This is a good time to pick up something to familiarize yourself a little about El Salvador.  I am going to start reading Bitter Grounds by Sandra Benitez.  The story starts in 1932, a pivotal time in Salvadoran history.  I'm reading this book because it is recommended on Tim's Blog and it covers a time period that I don't know much about.

In this post, I am sharing a great blog on everything Salvadoran with you - Tim's Blog.  I strongly suggest, as part of your preparation for this year's trip that you start reading his posts whenever they come out.  He covers a wide range of topics including current affairs, politics, lifestyle and Salvadoran history.  He introduces his readers to new blogs about El Salvador on a regular basis.

Tim also has a great collection of books and resources for those interested in El Salvador.  It is a list that grows as he receives new recommendations from his readers.  You can find this valuable post right here.

What preparation will you be doing?  Does anything appeal from Tim's list?

Happy reading!

a small selection from Tim's book list

Related articles

• Long journey ends at home for man drifting at sea

Day by Day in El Salvador: Day Four - The Romero Tour

Day Four: Beginning of the Romero Tour

First stop

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Savior (Catedral Metropolitana de San Salvador) is the principal church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador and the seat of the Archbishop of San Salvador. The church was twice visited by Pope John Paul II who said that the cathedral was "intimately allied with the joys and hopes of the Salvadoran people."^[1] During his visits in 1983 and 1996, the Pope knelt and prayed before the Tomb of Archbishop Óscar Romero, assassinated in 1980, whose tomb here is a major pilgrim draw. President Barack Obama visited the Cathedral and the tomb during his March 2011 trip to Latin America.

How does this fit into the tour?

From BBC On This Day

1979: El Salvador cathedral bloodbath

At least 18 demonstrators have been killed and many wounded after police opened fire on anti-government protesters outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador, capital of El Salvador.

The protest in the Central American country was organised by the left-wing group known as the Popular Revolutionary Bloc.

People started screaming and running to the church but many were hit before they could get there Ken Hawkins, eyewitness

Witnesses said the steps of the cathedral were littered with bodies. Freelance photographer Ken Hawkins told the Los Angeles Times there had been no warning from government forces before the shooting started.

"There was a continual burst of very heavy fire for about two and a half to three minutes," he said. "People started screaming and running to the church but many were hit before they could get there."

The Romero Tour is another new activity for us.  You can see a description of the entire tour here.  
We have visited most of these sites on previous tours - it is really good to visit all these locations at the beginning of our trip.  The sites connected to Oscar Romero set the context for the entire trip. Archbishop Romero is a national symbol for the people of El Salvador.  He is an inspiration to the social justice movement in El Salvador and to people around the world.  No trip to El Salvador would be complete without at least a day focusing on Romero.

Below are a series of images associated with Archbishop Romero including the chapel where he died and his tomb, located in the basement of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

What do you think of this day?  Do you know much about the archbishop? What are your expectations for the day?

Related articles

• Murdered Salvadorean Archbishop Romero remembered
• Canonization for Oscar Romero?
• March 24 - Oscar Romero
• Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero: El Salvador's Revolutionary of Peace
• Viewpoint: Pope Francis, Make This Man a Saint

Day by Day in El Salvador - A Discussion

Day Two in El Salvador

Day Two in El salvador looks like this:

AM: Workshop with Equipo Maíz on socio-political history of El Salvador
PM: “Contrasts Tour” of San Salvador to witness the geographical distribution of social
inequity and exclusion among some of San Salvador’s neighbourhoods

We are starting our discussion with Day Two because we will only get into San Salvador around 8:30 PM - too late to do anything but get settled and sleep - the travel days are long!

We start Day Two by visiting with Equipo Maiz.  This is the best way to start.  On past trips we have had a terrific introduction to the history of El Salvador from this group.

They have a very interesting way of teaching using popular education techniques.  Equipo Maiz has conducted workshops throughout Latin America and the United States.  They use great illustrations like the one above to build a picture of how the current struggles in this country have evolved over time.

This is really important - how can people expect to understand the current dynamic in this country unless they have some understanding of its history?

Here is an excerpt from one of my journals detailing my first visit with Equipo Maiz in 2005:

We went to a lot of meetings in the first two days in El Salvador. On our second full day 

we met with Equipo Maiz, the Corn Team, who gave us an alternative history of El 

Salvador. History is so important if we want to get a true measure of the character of a 

country. This is the specialty of Equipo Maiz. They have worked since 1983 with small 

communities to develop a greater understanding of the people’s situation. Through 

workshops on gender issues, civil participation, privatization and leadership, they hope to 

equip people with the knowledge to better understand their current situation. They also 

specialize in telling the story of El Salvador’s past.

A key point in the story. In 1932, the government exterminated over 30,000 indigenous 

people after a failed revolt. This has resulted in the total denial of the native heritage of 

the Salvadorans. Unlike Mexico and Guatemala, there is no talk of an indigenous culture 

in El Salvador. There are really only two indigenous communities now in El Salvador. 

You can see the native heritage in the faces of the people, but the culture is kept in check. 

People fear a return to the 1930’s. They have good reason for their fears. Other 

countries like Haiti and Guatemala have suffered from similar disasters. 

Our history lesson included the FMLN, still a strong presence in the country. The 

FMLN, named after Farabundo Marti, the leader of the indigenous insurrection of the 

1930’s is a coalition of leftwing groups that formed in 1980 to present an armed front to 

the military government of the country. Most of the areas we visited are controlled by 

the FMLN, now a legitimate political party. Many of the people we worked with, 

including Miguel and Damian are ex-FMLN fighters. 

The afternoon activity is new to me - I will ask Rene our trip coordinator for information about this and add this to our blog.

What questions do you have for Equipo Maiz?

Related articles

• Ex-Guerrilla Declared El Salvador President