El Salvador

Although the US meddled (and is probably still meddling) in the affairs of just about every Central American country, nowhere did the lasting impact feel quite as strong as in El Salvador. Everywhere I turned was another reminder of how the fate of this nation is forever linked to events and decision in America.

Fear of communism in the 1980s prompted Reagan to finance the Salvadorian government with hundreds of millions per year in military aid. Leftist guerrilla groups (namely the FMLN) fought the government in a civil war which lasted ten years and caused 300,000 citizens to flee the country. In the end the UN negotiated a peace deal which saw many members of the government step down and the FMLN transition to a successful political party.

Between 2000 and 2004, US authorities began deporting suspected gang members from the LA area in an attempt to deal with gang activity. Many people who had spent almost their entire lives in the US were forced to return to El Salvador and with few options, gang activity flourished. El Salvador is now infamous because of Mara Salvatrucha a multinational gang which originated with Salvadorians in LA. Conflict with El Salvador's oposiing gang, the M-18, has made the country one of the most violent in the world, having the highest homicide rate for the last several years.

Despite the civil war and ongoing threat from the gangs, El Salvador is one of the wealthiest countries in Central America and has a significant middle class, particularly in San Salvador. It helps that almost a quarter of the population receives remittances from family members living abroad (mostly in the US). It seemed as though almost every person I met had a connection to the US, either having lived there themselves or having family there. It was shocking how little English many Salvadorians I met learned while they were in the US. I'm sure it was pretty difficult and it's understandable why many choose to return. El Salvador also uses the US dollar as their currency.

First stop: San Salvador. Loved the big trees.

My first stop in El Salvador was the capital, San Salvador. Here I stayed with an awesome school teacher in her family's beautiful house in an upscale, gated community. Dinorah and her friends do not use public transportation, citing fears of getting caught in inter-gang violence and theft. San Salvador is also a very sprawling, suburban city so walking isn't really a viable option. The downtown isn't safe at night, but has a huge market during the day. I went to visit with another couch surfer, although we took the precaution of leaving all of our things at the house, which was sad since it would have been an amazing opportunity to take photos. Instead I had to settle for pictures of the museums, which are all located in safe and tourist friendly areas of the city.

 El Chulon, Salvadorian for "naked man", outside the modern art museum. And yes, there is also a Chulona ("naked woman") but she's a statue.

 

 Museum of anthropology.

The city has a lot of big streets, not good for walking!

Lunch. Soup had strange balls I was unable to identify. No idea what the red drink was either, but delicious.

Many tourists opt to skip San Salvador altogether and head straight for the beach, which is about 30 minutes away and supposedly has some of the best surfing breaks in the world. We went with Dinorah for the night and stayed for the following day. A bit too much of a "surfer scene" for me though. Plus I didn't feel like repeating the Cancun sunburn incident.

El Tunco.

Black volcanic sand.
Sandal tan is progressing well.

The little town of El Tunco.

After San Salvador I headed west to San Miguel for the countries largest carnival. This was quite an experience with mountains of food, a parade and something like 15 different stages set up throughout the city with live music. I've head wildly varying stats on the number of participants, but somewhere around 20,000 I believe. I learned a little about being pick pocketed in large crowds, thankfully I only lost $9 and a piece of fudge (in multiple incidents).

The carnival.

More carnival.

Sweets.

Being interviewed for TV.

Parade float. You gotta love the grannies.

Of course what community event would be complete without McDonalds?

Or the tool girls?

Finally I made my way to Perquin in the northwest of the country. Perquin had been the headquarters for the FLMN guerrillas and still has a lot of history including a museum. Many ex-guerrillas and their families still live here. Deep in coffee country, this was a very peaceful little town. It might have been a tad lonely actually, except that I met up with two German couch surfers who had stayed with Dinorah right before I arrived.

The Germans, 16 months into their journey and with plenty of stories to tell.

Military artifacts.

The studio from where Radio Victory, the guerrillas radio station broadcast from.

Unexploded bomb dropped by government forces. Made in the USA.

Perquin.

I also visited El Mozote, a nearby site where on December 11, 1981 government soldiers massacred the 757 occupants of the village in a policy aimed at "clearing land". Forensic investigations confirmed that the bullets used were manufactured in the US. We went with a local couch surfer, who pointed out where the bodies were found, even where children were found hanged from the trees. It was night so taking pictures wasn't really possible, but I don't think I would have wanted to anyway. There was a beautiful monument, a reflection garden and a group of young guys playing music. Probably one of the most moving places I've been or things I've seen on this trip.

I'm in Esteli, Nicaragua now, heading north to Ocotal tomorrow to stay with another couch surfer who's involved in some interesting organic agriculture there.