siglinde99

Last Monday I headed to El Salvador for a few days. It was lovely except for a few hitches.
1) On the way to the airport, I tidied up my knapsack and managed to leave my phone charger in the taxi.
2) I made my connection in Chicago, but my luggage did not. Luckily I had some essential clothing and supplies in my knapsack, as I didn't see my suitcase again until late Wednesday night. My colleague was not so lucky, as he forgot his wallet somewhere in Chicago or on the plane. It still hasn't shown up as far as I know.
3) I had bought a replacement phone charger at the Ottawa airport, but left it behind at my hotel in Usulután on Tuesday.
4) I didn't lose anything on Wednesday or Thursday, but I did forget to pay Clara back after she accidentally covered the cost of our hotel rooms on Wednesday morning. I'll need to mail her a cheque tomorrow!
5) Having managed to get my phone recharged thanks to one of my friends at the Embassy, I misplaced the phone on Friday morning. I had it in my hotel room just before leaving. I opened my knapsack in the car to take a picture of bunnies on the side of the road when we stopped to investigate a leaking tire; the phone may have fallen out then. Tomorrow I'll be putting in some calls to see if the phone showed up in the car; if not, I'll be getting my friend at the Embassy to see whether it was turned in at the hotel. Hopefully she will be able to mail it back soon.
6) The flight from El Salvador was delayed by an hour when two people decided not to travel at the last minute and their bags had to be retrieved. As a result, I missed my connection in Toronto and lost another hour in travel time. We won't even discuss how much sleep I lost during the week, staying out too late and getting up too early every day.

In non-lost news, El Salvador has made huge progress since I was last there. There is an impressive road network, the quality of houses and cars has improved significantly. I didn't see a single person selling fruit or other goodies on the street. Tourism is way up, according to the locals. There is still poverty, but nothing like when I lived there, except in very remote regions like the ones I went to visit.

Skraeling Althing bunnies are everywhere! These fearless fellows were on the side of a four-lane highway.



Francisco, Sara, me, Esly, Karla and Romeo - all former colleagues at the Embassy.


Proud graduates of the baking, construction and literacy courses in Ilobasco, partly funded by Canada


A few of the grads in the literacy program. These ladies studied reading, writing and practical human rights skills for a year. The lady in front just turned 75. The one directly behind her broke into a dance upon receiving her diploma.


Processing coffee beans in rural Usulutan. This project was born following land reform that gave landless peasants small plots of land, many of them with ageing coffee trees. Now, thousands of farmers in 13 communities have improved varieties of younger trees (with more on the way), and a guaranteed market for their beans. The same project has fair trade shops in all the villages so that farmers have access to essential goods and a place to sell their produce. The shops are run by community youth, who now are willing to stay rather than taking their chances with illegal migration or a move to the big city.


Traffic jam in San Francisco, Usulutan


View from my hotel room, Usulutan

One of the things I love to do when I travel is take pictures from my hotel room. This started out as a bit of a joke because there were trips that didn't leave me time to see anything else. The view from my room was not particularly exotic, but it had something that I associate wih Paris more than anyplace else: little hidden gems of greenery in courtyards that no-one would suspect exist. I spotted several more of these courtyards when out walking past schools - I found myself reciting lines from the Madeline books as I went past the open doorways while hordes of children with old-fashioned bookbags strapped to their backs headed inside.



It was also rather nice in the evening. I love all the little chimney pots and half expected Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke to skip across the roofs:



Another thing I really like about France, though I find it strange almost anywhere else, is the manicured gardens. This picture was taken in front of the archaeological museum. I'm pretty sure they aren't boxwood trees, but they sure are rectangular!



As was this:

One of my favourite Christmas traditions is adopted from Latin America, though I don't do it quite right. Certain countries, notably Peru and El Salvador, have fantabulous Nativity scenes. They are often supplemented with additional characters that have nothing to do with the Nativity at all. In El Salvador, there is an entire museum devoted to these sets. One of my friends says that her Peruvian mother has a set that started out on the piano, but over the years has grown to dominate much of the living room. 
 mine.

This was my very first set, purchased in Recife, Brazil in about 1994. Note the giant chicken on the left side. A giant chicken is the mascot of Recife. There is a huge chicken statue in town, and it plays a prominent role in local carnival celebrations. On Saturday night of carnival, 1.5 million people follow the Galo de Madrugada band/dance group (the very late night chicken). 



From left to right, there is a wooden set from La Palma, El Salvador, one inside a gourd, from Peru, and a Guatemalan set with all the figures in indigenous costume. La Palma is famous for its artisan community, which was founded by Fernando Llort in the 1970's. Llort is El Salvador's most well-known painter, who decorated the Metropolitan Cathedral and is often compared to Joan Miro. About 75% of the people in La Palma work in the arts, and most of their work is in the style of Llort.



The one on the left is made of corn husks, and is from Honduras. The one on the right is Peruvian, with all the figures in traditional costume.



Most of these are known as sorpresas, because the cover hides a surprise nativity scene inside. Thy are very popular in El Salvador. While I like the one with the very traditional colonial church, I am most amused by the blatantly commercial/non-religious sorpresas. The one on the back left did not photograph well, but it is sparkly carved white quartz from Peru. The tiny oval is carved from a single seed (from La Palma).



This one is also from El Salvador. It is nestled in a very traditional manger. The angel in back doesn't quite fit, but it is one of the additional characters that would normally surround such a manger.




Here are a few of the traditional additions. These are normally made in the town of Ilobasco, which is well known for its pottery. There is a mariachi band, a woman grinding corn on a metate (flat volcanic rock grinder) and a lady selling flowers. I wasn't able to acquire all the other pieces - bride and groom, old woman, funeral cortege, and vultures in a tree (the best ones are on springs, so they move around). The idea is to build an entire village scene.

The final set is almost boring and traditional in comparison, but I like it because it is considered an appropriate offical gift in El Salvador, but would be completely inappropriate in Canada. It was a gift from the Salvadoran foreign ministry. The sappy sweet faces remind me of Cabbage Patch dolls.