2014, Day 18 - Apocalyptic approach

As the storm clouds broke and the sun started to set over San Salvador we were treated to this amazing sight.  Does anyone know what this phenomenon is called?  There was such an amazing contrast in the colors of the sky with sharp definition.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f4, merged layers of 1/60 and 1/30 sec @ 400 ISO

2014, Day 14 - Loitering

It seems we sometimes forget the simple pleasure like good company.  Our days are so hectic and we often fail to make time to socialize.  Yes, we turn to the internet and social media as a convenient all-hours alternative but it isn't really the same.  Laughing and sharing a laugh are totally different experienced; you cannot recreate the infectious nature of laughter on the internet.  And virtual socialization lacks the companionable quality of time spent with people face-to-face.  I sometimes think that a more basic life may be harder and there may be more challenges but there is possibility for a different kind of richness that comes from friends and family in close contact that our busy bustling lives sometimes lacks.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/320 sec @ 100 ISO

2014, Day 13 - Sitting

I've said it so many times, but it is worth repeating, markets are fascinating places.  It is a place of equality, people from all economic backgrounds shop there to get the best foods possible.  You can see what the people eat, what is special and what is common.  There are so many new smells and although not all are pleasant they're all interesting.  We watched a man making sausages, a woman filleting liver, a group of woman fine shaving cabbage to name a few.  Some foods we were given samples to try and everywhere you looked there was something interesting.  Because we were in San Salvador and had an apartment at our disposal we bought tons of fresh fruits and vegetables and I think we ate almost everything we bought too.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
70mm, f2.8, 1/400 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 340 - Demonic view

This is the view from Puerto del Diablo, the Devil's Door.  The legend says that when the daughter of a noble family started fell in love with an evil spirit her father discovered the relationship.  He set out after the spirit and the agent of evil in turn split that enormous rock formation and descended safely into the underworld.

On one side of the Devil's Door is San Salvador and on the other is Panchimalco.  Panchimalco is a small community where the indiginous witch doctors still practice their craft.  It is said that people seek out their services for the casting and removal of curses as well as to aid in unrequited love.  They can cast and remove the evil eye, provide charms to ward off malevolent magic, and one particularly sadistic curse will cause a toad to make its home in the victims stomach where it will grow until they die is agony or another powerful witch doctor is able to counteract the magic.  We had rather hoped to visit the town and investigate the brujos but ended up short on time.

Funny how two places steeped in lore and magic are in such close proximity, I am sure it isn't chance that brought them together.  It is a beautiful location and apparently it is quite a popular place for young couples to do on dates.  I suppose if it ends in heartache you can always head down to Panchimalco.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
24mm, f5.6, 1/500 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 336 - Filtered

My favorite thing to do when I travel anywhere is to go to the market.  This is the Central Market in San Salvador and we had a blast.  I love seeing the variety of food available and when we visited kindly woman making chocolate happily gave us samples.  It was still warm with cinnamon and chile powder; delicious and it was so cheap we had to buy some.  By the time we left we had about forty pounds of food and produce and I think we spent less than fifteen dollars.  And, as a nice surprise, we paid the same prices that locals pay.  I've found that when you travel sometimes the vendors at the markets charge foreigners more but the generous people here didn't seem to know about that custom.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
24mm, f2.8, 1/400 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 323 - Friendship

I'm home!  On one hand it is hard to believe that the trip is over and I was gone for a month and on the other it is nice to be home and I am really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again.  I think one of the hardest parts to the transition back to real life is not waking up and talking to the same people every day.  My friends Francene and Araceli are great travel companions and it is be odd not talking to the first thing in the morning and last thing at night.  It's being about to talk about the stupid things that pop into your head or the funny thing you see when you're in the moment.  But there are always more adventures to be had and experiences to be shared.

So I want to thank all the people who joined me on my trip.  You all helped to make it memorable and for that I will always be grateful.  Sometimes it is those companionable silences that you miss most, like these two women who were finishing a day of work at San Salvador's Mercado Central.  They look so comfortable with each other and I suspect they are family.  I took this picture because I thought it was sweet and I still do, it makes me smile :)

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
70mm, f2.8, 1/125 sec @ 200 ISO

2013, Day 301 - Billowing

After a leisurely morning around the apartment our day was pretty much consumed by tedious errands.  There were some odds and ends that Tim needed so we went in search of those but only after a marathon session of trying to get a cell phone working.  We were encouraged to carry a local phone which we purchased last week but many of the advanced functions didn't work so we took it back to the store where we purchased it.  After a long interlude they sent us to their main office who in turn made us wait for about an hour to admit that it couldn't be fixed and we needed to get a new phone which meant sending us back to where we started.  Once there they insisted we needed both receipts and we had only one so we had to go back to the apartment to get it and then return to the store.  It was even more tedious that this recounting.

By the time we got the phone issue addressed it was time to pick up Tim from work so we headed off to collect him.  Sadly for him the building's air conditioning went out and wearing a suit in the heat and humidity is no fun at all so the car was quite a relief for him.  We then went off to look at some furniture and then headed back to the apartment to an incredible sunset after which we went to dinner and now we're back packing our bags so we can head off to Mexico tomorrow.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
34mm, f4, merged layers of 1/500 and 1/250 sec @ 4000 ISO

2013, Day 298 - Sunbathing

There was a lot of flora in our day today.  This morning we got up and had a light breakfast of yogurt and fresh pineapple that we purchased at the Mercado Central yesterday.  It was so sweet and juicy that it left a sticky puddle on the cutting board.

Luis picked us up early, earlier than we should have left really but due to some miscommunication that is completely my fault.  So our plan to visit some museums we awry because none would have been open so we asked Luis to take us to see something he thought all visitors should see; he suggested a nice viewpoint and we agreed.  Along the way he stopped at a relatively low elevation vista spot before taking us up further to Puerta del Diablo, the Devil's Door.

The peaks were originally a single mountain that split due to being erosion caused by heavy rains.  However there is a more colorful story about girl who falls in love with an demon and when her father finds out he chases it off.  During his flight the evil spirit breaks through the rocks and plummets to his death.  I like this story better, the explanation of rain is just boring.

Here we hiked us a steep trail over rocks with steps cut into them.  It was a strenuous climb, according to Francene's FitBit it was the equivalent of thirty flights of stairs.  At the top we found ourselves enveloped in clouds pushed on by a cool breeze.  We rested and watched the clouds move past us long enough to take a few pictures before a new bank rolled over us again.  The views were incredible and it was a nice way to pass much of the morning.

Because we had seen a few places selling plants on the way up we asked Luis if we could stop off so we could buy a couple of house plants for Tim's apartment.  He only just moved in and it is a little barren.  Being the stellar guy that he is Luis immediately obliged.  We made our purchases at one small nursery and although there were a lot of great local plants in bloom we decided to go with things whose care requirements were already known to us.  So Tim ended up with a beautiful philodendron and a really amazing stag horn fern which is mounted on a piece of wood.

Next we needed a pot for the philodendron because it came in a black nursery bag so that meant another stop where we found some great pottery and many of the same plants at a higher price.  For eight dollars we got a nice large pot and a couple small bags of soil to use in our transplanting.

By this time it was getting to be late and we were getting hungry so after a quick stop for cortizone cream at a pharmacy with an armed guard out front we asked Luis to take us to a good lunch spot.  We ended up at a nice cafeteria-style place right before the lunch rush.  All three of us had a local vegetable kind of like a cross beween squash and jicama covered in cheese, dipped in egg, and fried with a nice salad, a side of beans and rice, and a cool beverage.  I chose a tall glass of horchata that we very well spiced.  It ended up being a lot more food that it initially appeared to be and by the time we were finished all three of us were stuffed and for less than five dollars per person.

Full to bursting we went back to the apartment to clean up a bit before Tim got back from his work trip to Washington DC.  Unfortunately that only kind of happened, I repotted the philodendron and just as I finished cleaning up he walked through the door.  We spent the afternoon catching up and putting together his new grill on the balcony.  Since Tim hadn't eaten since breakfast we went for an early dinner at Pollo Real.  Tim had never been and the food there is both good and cheap.  So we had a nice dinner and came back to call it a night.

Tomorrow we're getting an early start so I am eating my banana and local chocolate (cinnamony and spicy) and heading to bed.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/400 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 297 - Wrapping up

We started our day even later than yesterday but it was a good one.  We were picked up by Luis, a taxi driver that Tim regularly uses, who was all set to spend the day with us.  It turned out that he did a lot more that drive us around.

First we set off to find a cell phone.  Tim thought we should have a phone that works and he told us not to be cheap so Luis took us to a massive mall and we comparison shopped.  The idea was to buy a phone outright so that we could use it elsewhere so we found a relatively inexpensive Samsung that supports two SIM cards.  That way you can use it in two countries at once of can use one carrier for a better rate in some areas and another carrier for the others.  It kind of makes sense to me.

Phone in hand we then went to the Mercado Central, the city's central market.  It is huge and it was a bit late in the day so not as crowded as it would be first thing in the morning nor was it quite a cool out.  Luis walked us through, introduced us to new fruits and vegetables, procured samples of this or that so we could taste them.  We had a blast and because the cupboard was bare at Tim's place we did a little shopping.  First we purchase a bag for our shopping, it only makes sense to have something to carry all your food home and we wouldn't want to be wasteful.  Then we started looking at the various fruits; we bought passionfruit, a pineapple, bananas, a watermelon, and a few other native fruits that we didn't recognize but wanted to try.  When Francene saw the makings of a good salsa our focus shifted to tomatoes, cilantro, a native variety of avocado, onions, and peppers.  With the idea of a salty savory food our palettes shifted to the other extreme and we bought coconut candy, a sugar and nut candy, fresh fruit drinks, and when we found a woman working chocolate by hand we had a sample and had to buy some of that too.  It was rich and sweet with cinnamon and a heavy dose of hot pepper that gave it a nice kick.  By the end we had the makings of a feast and only spent a few dollars.  Below is a picture of a fishmonger's stall and a woman cleaning up from her day's work at the market.

Even though we had been sampling all morning we skipped breakfast and were ready for lunch.  When we told Luis we wanted something local he took us to Pollo Criollo, a busy little place that specializes in chicken.  I didn't have the chicken, I had beans and rice with a side of pasta salad served with a couple hot tortillas.  Francene had a chicken soup and Luis had a chile relleno stuffed with cheese and chicken.  It all looked good and my seemingly plain lunch had a lot of great flavor.

Next we presented Luis with a challenge, furniture.  Tim get issued furniture by the US government since he works for them and it is the same across the globe.  Literally, one company has the contract to provide furniture to employees of the US government working overseas and this place looks almost identical to his place in Cambodia.  It is very traditional American style furniture and some of it is fine but the rest is kind of bad.  So we asked Luis for help and he started making calls to friends and family, even to his mother, and he came up with a number of suggestions.  Most were nothing amazing but one was exceptional so Francene and I started plotting...  What furniture would she like to see at home in a new years?

Finally we decided to return to the apartment to relax for a little bit before heading out again in the evening.  Just as we were pulling up to the building the sky opened, the wind picked up, and it started to dump rain.  When we got upstairs and looked out the window there was a wall of clouds advancing over the city and soon the buildings across the street were totally hidden by the clouds.  Thunder rocked the city setting off car alarms and we began to wonder if maybe we were done for the day.

In time the rain stopped and as the sun was setting the clouds broke a little bit but we decided that it was late and that we should just get dinner and call it a day.  So we wandered the neighborhood and looked for anything that wasn't an American export.  By the time we stumbled upon a Chinese restaurant we decided it would be good enough and had a light dinner.

After a pleasant walk back to the apartment we had a banana each with a little of the fresh chocolate and spent the evening catching up with the rest of the world thanks to the internet.  It was nice and tomorrow Tim gets back into town so the partying should really start with his arrival :)

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
24mm, f2.8, 1/160 sec @ 2500 ISO

2013, Day 296 - Meandering

There is a worrying pattern that we perpetuated today, getting a later start.  Because we were checking out of our room we decided that we wouldn't need to be out the door until eight o'clock.  That was because there would be breakfast and packing prior to our departure.  Given that it was our last morning in Suchitoto I got up early and wandered around the town when it was still half asleep.  There were women walking down the cobbled streets with baskets of fresh baked breads balanced on their head, dogs were napping in doorways, and people were cleaning the central square.  It was beautiful and tranquil.

I returned to our hotel a short time later to have breakfast with Francene.  Once we had eaten I headed back to the room to finish packing but got sidetracked by a couple of jumping spiders.  Fortunately the call of nature needed answering and kept me from too much distraction.  I answered and finished packing just as Robert arrived.

We packed up the truck and headed to our first stop, El Salvador's only UNESCO World Heritage site, Joya de Ceren.  It is a Mayan farming village that was buried in ash after a volcanic eruption in the year 590.  That ash fell quickly and covered some areas up to eight meters deep; these conditions helped to preserve their community very well.  Fortunately they have found no bodies which suggests that they had plenty of notice and were able to evacuate before the eruption.

Next we made our way to Cerro Verde National Park.  It is at the top of a volcano and is covered in dense jungle.  When we arrived at the top there was a thick layer of clouds obscuring the view.  Undeterred we went on a short hike to the abandoned hotel and restaurant and the accompanying viewpoint.  It was a neat place, very obviously built in the fifties with some impressive modern architecture.  Francene and I explored the area which Robert tried to keep an eye on us so we just split up and frustrated his efforts completely.  It was beautiful to walk through the rainforest as it was obscured by the clouds, that is what is pictured below.

From there we started our journey along the Ruta de las Flores, the path of the flowers.  It consists of a series of mountain communities with some distinct features but united in their proliferation of flowers and for coffee cultivation.  Given that we were on a bit of a time crunch we stopped first at Juayua which is known for its weekend craft festivals and for their black Christ in the community's largest church.  After we stopped in Apaneca to appreciate some amazing views and we ended up in Ataco where we toured the brightly-color city and were able to purchase some of the local coffee which is supposed to be the best in the region.  Before hitting the road again we stopped off at a restaurant called Portland after our fair city that is owned by a gentleman who lived there before returning to El Salvador to get a little refreshment.

Our next stop was San Salvador and on our way into the city we stopped off for dinner.  I had a very nice meal of pupusas, stuffed tortillas that are lightly fried; the ones I ordered were filled with a combination of beans, cheese, chiles, leafy green, and a local squash.  All were excellent and I already know I will miss them when we leave.

Once we filled out bellies we proceeded into the Zona Rosa where Tim's apartment it located.  It is in the nice part of town and his place on the twenty-second floor has an incredible view.  So we unloaded our bag, bid farewell to Robert, and settled in for the night.  Tomorrow will, with a little luck, be a more leisurely day but I am going to get some rest.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f5.6, 1/4 sec @ 100 ISO