January 22, 2024 – Suchitoto, El Salvador

After breakfast we had a short orientation talk to learn about the trip. We boarded the bus that will take us for most of the trip. Giovanni is our driver and Julio is our Salvadoran local guide. 
Our first stop was Libertad.  It is a small fishing town with a large fish market where you can buy fresh or dried fish.  We took a 45 minute walk through the market place and along the waterfront. Just outside Libertad is where the pre-Olympic surfing trials were held.
Back on the bus we drove through San Salvador on our way to Suchitoto. As we rode, Julio told us about the country.  Over the past 5 years, the gangs have been eliminated and the country is starting to flourish economically.  
We had a great lunch of fresh seabass.  We’ve been told that most of the meals will be chicken so to enjoy fresh fish while we are near the coast.  The restaurant overlooked a huge man made Lake, Suchitlan, used to produce hydroelectric power.
We had a rest break after checking into our hotel. We will be here two nights.
At 4pm we walked around town. In one park we saw a Baltimore oriole (the bird not the baseball team).  Julio said that both US east coast and west coast birds winter here.  We went to an artisan shop that specializes in indigo dyed clothing. Each piece is unique and designed by Irma Guadron, the owner.  She told us the story of how she went from doing piece work at a textile factory to learning how to make and dye with indigo.  Indigo is only produced.in India, Japan, and Suchitoto, El Salvador.   Irma is an amazing, empowered woman who has created a business on her own.  It was a thrill to meet her.
We finished our walk by having Pupusas, a street food which is a corn dough filled with your choice of fillings that is flattened and fried.  I had a bean and cheese pupusa.  It was very good and very filling.
Tomorrow we’ll learn about the Civil War and hike in an area where the guerillas hid out.