MAG Farmer’s Market and feeling at home, El agro-mercado de MAG y sintiendome en casa

  This weekly farmer’s market in Santa Tecla is a delight.  Every Thursday morning from approximately 7:00-1:00 the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock hosts this friendly market filled with fruits and vegetables, flowers, plants, honey, meat, jams, seafood, pupusas, atoles, and more. The farmers display their goods in large baskets lined with big green leaves.  The presentation is charming.  How wonderful it is to talk to the actual people growing the food you choose.  I wish I had found this market sooner!  The prices are good and the calm energy that pervades the place makes me feel at home.  I find myself wanting to buy everything but am limited by my two hands.  Thursdays are now special days for the rest of my time here thanks to MAG.

  El mercado del Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería es algo muy especial.  Cada jueves la mañana está llena de frutas, verduras, miel, flores, plantas, carne, pescado, pasteles, dulces, atoles, pupusas, y mucho más.  Todos los productos son de El Salvador y hechos o cultivados por las manos de las personas vendiéndolos.  El mercado tiene la sensación de seguridad, tranquilidad, y amabilidad.  Ahora que ya lo conozco, los jueves son días importantes para mí.  Este mercado me hace sentir alegre y en casa. 

http://www.mag.gob.sv/

 I spy beans, passion fruit, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, guisquil, cucumbers, mangoes, limes, and okra.  This farmer is from the outskirts of Sonsonate.  

  Here is everything I bought from last week’s market on my kitchen counter.  The smell of the guava was so divine.  It permeated our apartment all week long.

Genzano di Roma Caffe, Ciambelle, and I HEART pizza

  

  This Roman café is GOOD!  So far I have tried their pizza, a few pastries, and a nice cinnamon iced tea.  The pizza crust is uber-thin and crunchy, and the personal size is just right for lunchtime.  The crazy green semi-hard doughnut is called “Ciambelle de Limon”.  It is lime green on the inside too!  Just now, I had fun with Google Images looking up “Ciambelle”.  It made me hungry.  It also brought back old memories of homemade donuts my friend’s Mom made for us the morning after a birthday party sleepover.  Try googling it.  I bet you’ll get hungry too.  But wait!  I’m writing about PIZZA, which I love.  It is one of my favorite foods, tied with PASTA, which Genzano di Roma Caffe also serves.  I HEART pizza and am glad to have found a pizza place in San Salvador that I can’t wait to go back to.

Pizza with potatoes and rosemary.

Espresso with biscotti.

¿Donde queda?

Calle El Mediterráneo 36-B, Jardines de Guadalupe

Antiguo Cuscatlán cerca de la UCA

Teléfono 2243-2153

Súper Selectos y algunas de mis cosas favoritas, Super Selectos and a few of my favorite things

  Súper Selectos es un buen supermercado aquí en El Salvador.  La empresa es de dueños salvadoreños y hay más que 75 sucursales en el país.   Es un mercado normal, pero tiene buenos acentos, como frutas y vegetales especiales, comida internacional y gourmet, y muchos empleos para ayudarle.  Intento hacer mis compras en mercados menos comerciales pero Súper Selectos es tan fácil y tiene casi todo lo que quiero.  Aquí están algunas cosas que me gustan mucho.  Todas son hechas en El Salvador y tienen muy buena calidad.

  Super Selectos is a great grocery store here in El Salvador.  Owned and run by Salvadorans, there are over 75 stores in the country.  It’s a normal looking grocery store with special touches, like specialty produce, gourmet and international pantry items, and plenty of employees in the aisles to help you.  I try to shop at less commercial markets but Super Selectos has most of what I need and it’s easy!  Here are some of my favorite food items, all made here in El Salvador.

http://www.superselectos.com/

Yes Natural Yogurt - unsweetened and simple.  

I have it everyday in licuados or alone with fresh papaya and granola.

La Lucania Fresh Mozzarella and Ricotta – fantastic!

Quail Eggs – so delicate and pretty!

Cooked Beets – They’re good for you!

Carnivale Hummus - the perfect quantity (I always make too much)

Suprema Beer “La magia está en los detalles”  

La Laguna Botanical Garden, a Hidden Gem Jardín Botánico La Laguna, una Joya Escondida

  La semana pasada fui al Jardín Botánico en Antiguo Cuscatlán por la primera vez.  Fue un poquito difícil de encontrar, está escondido detrás de fábricas de comida.  La entrada también está adentro del Vivero al lado del jardín.  ¡Pero, vale la pena! Hay orquídeas, bambú, muchas mariposas, iguanas grandes, peces, colmenas, y todo tipo de árboles y plantas.  El lugar es amplio y al mismo tiempo acogedor. Estuve allá durante la semana y había muchos estudiantes corriendo, caminando, y explorando por todas partes.  Con todos los estudiantes, no me sentía incómoda.  Al contrario, tenía la impresión que todos, incluso yo, estábamos tan felices de acercarnos a la naturaleza y la tranquilidad. 

  Last week I went to La Laguna Botanical Garden here in San Salvador in Antiguo Cuscatlan.  It was a bit difficult to find, hidden behind all kinds of food factories.  The entrance was also challenging as it’s connected to a nursery.  But it was worth finding! There are orchids, bamboo, many butterflies, big iguanas, fish, beehives, and all kinds of plants and trees.  The garden is spacious and welcoming, with walkways leading to different areas that feel like outdoor rooms.  I was there during the week and there were many students exploring the garden.  From the looks on their faces, I could tell they were as delighted as I was to be surrounded by nature in a serene and special place.

http://www.jardinbotanico.org.sv/home.html

 

 

Lake Suchitlan makes me smile and the funny thing about expectations

  Recently we took a day trip to Suchitoto and Lake Suchitlan.  I’d heard good things about Suchitoto: a beautiful old Spanish colonial town referred to as the “Cultural Crown Jewel of El Salvador”; compared to Antigua, Guatemala, and Granada, Nicaragua in guidebooks; and named by the Mayans, “Suchitoto”, place of birds and flowers.  Suffice it to say, my expectations were rather high.  The only thing I’d heard about Lake Suchitlan is that it’s a manmade lake with contaminated water.  As you can imagine, my expectations for the lake were rather low. 

  Having visited Antigua, Guatemala years ago, I was expecting to see lots of color and vibrancy.  The parts of Suchitoto that I saw lacked both.  To be fair, I was there during the week and I hear it’s a livelier place on the weekends.  We walked around the main square and visited a few stores and a bakery.  Then we headed to Lake Suchitlan for lunch.

  The Puerto San Juan entrance to Lake Suchitlan is very welcoming.  At the open-air restaurants, housed under one roof, we were greeted by women wearing traditional dress.  We ate lunch while looking out onto the lake.  After, we took a thirty-minute boat tour.  Our guide told us fun facts with now forgotten details about the surrounding land that used to be rich farmland. I definitely got the message that the dam radically changed the surrounding areas for better and for worse.  The day we were there, the air was hot and the breeze from the boat was divine.  I felt buoyed surrounded by water, clouds, birds, and green islands and glad to be in that thoughtful state you enter when floating on a body of water. 

  It’s okay to have expectations.  I certainly enjoy looking forward to seeing places that I’ve heard good things about.  It’s okay to feel disappointed too.   Perhaps the idea is to go and see for yourself, decide what you think, and find what strikes your fancy.  For me, I’m interested in going to Suchitoto again, if only to pass on through and head to Lake Suchitlan. 

Centro Turistico Puerto San Juan

http://www.elsalvador.travel/centro-turistico-puerto-san-juan/

El Centro Cultural de España en El Salvador, estoy impresionada! The Spanish Cultural Center in El Salvador, I’m impressed!

 

  Estoy muy impresionada con el Centro Cultural de España aquí en San Salvador.  Ubicado en Zona Rosa, al lado de la embajada de España, este moderno espacio ofrece talleres para adultos y niños, películas, exposiciones de arte, lecturas, una biblioteca, y mucho mas.  He ido a algunas películas y cada vez, había una discusión extensiva después.  Recientemente, participé en un taller para mujeres sobre escritura creativa dirigida por Silvia Elena Regalado, una escritora, y también directora de La Casa del Escritor, Museo Salarrué.  Éramos mas que veinte mujeres y una mezcla de edades y vidas.  Juntas, compartimos una parte de nosotras mismas.  Fue emocionante y muy especial para todas.  (¡Gracias Silvia Elena!)

  Si Usted tiene la oportunidad de visitarlo, vaya para un sorbo de cultura, de España y El Salvador.  Allá están haciendo algo impactante y muy interesante.

  I’m impressed with the Spanish Cultural Center here in San Salvador.  Located in Zona Rosa, next to the Spanish Embassy, it’s a welcoming modern space.  The Center offers workshops of all kinds, movies, art shows, readings, a library, and more.  I’ve gone to several movies and each time there was a lively discussion afterwards.  Recently I participated in a women’s creative writing workshop led by Silvia Elena Regalado, a writer and also the director of La Casa del Escritor, Museo Salarrue.  We were a group of over 20 women from all ages and walks of life.  Together, we read our writings, both spontaneous and edited.  It was a very special experience sharing our personal stories and connections as women.

  If you have the opportunity to visit, I encourage you to do so.  They are doing some pretty cool things!

http://www.ccespanasv.org/quienes-somos.php

MUTE Museo Municipal Tecleño, Prisoners of the Violence, and transformation

  Today I visited “MUTE” a museum in Santa Tecla that was previously a prison. It is now transformed into a place that seeks to create a culture of peace and offers education about human rights.  The space is not as big as I had imagined a prison would be, and though there are a few gloomy reminders of what it once was, overrall, it’s a welcoming environment. 

  I remember reading about El Faro’s exposition “Presos de la Violencia”, Prisoners of the Violence, and thinking that I didn’t want to see it.  I was worried it would be too sad and harsh for me (I’m quite sensitive in some ways).  I forgot about it, and though technically the show ended in May, it was still on display at MUTE today.  I’m actually glad I saw it.  It had photos showing Salvadoreñans living in overcrowded prisons, people’s wounds from bullets and knives, people with mental illness and health problems, and more.  The photos that struck me most were from a women’s prison in Ilopango.  The place was designed to hold 400 prisoners and currently holds 1,731 women! 

  As a visitor, it’s easy to live in a sort of bubble.  If you follow certain routes, go to the malls, and spend a lot of time at home, you can almost tune out the problems.  Crime, violence, poverty, overcrowded prisons, environmental ruin are all problems we have in the U.S., but here, they are magnified. 

  I have purposely kept this blog positive and upbeat.  There is plenty of information out there about all the things that trouble El Salvador and I’m the kind of person who likes to focus on the good.  My husband and I are now half way through our time abroad and I thought it might be worth expressing that it IS hard here.  It’s confusing too.   I don’t always know what to do with the hard feelings when they come up.  We each have our own way of dealing with what we see and experience in life, and sometimes one can’t help but feel discouraged and helpless.

  I feel very grateful for my time in El Salvador.  I acknowledge and see the hard things this country has to face and I give thanks that despite those things, there is still so much beauty to be found.  Transforming a prison into an art museum, a place that feeds its citizens souls, is very clever and quite positive.  And I’d like to imagine that those women living in the overcrowded prison are able to find a little bit of joy in their connections with each other and their hope for freedom. 

MUTE’s website: http://www.mutesv.org/

More photos and a video about MUTE with English subtitles:  http://www.elsalvador.travel/museo-tecleno-mute/

Mas información sobre Presos de la Violencia: http://www.elfaro.net/es/201205/guiacultural/8515/

My sister’s visit and a highlight from our time together - Playa El Tunco and Playa Sunzal, La Libertad

  Recently, my sister came for a week-long visit.  We managed to cover lots of ground and I’m tempted to share everything with you at once.  Instead I will sip and savor  places we visited in the coming months. 

  As some guidebooks recommend, my sister and I used San Salvador as our base, taking day trips and returning home before traffic turned intense.  We found a good balance of doing and seeing, resting and being. It was so nice to see El Salvador through her fresh eyes.  She loves to travel and was happy to have made the trek to a place she probably would not have chosen if I wasn’t living here.

  I’ll start by sharing my highlight from our time together.  Of course the beach was my favorite part!  One night we stayed at Tekuani Kal, a hotel in El Tunco with Mayan inspired art and diverse flora and fauna.  I’m not sure why, but I had low expectations, so I was completely thrilled when we arrived.  It’s not a fancy place, but it’s cool, funky and hip.  The most important part is that my sister LOVED it.  We relaxed in the hammocks by the beach, gazed at the ocean from the small infinity pool, and dined in its restaurant to the sound of crashing waves. 

  Before heading back to San Salvador the next day, we had lunch at Café Sunzal.  A guest at Tekuani Kal had told us we HAD to try their watermelon ceviche, and so we did!  

  On the drive there, I was reminded how close these two awesome beaches are to San Salvador (only 30-45 minutes away depending on what time you go).  A challenge for myself now is to go more often.  The beach is warmer and sunnier than the city these days so it’s a great mood booster when you need it.

  Here are some photos from our time at the beach...Enjoy!

  Scenes from Tekuani Kal http://www.tekuanikal.com/home.htm

  Scenes from Café Sunzal http://www.casademarhotel.com/v2/es/restaurant