Las Playitas, La Union with an insider’s view

  As a visitor, it’s always interesting to see a new place with the help of someone from that place.  Recently, we had the opportunity to visit la Union, in the east of El Salvador near the border of Honduras and Nicaragua.  Along with three el salvadorenan professors from San Miguel, my husband and I were accompanied by our new friend from Conchagua (a small town near the city of La Union) to Las Playitas.  I love the beach so I was in heaven.  The water was warm and mellow with some small waves.  There were a few families wading in the water and the whole scene was relaxed and calm.

  My husband and I were the only foreigners, but with our “local guide” we felt comfortable.  How terrific to be able to see a new place through the eyes of an insider.  How wonderful to feel at ease, just because we’re with someone who knows their way around.  Traveling alone is just fine, but there is usually a level of stress that comes with visiting a new place.  Will we get lost?  Is it a safe place to be?  Where should we eat?  What should we do?

  When we get the opportunity to visit a new place with someone who knows their way around, we jump at the chance.  We also enjoy being the local guide for our friends and family when we get the chance, knowing just how special it is.  My sister will visit in May and I’m excited to share “my El Salvador” with her.  And if our friend from Conchagua found his way to Oakland, I’d be thrilled to share “my Oakland” with him.

  Como visitante, siempre es más interesante ver un nuevo lugar con la ayuda de alguien de la localidad.  Recentemente, tuvimos la oportunidad de visitar La Unión, en el oriente del pais cerca de la frontera de honduras y nicaragua.  Con tres profesores salvadoreños de San Miguel, mi esposo y yo, nuestro nuevo amigo de Conchagua (un pequeño pueblo cerca de la ciudad de La Unión) nos acompañaron a Las Playitas.  Me encanta la playa entonces yo me sentí en el cielo.  El agua estaba tibia y había algunas familias bañandose.  Todo estaba muy tranquilo.

  Mi esposo y yo éramos los únicos extranjeros, pero con nuestro guía local nos sentimos cómodos.  Y eso es de lo que estoy hablando.  Qué maravilla poder experimentar un nuevo lugar con la seguridad y comodidad que uno siente cuando tiene alguien que ya conoce y le gusta el sitio.  Sí, es interesante visitar nuevos lugares solos y sin ayuda, pero como viajeros, siempre hay un nivel de estrés – ¿Vamos a perdernos?  ¿Es un lugar seguro?  ¿Dónde debemos comer?  ¿Cuál lugar es bueno?

  Entonces, las oportunidades de tener un guía local o simplemente alguien que conoce un lugar mejor que tú son grandes.  En mayo, mi hermana va a visitarnos.  Estoy emocionada por compartir con ella los lugares de el salvador que yo ya conozco y me gustan.  Y si nuestro nuevo amigo de Conchagua viniera a Oakland, vamos a tener el placer de compartir nuestros lugares favoritos con él.

  From Las Playitas you can see the island in the Golf of Fonseca called Conchaguita. Desde la pequeña playa se puede ver una de las islas en el Golfo de Fonseca, 

se llama Conchaguita.

  Delicious seafood soup with a poached egg on top, called Mariscada.  

Sopa Mariscada

Fishing nets hanging from a tree near where we ate.  

Makes me think of the artist Eva Hesse.

The Comfort Inn around the corner from the Port in La Union IS very comfortable.  The pool is lovely, and there’s a nice view of the Gulf too.  As we were leaving, we saw two birds called “torogoz”, the national bird of El Salvador.  If you look closely you can see the bird’s signature tail.  El Comfort Inn cerca del porto de la unión ES muy comodo.  Hay una piscina y vistas buenas.  Vimos dos torogoces, el pajaro de el salvador.  Aquí esta uno y puede ver su cola larga y especial. 

The Comfort Inn La Union

Guisquil Criollo, Guisquil Negro, and Perulero AKA Chayote Squash

  We have Chayote in California.  The kind I’m used to seeing is medium to large in size and light green in color.  I’m not sure why, but I never got around to cooking with it in Oakland.  Here in El Salvador, there are at least three different kinds of Chayote.  The dark green kind is called Guisquil Negro and sometimes has little “whiskers” on the bottom that are sharp and pointy.  The medium green kind is called Guisquil Criollo and is the most familiar looking to me.  The very light green, almost white, and smaller kind is called Perulero.  This vegetable has been cultivated since the Mayan times and it was about time I tried it.

  I was introduced to Guisquil at Mercado Merliot where we ate “rellenos de guisquil”, stuffed with cheese and then fried in eggs and served with tomato sauce.  So good!  I have yet to try making it at home.  What I have tried is dicing it into cubes and adding it to soups or pasta.  More recently, I tried stuffing and baking it.  After steaming the halves, I scooped out the seed, and then scooped out the inside, leaving the skin.  I cut the inside into small cubes, mixed it with cheese, tomatoes, and cooked bulghur wheat (yes, we can get that here!).  I put the filling in each half and finished with a shaving of parmesan on top (yes, that too!).  Then I baked them in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Delicious and easy, the recipe may make its way back to Oakland.

  Cocina Costariccense has 22 entries about Chayote, filled with different recipes and photos.  It’s in Spanish and is quite inspiring.  Cocina Costariccense tiene 22 entradas sobre Chayote.  Esta lleno de recetas y fotos bellas.  Cocina Costariccense Recetas de Chayote

Getting Perspective

Happy Easter!  Happy Spring!  Feliz Semana Santa!

  It’s Easter Sunday and we’re back “home” in San Salvador.  We had a great week-long visit to Tampa, St. Petersburg, and St. Pete Beach, Florida with my husband’s family.  It was my first time there.  I was impressed by all the water (canals, beaches, waterways), and birds (herons, snowy egrets, great egrets, cranes).  Both were everywhere we went.

  We were able to stock up on things we haven’t been able to find in El Salvador, like almond butter, maple syrup, and natural toothpaste; things that will help us feel more at home.  We also got to walk outside, which felt fantastic.  Yes, you can walk in El Salvador, but with caution.  Where we live is very dense with cars and traffic and it just is not an enjoyable experience.  I’ve resigned myself to walking in malls and on treadmills.

  It felt good to be in the States, where they speak my language and where I feel more safe.  But it also felt good to return to San Salvador.  This was our third time flying into the Comalapa Airport and we were both struck by our level of comfort.  We knew how to navigate through customs, we knew we had a ride to take us into town, and we knew our lovely light-filled apartment was awaiting us. 

  I have always enjoyed traveling.  Seeing new things, having new experiences, getting “away from it all”, make the inevitable hassles of travel insignificant.  For me, perhaps the most valuable aspect of travel is the perspective I get from seeing different ways of living.  I return home from trips with a greater appreciation and renewed energy for my life. 

  So here I am, three months into our time here, with renewed vigor, grand plans, and great hope for what’s to come.  Below are a few photos from the trip.  Happy Easter!  Happy Spring!  Feliz Semana Santa!

Egret waiting outside Aunt's kitchen window hoping for food.

St. Pete Beach, lined with seashells and warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Family pretending to ride a vespa at Mazzaro's Italian Market in St. Petersburg.  

We stocked up on cheese and cannolis.  http://www.mazzarosmarket.com/

Cool entrance at the El Salvador Airport.

Inside the airport is a mural by Salvadoreñan artist Rafael Varela 

"Tribute to Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero".    

MARTE Museo de Arte de El Salvador

  This relatively new modern art museum in San Salvador features recent and past works by El Salvadoran artists, as well as rotating focused exhibits from artists around the world.  It has a nice restaurant, is centrally located, and is a great place to go when you’re looking for inspiration or just to get out of the heat. 

  MARTE offers programs for kids and special events for the community.  I was recently able to attend MARTE’s five series workshop on Contemporary Art led by Rodolfo Francisco Molina, Salvadoreñan artist and curator.  How fun to take the time to immerse myself in art and its more recent story.  I especially enjoyed being exposed to all the amazing artwork that has been created in Central America in the last 25 years.  http://www.marte.org.sv/

  Este museo en San Salvador tiene arte de los artistas salvadoreños y exhibiciones rotativas enfocadas a artistas de todo el mundo.  Tiene un restaurante fino, una ubicacion central, y es un buen lugar cuando quiere encontrar inspiracion o un descanso del calor.

  MARTE ofrece programas para niños y eventos especiales para la comunidad.  Recientemente, pude asistir un taller de arte contemporaneo dirigida por Rodolfo Francisco Molina, artista y curador salvadoreño.  Que maravilla tomar tiempo a sumergirme en el mundo del arte contemporaneo.  Fue una gozada, especialmente a ver arte desde los ultimos 25 años creado en la region centroamericana.

El Chulon, Monumento a la Revolucion 

This large painting on stone tiles is said to represent the

 triumph of a liberated people over tyranny.

Alegoria a la Constitucion

A whimsical painting on a brick wall just outside the parking lot.

Ruta de las Flores

  On Friday, we had the opportunity to drive along Ruta de las Flores and stay the night in the town of Ataco.  People we’ve been meeting here keep telling us about Ataco, a town with colorful murals and good restaurants, and Juayua, with their weekend food festival.  On the winding road from Ahuachapan to Ataco, we trailed behind trucks filled with coffeeberry baskets and workers on their way to or from the plantations.  The higher we climbed, the more flowers we saw along the side of the road. 

  For dinner we ate at El Boton, a French fusion place.  We both had quiche and shared a delicious coconut tart for dessert.  All was good and I recommend the place to those of you heading to Ataco. 

  Our guidebook gave us the impression that Hotel El Balcon was a “luxury” hotel, so at first we were disappointed.  The place is simple and clean, just nowhere close to luxury.  The large windows in the rooms have great views of the town and surrounding mountains.  Considering the price, it ended up being a fine place to stay for one night.

  As is often the case for many travelers, we usually find ourselves to be the first to arrive.  We were the first for dinner at El Boton, the first for breakfast at Entre Nubes Café, and too early for the food vendors in Juayua.  At Entre Nubes we got lucky.  Our diesel car is so loud, the owners heard us waiting outside the gate and let us in.  We had a typical Salvadoreñan breakfast of eggs, plantains, beans, fresh cheese and tortillas, and then walked around the gardens before heading onward. http://www.entrenubescafe.com/

  Just outside of Nahuizalco on the side of the main road we bought two lounge chairs for our tiny apartment terrace.  They are hand-made from durable heavy wood and I love them.

  Driving home on Saturday, we got stuck in traffic in Sonsonate, a town whose population has exceeded its capacity.  I was able to take this picture from the car window while waiting for cars to unblock an intersection.

I look forward to a return trip to Ruta de las Flores.  There is so much more to see!

“Dios tenia miedo”, Chicharras, and La Catedral de la Señora

Highlights from my week:

Reading and appreciating “Dios tenia miedo” by Vanessa Nuñez Handal.  Viewing the El Salvador civil war during the 80s from different perspectives, past and present, Handal offers it up in bits and pieces in a way that makes it manageable to digest the intensity and sadness of what happened here.  Leyendo “Dios tenia miedo” por Vanessa Nuñez Handal.  Ella se ofrece perspectivas diferentes de la guerra civil durante los ochentas en una manera que me gusta mucho.  Se lo recomiendo. http://nunezhandal.blogspot.com/

In Santa Ana I got to see this old beautiful gothic church in need of renovation.  Visite Santa Ana y vi La Catedral de la Senora, con su estilo gotico, viejo pero muy hermosa.

Chicharra (Cicada) season has begun!  After the first rain they appear. Having lived underground for years, they’re ready to pee, mate, and die.  The males make the sound that vibrates through their bodies with hopes of appealing to as many females as possible. Places with lots of trees, like parks and university campuses, are filled with their sound.  Here in Colonia Escalon, the sound is muffled by city noises, but they’re there in the background filling the air with their love song.  They’ll disappear when the rains come to stay.  Here’s a video to hear their sound and learn more about them en español: http://www.elsalvador.com/mediacenter/play_video.aspx?idr=7181

House of Coffee and Plaza Futura

  In our Central America guidebook I read about this excellent café in the town of Ataco.  The writer was quite enamored with the place and mentioned that San Salvador also has a House of Coffee in the Plaza Futura, a modern office building surrounded by chain restaurants.  We visited Plaza Futura a few days after arriving in San Salvador and I remember thinking that it felt a lot like Los Angeles and their newer outdoor malls: palm trees, lounge furniture, overhead music, and a bunch of restaurants right next to each other.  At the time, I felt confused about where I was.  Since then, I’ve been to several large malls and I feel less confused.  Malls, chain stores and restaurants are a part of El Salvador and its culture, like it of not. http://www.plazafutura.com.sv/

  On Saturday morning we ventured to House of Coffee.  We were one of few customers there, but we were early, as we almost always are.  We sat outside where there was a nice breeze and a view.  I chose “Desayuno de Ataco” which consisted of refried beans, tomato sauce, two eggs, fresh cheese, fried plantains, cream (like crème fraiche), and a roll.  I LOVE fried plantains so I was pretty content.  I had a decaf coffee, which isn’t always possible to find here, and my husband had the coffee “borbon”.  The coffee wasn’t as wonderful as we had hoped, but they offer many different kinds, all grown here in El Salvador.  We’ll have to try a different kind next time, as the overall experience deserves a return visit.