El Salvador

The homicide rate in San Salvador is 18 people per day; gang violence is present and growing throughout the country; travel guides and other backpackers encourage travelers to use extreme caution in the cities as well as small villages, and there is an after taste from the civil war that left 75,000 people dead. With all of this fresh in my mind I had to fight my dark imagination as I prepared to enter the densely populated country of El Salvador.

First stop: La Palma, a tiny village resting in the lush mountain range of eastern El Salvador. I got off the bus and the crisp wind brushed across my face, combed through my hair, cloaked my body, and filled my lungs with a high that nearly lifted me into the cloudless sky. The sun sparkled down onto the pine tress and bounced off the walls of brightly painted shops where artisians busily carved and painted. In the cafes women spooned beans and cream into freshly made tortillas; roosters clucked about eating kernals that had been left behind, and puppies rolled around in the dirt.

The home I stayed in was owned by an older couple, both adorned in woolen scarves and hats to comfort them against the bite of the wind as it whistled through the cracks of their beautifully tiled home. Their quiet mannerisms and gentle smiles made me feel as if I had entered a holy space. Later that day I sat in the park surrounded by a group of curious boys who asked about what it´s like to fly in an airplane and told me about the fireworks they bought for Christmas.

Is this really El Salvador? The spirit in the wind that I first felt in la Palma has followed me through every town and village providing me with glimpses of the culture and insights into my own being.