Heading downhill from Perquin.

I took a couple of videos from the back of our pickup that took us downhill from the town of Perquin to San Fransisco Gotera so that i could show how beautiful it was traveling through this part of El Salvador. After re-watching them, here is the one that i have chosen. Unfortunately, the video does not do the scenery justice but you can get an idea of what images we saw when we entered El Salvador.

Perquin.

Having entered El Salvador completely unprepared, Perquin had the honour of being the first place that we would stay in this beautiful country. As we had entered El Salvador, i was in constant awe of the natural beauty everywhere we looked. Stunning scenery was everywhere. Rolling mountains, green farmland, blue skies and remote villages. On the final part of our approach to Perquin in the back of a 4-wheel drive, the views got even better. As we continued uphill into the coffee-growing highlands, the temperature dropped and the smell of pine started to surround us.

Our transportation to and from Perquin.

We have arrived! welcome to Perquin!

Pretty artwork depicting daily life in Perquin. Note the strong emphasis on coffee.

One of Perquin’s narrow, sloping streets

A pretty house.

The local church, Perquin.

We arrived hungry, so we found a place to eat while we checked the guide for places to stay. Out of all the suggested hostels, there was only one that was still running, so that’s where we spent our first couple of nights in El Salvador.  Soon after our first few hours in Perquin it became apparent that Rick was not feeling very well and had developed a high temperature. Another reminder of our horrible night in Choluteca, and the manifestation of the effects of an air conditioner. It was chilly at night and we needed blankets to sleep. So our stay in Perquin started off with a visit to the clinic after a rough first night. After seeing the doctor, we found out that this clinic we had been directed to was absolutely free. From consultation to medication. What a nice surprise to find quality, friendly healthcare at no extra burden to the people. Absolutely free for everyone. Rick had antibiotics to take and we spent some time just resting before really exploring Perquin.

The beautiful view, framed by pine trees just outside the local clinic at Perquin.

Our room at Hostal Perquin Real.

The afternoon that Rick felt well enough to go for a walk around the area, we visited the Museum of the Revolution. One of the first things that had attracted us to visit Perquin in the first place, was that this small hillside town was a revolutionary stronghold for leftist guerrillas, where its Radio Venceremos broadcasted out opposition messages to the whole of El Salvador during the civil war in the 1980s. It witnessed a massive massacre at the village of El Mozote and the museum had artifacts and accounts of the atrocities of war, alongside the propaganda and weapons used, housed in the old Radio headquarters. It was a beautiful day, and after a delicious home-cooked lunch, we visited the museum.

The entrance to the Museum of the Revolution.

The building from which, Radio Venceremos was broadcasted.

Inside Radio Venceremos.

War poster.

War poster.

Another war poster.

A war poster in Catalan!

I will let the photos i took do the talking. The museum was packed with people but this was the first museum that i have visited that touched me in a way that no other has. The accounts of survivors of the El Mozote Massacre were harrowing and i found myself shedding a tear or two in memory of the 800 civilians, many of whom were children, who were killed by the El Salvadoran army during the civil war. The images were awful and the full impact of war was clear throughout the museum, something that was clear even without a guide or translator.

The wrecked remains of a helicopter at the Museum of the Revolution.

Arms used by leftist guerrillas during the civil war.

Another of the museum’s strong images.

One of the bombs dropped by the El Salvadoran army during the civil war in front of the huge hole it made on impact.

In memory of the 800 civilians massacred at El Mozote.

After the museum, we walked up to an area which used to be where the leftist guerrillas camped. It had examples of the daily life of a guerrilla in the war, next to holes in the ground, reminders of the bombs that fell here. The views from the top of the hills was spectacular, especially on this clear day, and the aroma of pine trees was all around us. It became hard to imagine the atrocities that were committed right on the land that we were standing on. What a difference from just a couple hours before at the museum.

An agitated horse under a shelter used to show what a guerrilla hospital looked like during the civil war.

It looks like we are miles away, but we are only on top of the hill. Beautiful scenery everywhere we looked in Perquin.

The beautiful town of Perquin from above.

One thing we learned from our stay in Perquin, our first taste of El Salvador, is that prices of things in this country was going to be a lot higher that what we had become accustomed to recently. Due to the currency (US Dollars), everything was more expensive than what we were used to. So we decided that we would not be able to spend so much time in El Salvador. So in the end, due to a combination of; Rick being ill and recovering, the higher prices, the wet weather and the limitations of staying in a remote, hardly visited place (we were two of the three tourists staying in town), we left after only 2 nights.

We therefore did not get to see much of what this beautiful hillside area is renowned for, it’s natural beauty. A short hike down the road would have led us to picturesque waterfalls, streams and more of El Salvador’s breathtaking scenery, but as fate had it, we witnessed a different celebration of Perquin’s beauty.

The morning we left Perquin, the town square was packed with people. The schoolchildren had organised a day of culture, art, poetry on awareness of the environment, and how important it is to take care of it. We sat for a while with the villagers and again i was almost in tears, touched that people here have actually started to teach the next generation to value what they have and how to take care of it. In a way, it was as if the kids were showing the adults the way forward. Anti littering themes were everywhere (everyone throws trash out of the buses in Central America), and it was a fitting end to our visit to Perquin, yet another special place, who’s beauty hides the its tragic past.

Artwork by Perquin’s local children depicting the beauty of this area of El Salvador, one of the most pristine in the country.

A cultural performance by local children to raise awareness on protected the environment.

Poetry recital with environmental messages.

Intermission

As some of you may have noticed, it has been a while since i have posted anything. The story seems to have come to an abrupt stop when we entered El Salvador and i have yet to write about Perquin, Alegria, El Cuco and Santa Ana, or post photos of this beautiful country, the greenest and probably the most picturesque during our trip through Central America.

So let me get you up to speed. Our trip through El Salvador was the start of our trip back up to Mexico and onward to Spain. We had bought some really, really cheap tickets (Cancun-Madrid, US$150 each) and needed to catch the flight from Cancun, also our starting point 7 months earlier. We stopped at some of our favourite places along the way there (we are so lucky we had the chance to have a repeat-stay at the places we loved so much the first time around) and eventually arrived back to Spain a month ago.

Since then, time has sped by. We purchased our flights back to Malaysia within the first few days of our stay in Valencia, as we had both decided that it was time to head back to Asia as soon as possible. Our time in Central America really made us feel certain that  we had to head to Asia and continue on this journey of ours. We have been more active and sociable than usual, knowing that we leave for Kuala Lumpur in less than a month’s time. Catching up with friends and family and enjoying the beauty of Spain, that we both appreciate more having visited so many countries already this year.

Learning the art of making Alioli, a type of garlic mayonnaise.

Delicious rice, a Valencian specialty,

Catching up with friends by the pool.

Puzol beach.

Street art in Valencia.

Where the river is born. Freezing cold water springs, waterfalls and pools, perfect for cooling off in the Spanish heat.

After only a few weeks, us, a few kilos heavier!

So what’s next? Next is to try to finish off my posts on El Salvador, and show you just how pretty the country was and what beautiful experiences we had with the locals. Then it is back home to Malaysia to move on to the next phase of the journey.

Border Crossing: Honduras to El Salvador at El Amatillo

We got on the bus in Choluteca early in the morning after a not-so-comfortable night in the first air-conditioned room of our trip. Both of us had sore throats but we were both excited to be leaving Honduras and heading on to El Salvador. The border town of El Amatillo was a 2-hour chicken bus ride away from Choluteca and the bus was so empty, we could put all our bags on a seat without having to pay extra. The scenery we passed by that morning was pretty. Lots of green hills and farmland, a taste of what was to greet us in El Salvador. The day was bright and sunny too adding extra beauty to the view from the bus window.

On our last chicken bus ride across the southern tip of Honduras.

Once the bus reached the last stop, we loaded up our backpacks for the walk across the checkpoints. First we passed the messy Honduran immigration, which was full of people pushing and cutting the queue. Then we walked across a bridge to the checkpoint on the El Salvadorean side, which was pretty much empty. We noticed that we did not have a stamp in our passport to indicate that we had entered the country but the immigration officer told us that our details were already in their computer system. So we continued onto our first bus ride in El Salvador.

The last immigration checkpoint on the Honduran side of El Amatillo.

Yet another river seperates the two countries here at El Amatillo. The dramatic hills at the side of the river were a welcome sight.

The immigration checkpoint at the El Salvadorean side.

Before coming to El Salvador we had not really read up on the country or planned a route. We knew we had to get to San Miguel, the closest city to El Amatillo, but we had no idea about places to stay or places we would have to pass through to get there. One noticeable thing about the buses in El Salvador is that you immediately notice that you are on a comfortable coach, and not in a chicken bus (that we had grown accustomed to over the past few months). The chairs and overall feel of the buses were  luxurious compared to what we had been used to, and of course, now we had to pay in US dollars (the currency in El Salvador). We had to take two buses to get to San Miguel and we both fell asleep on the second bus and had to be woken up when we had arrived!

We arrived in San Miguel just as it started to rain. We walked around but when i saw a shop selling guns and other firearm accessories, i told Rick that i did not want to stay in this city. It suddenly felt dangerous and i was immediately uncomfortable. When it started to rain, we were both a bit frazzled. Rick suggested heading onwards and out of San Miguel to a place that he had read about in the guide called Perquin, another 2 hours away, situated in the mountains. It had a rich history as a guerrilla stronghold and scene of a terrible massacre during the civil war. We ate some food at the bus station before hopping onto a packed bus to the town of San Francisco Gotera. From there, we caught a 4-wheel drive pickup for the rest of the journey further away from civilisation and up the winding highland roads to Perquin.