14 February 2023

First stop: Nahuizalco

My friend from the hotel – Paola Perez – who had helped me make all my arrangements had insisted that I visit Nahuizalco. I told Gabriel that we need to go there. He told me that it would be our first stop.

Very cute town. One of the colonial towns marked by the church, the central park and the market, it was a great place to observe the local people and their habits.

14 February 2023

Railways and El Salvador

El Salvador used to have a fairly active railway system. But it fell into disuse and does not exist any more. Although there is a government department to look after the railway lines that are not being used!! There is currently a proposal to revive railways in El Salvador.

This was one of the unused engine sitting out there in Sonsonate. From the wheel base, it looked like narrow gauge.

14 February 2023

We hit the Pan American Highway

This highway – claimed to be the worlds’s longest highway – goes all the way from Alaska to the southernmost tip of Chile. There is a portion of it which is a “gap” in Panama called Darien Gap that is swampy and infested with gangs and cartels. You do not want to be there. One of my friends once cycled on this route and had to give up his bicycle as ransom to get out his kidnapping.

I have been on this road in Chile, Peru and the USA. Now El Salvador gets added to that list.

14 February 2023

New adventures for today

After a great day on the beaches and another day on the volcanoes, today is going to be the day to get to know the country and its people a little more intimately. We are going to visit small towns and see what goes on there. Experience a few local stuff and talk to local people.

Very excited about this part!

We are going to cover from one end to the other end of Rutas de las Flores. The first thing I learnt is that this “Route of the Flowers” does not refer to flowers but coffee plantations. Apparently, this country used to produce a lot of coffee at one point of time. Not as much today.

13 February 2023

For my friends in Bengal

Did Didi win in El Salvador too?

(As a background to the rest, after Trinamul party won the elections in West Bengal, their leader, Mamata Banerjee – commonly known as Didi – lit up all the lamp posts in Kolkata with blue and white colors. You can still them if you go to Kolkata).

This was on the drive back from El Tunco to San Salvador after an ocean side dinner.

13 February 2023

Just when I was feeling good about myself…

I saw this guy asking me “quieres un helado?”

Wait, am I seeing this right? There is a guy selling ice cream on the top of the lip of the crater. How did he get here so easily?

“Soy Rajib. Cual es tu nombre?” I put up a brave front.

“Carlos!”

For the rest of the conversation, I had to get my interlocutor Gabriel to help.

Turns out Carlos climbs up the volcano … every single day… with 100 ice creams on his shoulder. He charges $1.50 per ice cream.

That is his livelihood.

I could not get past the climbing up to the tallest peak in El Salvador everyday.

I gave him 3 bucks and told him that I do not eat ice cream. But he could offer free ice cream to two customers of his choice on this day.

And that I wanted a picture of him! To which he readily obliged!!

13 February 2023

I cannot imagine what it might really sound like

Standing up on the crater lip, about four to five thousand feet above the hot, sulfurous lake, I was trying to catch as many pictures as I could. The wind was howling around me.

What struck me as odd was a loud hissing noise I could hear. My first reaction was that it was the sound of wind splitting thru some cracks in the mountains creating a corridor effect. But the hissing part did not match with the howling or whistling that I would expect.

I explained my perplexity to Gabriel. He solved it for me.

Way down below – see if you can see the marked red areas – the pictures do not do justice to what the eyes could see – you can see steaming hot sulfurous vapors escaping from a gap in the wall just above the water level. That is the raw heat and furor from the lava layer escaping into the free air!!!

Impressive to even realize the scale!!

13 February 2023

Made it!!!

I am on top of the highest point in El Salvador!! You can see the crater lake behind me!!!

I would have jumped up for joy if not for the fact that any jumping up would be a 50-50 toss up between hurling myself down a steep four to five thousand feet of cliff side into a smoldering sulfurous water body or rolling down nearly seven thousand of mountain side bouncing off trees till I drowned in the cold lake.

Opted for a demeanor with far more gravitas.

Internally, I was gyrating between – “I can’t believe I made it” and “How the hell am I going to go down without seriously damaging my knees?”

It was an incredible sight though. And I mean every bit of it.

Took it in as long as I could.