Reboot

These days I’ve been exploring the land of El Salvador. In turn, I’ve also turned my thoughts inward. The solitary hikes I’ve been taking recently through the wayward carved slopes of my municipality, passed shanty lamina and cardboard houses that dot the back roads outside the pueblo, where little girls and boys stare at me in deep silence. Up here outside my pueblo I’ve been contemplating a sort of revelation that came at a most deeply personal moment in my Peace Corps experience. In the fog of thought, not yet sharp enough to extract solid figures, I have walked blindly inside, closing my eyes and stretching my hands in front of me, feeling out with my senses. In my thoughts I grapple with my approach toward development work and how that has been actualized thus far. Perhaps I’ve been thinking too big and trying to play too much of an oversight/admin position where, perhaps I should be more involved with the local community.

The local community. How close and how far have I been from them? I’ve been dissecting certain terms and certain words and how they apply to my behavior here in this country. From the top looking down, how social and political policies affect a nation and how they fail when they don’t understand the very people they are suppose to help has been on my mind.

The immigration issue and populist politics has two issues I think about often.

I recently heard an interview with Bolivian president Evo Morales. He spoke of his culture and the culture of respect that he and his people express as part of everyday livelihood. Even in his politics, where one would think it is impossible, he has been able to retain the dignity and pride of his people and his polices that he believes in without offending or threatening the world community. He has explained his position and worked toward an agreement for those that would listen. Be it in his defiance of coca reduced/eradication or nationalizing the natural gas reserves, he has maintained a friendly and open hand for discussion.

It’s that spiritual connection that we as industrialized nations have failed to see and respect. We saw the cultural ramifications in Mexico, when corn and beans became a global commodity and we’re seeing something similar that could occur in Boliva, out of a result of the same lack of understanding and respect of a culture and a people.

I started to think about that kind of respect, the kind of respect that comes from an open mind and an open heart. A respect that comes from understanding, a true understanding, rather than a heavy-handed paternal style of cultural interaction. Between the two, it's the former that I’d like to nurture and evolve, at least, I’d like to try.

I’m doing Community Contact stuff all over again and going back to basics. So far it’s been quite a sobering and refreshing experience. More than that, it has been a humbling one.

Your Affectionate Volunteer,

SCRUTAPE

The Isle of Meanguera

The Isle of Meanguera

A small island located in an archipelago off of the South-East region of El Salvador, gritty and underdeveloped for tourism by means of access and infrastructure, the island proved a perfect adventure for these two volunteers that set to know the land that, for what I derived, was virtually untouched by the volunteer community.

Below are the photos of the adventure along with commentary:


So we got lost for a bit before finding the port that docked the “lanchas”, or small boats that left to the island. It seems that the lanchas do not leave from the main Port of La Union. Luckily the bus driver took pity on us and took us on the rest of his route until heading back to point us in the right direction. Luckily Salvadoran culture does not run by the same rules as we do on time so, even though we had ten minutes to get to the dock, we really have about forty-five minutes.


Sailing off to the island! Forty-five minutes past 10:00 am (which is the “scheduled” time of departure). Right on time for El Salvador.


Can’t see it very well but it’s a community pila used for washing clothes. If you can squint and use your imagination you can make out the women tending to the clothes (sorry, no washing machines and no womens’ lib)


April checking out the lancha heading toward La Union. I think she’s checking out the Salva, what I’m not “latino” enough? Dammit, I’m from the streets and I’m college educated, what more do want?








Okay these photos show the mackshift dock we stopped at because people wanted to get off instead of docking where the boats usually goes. It seemed they had family at this particular point. Check out the grannies leaping off the boat. I don’t think my grandparents can do that…pshhh, they’re soooo Americanized, um, yeah I know one set can’t speak English but still…


Looks cute, right? But I promise you, you would of pushed the little sh*t off the boat if you would heard him talking back to his grandma…damn you machismo, why do they start so young? PS. Thank’s Mom and Dad for not raising it with it, that’s soooo developing world.


Side view of the hotel.


Front view of the hotel.


View from the hotel overlooking the bay.


The cabañas where we stayed. Our room was off to the left, the son of the owners was on the right. I know, I know, but the nice rooms were REALLY NICE and out of our budget (located on the second floor of the hotel) since we had a lot of expenses that week (remember had the Shakira concert later that week).


I miss you so much.


Thus we embarked on our trek that took about an hour and a half to find the black sand beach.


Cute, huh? Well I think it is.


We’re walking, we’re walking.


Uh, so there’s not really a trail to get here, it’s more like forging your own path. Oh El Salvador, always an adventure.


Found it!


All to ourselves…save the fourteen year old guide, the old couple that sold us coco water and their children seated in the foliage looking at us…um, yeah.


Further in, further up (does anyone else get the C.S. Lewis reference here, I guess not).The jouney home. We decided to try to short cut. Hiking directly up and over.


See where the mountain spilts in two? That’s where we’re headed.


Looking back at the black sand beach.


Same thing.


Still climbing.


One of many breaks.


FINALLY!


That night, the last night on the island before our 5 am lancha ride back to shore which left at 6:00am because they didn’t want to take the bigger lancha and wanted to leave us and another couple on the island. Oh hells nah, you ain’t gonna do that.

We make it back safe after traversing through 50 yards of mud to get to dock, wish I had a picture of that.

It was truly an amazing trip; the only comment is about the hotel. One of two and the only real option for tourists, while the American owner has his own vision, his Salvadoran wife is more the realist when it comes to accomidating budget tourists. While he wants only luxury rooms (he even tried to shame me to move to the nicer rooms, please, I was raised Catholic you're gonna have to do better than that, but if he would have followed his argument with “…and you will burn in hell if you don’t” I would have considered it) the island itself lacks many of the basic amenities one would expect for the projected vision and cost of the hotel. I don’t want to list all of them but the main ones are: access to the hotel which is quite a dangerous walk adn hard to get to (needs signs), access to the beach, which is a very long or very dangerous climb. The infrastructure is not there for the clientele envisioned I feel, getting to and off the island is more a gamble than certainty. Plus, for what you’d be paying once the hotel is complete, do you really want to get up at 4:00 am to mayyyybe get a boat ride back to the island?

To be fare, the current costs of the rooms are affordable and the rooms I should comment are beautifully decorated, each with its own personality. They truly are worth seeing and the bathtub in itself is the reason I want to go back. The feel of the place in sheer serenity with the first floor all to yourself. I plan to visit the island again before they finished the hotel, because the rooms are that nice. I have a lot of hope for the place. I feel the wife will pull her husband to a more happy medium as far as cost go. Plus I applaud their efforts in giving back to the community helping out with minor projects.

I truly feel we need a serious volunteer on this island to tackle the major problems of trash and eco-tourism. There is a lot of potential there and with enough helping hands they could definately see a huge surge in tourism dollars for the community. Many of these issues are not soley large scale, food options is one small example, including plastic bags for trash within the lancha is another. While the Salvadorans were tossing their garbage out along side the boat I heard a Guatemalan woman scoff under her breath at their behavior. Let's not scoff, let's educate!

Your Affectionate Volunteer,

SCRUTAPE