La Vista desde Arriba

The view from above.

(by John)

El Salvador is roughly the size of Massachussetts. It is roughly the same shape as well. That is to say that it is more or less rectangle with its southern border—the long side of the rectangle—on the pacific and the northern border—the other long side of the rectangle—sharing frontiers with Guatemala and Honduras.

While I knew El Salvador was hilly and steep it was not until I realized in the distance covered by going from the southern coast to the northern frontier—only some 55 miles—one travels from sea level to a height more than a mile high (1.7 miles or 8956 feet) above sea level. That is steep!

In such a country that boasts both 11 volcanoes and innumerable cool overlooks; on clear days one can literally see landmarks clear on the other side of the country. It is quite impressive.

So it is that one day in December Amber and I did an excursion with our friend Ben, a Peace Corps volunteer in the North of the country, to El Pital, the highest point in El Salvador.

It was a horrible experience. A cold front had arrived. The wind was blowing strong. It was raining. And it was cold. Needless to say, we could not take in what should have been a wonderful view of most of the country and its volcanoes.

“Ni modo” as the say here or “What can you do?”.

Well, undaunted, last week, I did a remake of the trip to the top of El Salvador with Ben.

It was a success. Clear skies. Nice breeze. Good view. While there was some mist or pollution in the atmosphere, I could still make out the peaks of Chinchontepeque (San Vincente Volcano), the San Salvador Volcano, our own beloved Cerro Guazapa in Suchitoto, a complex of volcanoes in the east of the country and three volcanoes in Guatemala. I do not have photos here, because the haze prevented any meaningful photos.

Along the way, I had the pleasure of staying in Ben´s site of Citalá, a nice, quiet border town with a beautiful church.

The two-day stay in Citalá provided some “bread and butter” Peace Corps moments and a glimpse into the emotional impact of the short time frame of this experience.

Ben, as most volunteers, has successful integrated into his community and enjoys a high degree of confidence with his friends, co-workers and neighbors. We consistently heard “Benjamin!” (Pronounced, ben-ha-MEEN) from the locals greeting Ben as we passed through town.

Ben has only two weeks remaining in the country, and while Ben will maintain links to Citalá after he returns to the states, one could not help but palpably feel the mixed emotions associated with the imminent “final goodbye”. Moments full of appreciation and gratitude for the rare opportunity to have had this special exchange for two years, but tinged with sorrow that it is coming to an end. Below are two of Ben´s neighbors horsing around, having way too much fun for such adult introspection.