Back in time...to Cole's birthday

Hola! We left in June for the States and came back in late July...and this last post was in April - so there is a bit of catching up to do.

The big event in May was Cole's birthday - he turned 6 years old and had a party at his favorite place - Tin Marin! (shared in other posts - children's museum http://tinmarin.org/museo/ ) There were 13 kids and lucky for us the museum was actually closed to the public that day b/c of a Gazillion Bubble event happening at another location. Cole had great fun with his friends --- an Eco-Volcano theme party (eco-centers, volcano cake and piñata).

Five main elements of any "piñata" or birthday party here in ES: 1) entertainer (typically a clown/s or person dressed in furry creature with a side kick) - for Cole 2 "party guides" of the museum; 2) sound equipment with music, dancing, and games (check, but less); 3) food and cake (check); 4) main kid activity (check - interactive museum centers!); and 5) piñata (along with goodie bags - check - volcano!). Cole used to be more on the sidelines at piñatas and as the year progressed he got right in there with the rest of them, Español and all!





I will let the pictures speak for themselves. It certainly is a kilometer marker for how far Cole has come in his cultural and language transition to El Salvador; and the good friends he has made here. We are blessed.

Guatemala ~ Lake Atitlan

Not a week later on Saturday, April 16th we left by car with our dog Chloe to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, a couple of hours beyond Antigua, but a very different environment. Both of these areas are in the Highlands of Guatemala and the climate is cool for this part of the world ~ in our cooler months of December and January, it gets cold enough in the Highlands (including Guatemala City) to wear real jackets and sleep with down comforters.

The Lake was beautiful and climate fresco, which is why we chose to come here. By boat, we arrived in the small community of Jaibalito along the lake where we stayed in a 2 bedroom house on the same compound as an American there with his wife who is from Costa Rica, son, and dog named Negra (a real sweetie). Mostly, we enjoyed the cooler weather, being by the water (for Cole the dock with fishing), relaxing in a quiet and nice home and surroundings, and exploring different communities (small and medium) around the lake by boat. Chloe enjoyed swimming in the water. Cole made some friends, of course, and on the first day there he went along with the owner's son and a couple other local boys to the village to get some eggs and other things. He was feeling rather "big" - and of course he is almost 6 years old.

Remember how I talked about tourism infrastructure? Well, Guatemala definitely has it in areas and has the making and selling of stuff down. The Mayan women make beautiful cloths and in the highlands areas I saw many who dressed in these traditional cloths. I didn't get the chance to visit a women's cooperative, but I am glad to know they are in place and hopefully assisting women to make a decent income from their wares. There are many gringos in the area too - amazing how many - so much so that you see a gringo on the street selling local and imported stuff (such as toy mice that wind up and go); and there was a health-food store with things that I cannot even find in San Salvador! Funny. So, I can also now appreciate the non-tourism infrastrucutre of El Salvador and it's low key vibe even more.

Guatemala ~ Antigua

Greetings! I am behind on my postings...so let my mantra be brief and concise for this one (and next) ~ a challenge because there were so many interesting things...but my real motivator is Cole's birthday party Sat, May 7th (actual birth day May 8th) and I am excited to share that with y'all.

Antigua, Guatemala

We travelled there by double-decker bus (rode up top and in front) on April 7th and came back on April 11th - nice long weekend. Rich had an Upper School Director's conference with other bilingual, independent schools in Central America. Antigua has quite a rich colonial history and architecture, which makes it a real destination for this area of the world. The hotel we stayed at was amazing - Museo y Hotel Casa Santo Domingo was so lovely ~ it is literally built on and around the ruins of a monastery and beautifully restored and preserved. Take a look:
https://www.casasantodomingo.com.gt/en because I didn't get too many pictures of this incredible hotel (with art and archeological museums, ruins, chocolate factory, candle-making and pottery workshops...).

In Antigua, we enjoyed the cobblestone streets and colonial architecture, exploring the various churches and ruins of the town, cool climate, and eating good food. If you were to ask Cole, his favorite part was the warm pool and the friends he made along the way (Leonardo, Sophia, and Isabella). Lastly, we were able to get a taste of the incredible processions and extravaganza that is a part of Antigua during the Semana Santa (holy week) - INCREDIBLE with the alfrombras (rugs) created out of sawdust, petals, flowers, plants, fruits, vegetables... (Cole helped out); the men (dressed in purple robes) and women (dressed in black) carrying large wooden "floats" with the statue of Jesus and then Mary...; the incense that covers the city as these processions go by; and the uniquely distinguishable fragrant flowers from pods that envelope it all.... The streets are closed off while the alfrombas are being made the same day (finished hours or minutes before) the procession walks-over/stomps-on these beautiful alfrombas - that are then cleaned up and it begins again...until Easter Sunday. It was good fortune that we were able to be here during this time. One gringo (or mzungu:KiSwahili) said upon seeing an alfromba with JHS: what does that JHS stand for - Jesuit High School? Hmmm...what could that JHS stand for in a Christian holy week?

Volcanos and Whale Watching

On Wednesday, March 16th we took advantage of the Obama vacation at the school and headed out towards Santa Ana to climb the Ilamatepec (Santa Ana) Volcano - it is the highest volcano (not highest point) in El Salvador at approximately 7800 feet. Near by is Cerro Verde (an older volcano that looks, well, like a green hill as per the Spanish name) and Izalco, which is a barren and steep volcano (you climb straight up and ski down - see middle pic) from more recent lava flows. The first picture is the beautiful and nearby (crater) Lake Coatapeque. Ilamatepec (see last pic above) is somewhere in between in its development (vegetated, not as steep as Izalco); it had a small eruption in 2005 (previous one being in 1904) and was closed off for 3 years - there is a lake in the crater with steam coming up from spots. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=5907

Cole loves nature, science, and rocks, so volcanos fit right in there. He also has a book on volcanos. SO for this 5 year old boy, the chance to actually climb a volcano was pretty cool. These volcanos are part of a national parque and they have guards who accompany groups as there have been robberies in the past and it is good tourism to keep folks safe! Verdad? We got there just in time (a bit before) at 11am when the trips leave (as we got caught up in the First Lady's traffic as she and the girls headed to a nearby archeological site) and ascended the volcano with a group of about 20 or so folks from various places - Germany, U.S., Canada, El Salvador... One couple were there with their two kids - who wanted to go somewhere different than the average American traveler and it sounds like they were having great fun and adventures (and have been around the world). Cole did great hiking up and down with very few breaks; it took us about 1 1/2 hours to get up and of course shorter going down.

On Saturday March 26th a neighbor/colleague organized a group to meet up at Los Cobanos to go whale watching ~ it is the time of the year (Nov-April) when whales come to birth and feed before heading back up North. We met up at 7:30am and headed out in search of whales and came upon a mama and her baby. (My pictures of the whale experience does not capture the moment - but a teacher/RPCV in the other boat will pass along a few good pics that I will add later). Along the way we saw a tortuga floating with a bird on its back and a dolphin that swam along with the boat. Cole also enjoyed being a boat captain (a non-operational part of the boat). And towards the end many of us jumped into the water and floated to cool off - Rich and Cole led the way with the jump in!

SO - this is our El Salvador - there is lots to do and perhaps we are enticing a few of you to visit! Bienvenidos! Here is a website of various ecoexperiences in El Salvador. http://www.ecoexperienciaselsalvador.com/ NEXT we will be exploring the nearby Central American country of Guatemala. April 8-11th Rich has a principal's conference in Antigua where Cole and I will join him. Then we will be off to Lake Atitlan April 16-20th for the first part of our Semana Santa (Holy week) break.