Walking With El Salvador

Our church-hopping strategy had worked well in the morning, so with our stomachs filled with delicious relleno de ejote  (green beans surrounded by cheese, dipped in egg and deep-fried) and armed with fresh water to ward off the heat of the afternoon, we set out down the hill, in search of the oldest church in San Vicente. We walked down a wide, paved street in an area that mostly seemed residential.  We thought it would be easy to continue our church-navigation strategy, but on the low, flat terrain we could not see much beyond the houses and trees beside us.  The paving cobbles ended, and we found ourselves at the edge of town on a dirt road, so we turned around and took a side street which ended up leading us to a soccer field.  We went through the gate and walked along the edge by the "bleachers" (well-worn and faded boards set on random cans and buckets) until we came to the other side.  Apparently the end of the soccer field also functions as an informal trash dump.

I am sure you have all been sitting on the edge of your seats, awaiting the next installment of the San Vicente escapades...and I apologize for the long absence.  The last few months have been filled with travel and events at home, so I have not found time enough to write for the blog.  No worries -- I have been keeping up with my hand-written travel journals, so the stories are not lost!  Today's tale is not exactly based in El Salvador, but its theme will ring true for all of you who have been invited into Salvadoran homes. We woke up early, determined to find breakfast before going to mass at the basilica.  We had laid out our "nice clothes" the night before, and had mapped out possible food locations on our little guide book map.  We were very proud of ourselves as we trudged up the long hill from our hostel toward the basilica, with our clean hair, cute outfits, and hungry tummies. The basilica in Quito, Ecuador, was built in the late 1920's.  It's old Go