Day trip!

As part of the welcoming process for the new international hires, the school organized a day trip led by a Salvadorean Spanish teacher who holds a Master's in Salvadorean history and who had worked for years at the national museum. As it turns out, Vicky is brilliant in both historical and current knowledge and was very kind to tell us all kinds of wonderful stories about her people. It is apparent that she takes a lot of pride in the culture of El Salvador, even though she has lived through some hard times here.

After a couple of quick stops, we stopped for lunch at a local food festival. Geoff and I gorged ourselves on grilled meat, chicken, shrimp, and sausage links. They had really amazing spices on them, and were one of the best meals we've had yet. On our way out, we had a bite of Jon's order of armadillo! It was very interesting. The meat is smooth but dense, and it has a strong salty aftertaste. Next time, I will keep my eyes peeled for "cusuco," which is the Spanish word for armadillo. :)

After lunch, the gang headed to Ataco, which is a very charming little coffee plantation town up in the mountains. There were some really cute artesan shops and cafes here, that the group decided we would stay here for the rest of the day. Geoff, Colleen, Eric, and I hiked up to the cross that we saw up the hill, and en route saw some interesting creatures -- big spiders and what looked like a flying ant hive.* Here in Ataco, we also bought some delicious goat cheese, a beautiful stool, and a couple of pieces of hand-painted art.

All in all, it was a really fun trip. :) Since we didn't have time to go try out the indigo-dying at the museum, Vicky promised to take us on a separate day trip just for that. --I can't wait!

*You can check out pictures on Flickr. Just click on the Flickr app on the right of your screen.