August 14- Three Country Roadtrip

The day began with a city tour of El Salvador. Guadalupe Church (La Ceiba) is a famous landmark. It is a Catholic Church which includes a cave symbolizing an entrance to Xibalba (the Maya underworld) where people could speak with their ancestors., as the early churches were welcoming to the local people. Most early churches were painted with white lime, which helped to kill the diseases brought by the Spaniards.

San Salvador is on the Pan American Highway, and is about the size of Massachusetts, with the most dense population in Central America (pop. 1,000,000). The past dictator performed a Mayan genocide, and there is now very little Mayan influence. It is now safer and more stableTeachers earn about $500/month. They use US currency, with many $1 coins in circulation as they are not popular in the U.S.
(Side note: the guide pointed out that each major race of the world is dependent on a particular grain for subsistence. The American Indian groups (red race) have maize/corn, the Caucasians (white race) have wheat, the Asian people (yellow race) have rice, and the Africans (black race) have millet.

A very unusual church is the Church of Santo Domingo, designed by artist Ruben Martinez. The dark doors outside opening to a bright interior with rainbow colored windows reflecting on the floor symbolizes 'into the light'. The Metropolitan Cathedral houses the tomb of the archbishop assassinated during the country's genocide where 120,000 people 'disappeared.

We toured Joyas de Ceren, which is called the 'Pompeii of the Americas', as a volcanic eruption about 500AD covered the small Mayan village (along with most of El Salvador), preserving evidence of everyday life. It was found in 1976. Their shamans/herbalists used natural medicines and saunas. Obsidian knives were used for eye surgeries. Buried foods were found, like corn/chili peppers/black beans/and chocolate.

A long ride ensued to pass through a corner of Guatemala, and finally enter Honduras. The scenery was beautiful, and we stopped along beautiful Lake Coatapeche (an ancient volcano caldera) for lunch, passing sugar cane, banana, coffee, and cinnamon farms. At the border, all vehicles are checked for drugs, with special scanners for trucks. We finally arrived at Clarion Copan Ruinas, a very nice hotel.