This tiny country (smaller than Massachusetts) on the Pacific side of Central America has the same population as Honduras (6 million) in one-sixth the area. About half the people live in poverty. The terrain is mountainous, with about 200 extinct volcanoes, and the main products are coffee and sugar cane. 

Marco Gonzalez, our construction coordinator in Honduras, accepted a 3-year Global Ministries assignment in El Salvador, so most of our team made plans to go there in 2002. The following is the story of the trip to El Salvador in their own words.

The Feb. 15-24, 2002 work team members included 3-year attendees: Phil & Phyllis, Susan Ford, Harold Hively, Larry Hixon, Byron Johnson; 2-year veteran Ron Ury, and first time attendees Dick Miller, Dennis Thompson, and Frank Vasquez. 

This house build was made possible by the partnership of the “People-to-People Pilgrimage” (Global Ministries – DOC/UCC), the Lutheran Church in El Salvador, the “beneficiaries” of the homes being built and the Southern California DOC/UCC work team. The main purpose of the house build was to replace homes destroyed by the earthquakes of Jan/Feb 2001. 

Day 1 – Friday (Larry Hixon) – The first day of the journey found members of the work team at LAX airport three hours before the 9:30 am departure time. Susan had rescheduled her group ticket, with $100 extra, to fly from San Diego to Houston where she met the group. 

The unexpected excitement of the day involved Hal who came to the airport minus his passport. It had disappeared during the course of the year since our last trip to Honduras. To make a long, persistent story short, he persevered throughout the rest of the day to secure a new passport and then took a “red-eye” Continental flight to arrive at 12:30 pm the next day in El Salvador.

In the meantime, the rest of the group flew to Houston where Susan was waiting, and then journeyed on to San Salvador. We arrived about 7:30 pm on a warm, gentle evening and were welcomed by Marco. What a blessed sight!  I went off to pick up our reserved 11-passenger van. The well-used, somewhat newer van from Budget rental cost us about $1000 for the week. 

A couple of hours later we arrived in San Salvador at the Lutheran Church office and guest lodging which was to be our home while in the capital city. At the guesthouse we were welcomed by two women from the Lutheran Synod and presented a general schedule of activities for the nine days we would be in El Salvador. After locating appropriate rooms and beds it was deter-mined that Marco had not eaten supper, so most of the group accompanied him to the nearby Pizza Hut for a late night snack. Susan and Dick decided to stay put and prepare (sleep) for the first full day in El Salvador. 

Day 2 – Saturday(Susan Ford) – The quiet street that led to our accommodations in San Salvador became a busy, noisy thoroughfare during the night. At about 7:30 am we were served a breakfast of eggs, tortillas, bread, tortillas, pancakes, queso fresco (soft, salty cheese), sweet fried bananas, watermelon & banana salad. In this land of coffee plantations, we were served instant Maxwell House. 

We were staying in a facility housing the Salvadoran Lutheran Church’s administrative headquarters. It serves as a hostel for visitors like ourselves, and also refugees from Central and South America, and Salvadorans who are receiving or recovering from medical treatment before returning to their rural village.

After breakfast we visited the site where Archbishop Oscar Romero was murdered on March 24, 1980, sparking the 12-year civil war over property rights and ideology with only losers. Before his death, Romero had said, “We are not against the government, we are for the people!” Our next destination was the Universidad Centro america where a government “death squad” murdered seven faculty members of a seminary, their housekeeper and her daughter on Nov. 16, 1989.

So that Marco could go to the airport to pick up Hal, we returned home briefly. We sped off for lunch and ended up stopped in traffic for a half hour after a wrong turn. The Navarra is a fishing village themed restaurant with a varied menu. A duet of Boleros entertained us with romantic Latino songs of the 50’s. Our linguistically challenged group needed Frank to translate the menu for us. The “plato tipical” included refried beans, mild tomato salsa, crema, chorizo, bananas blackened in their skins, and garlic rolls instead of tortillas. 

After lunch it was off to the arts and crafts market for souvenirs. Marco and Hal joined us there and everyone bought something to take back to the states. Leaving in our rented van, we stared in disbelief at candy vendors who entered public buses and exited the emergency door at the back of the moving vehicles, and continued to walk through moving traffic. 

In the evening we visited the home of the Lutheran bishop of El Salvador. Bishop Gomez and his family greeted us warmly. The air smelled of night flowers and incense. We gathered in his living room and he greeted us formally, thanking us for coming. He spoke of the disciples gathering together for fellowship, music and food. We asked about his relation to Oscar Romero and learned that they had met as adults (& religious leaders) in San Miguel.

Music was provided by Bishop Gomez’s son and other members of a music group. They played folk songs of South and Central America. Several of us purchased CD’s of their music to take home. Up on the patio we were treated to an immense spread of pupusas, local foods, fruits and drinks. I was impressed with Bishop Gomez’s gracious hospitality. His home was decorated with many simple but artful gifts. I believe his is a very sensitive and thoughtful person.

Our long day was not yet over. We regrouped at our San Salvador base for reflection time. Ron led us in a discussion of the introduction and preface to the “Econ-omic Way of the Cross” (one of the study texts for our trip). He shared with us his own reflection about our activities that enabled others to reflect and share. 

Day 3 – Sunday (Phyllis Allin) – The day dawned with a lot of traffic noise, but not as much as Saturday. The sun was shining bright in a clear sky and we had our first customer for Imodium as Dick announced it had been a rough night.

After a breakfast of eggs, salsa, fried banana, tortilla, and a huge bowl each of sliced bananas, we took off for the Iglesia Luterana Salvadoreña where our five ministers (Dick, Frank, Larry, Byron, Hal) were given instructions for assisting in the communion. 
The church appeared to be rather old and built onto in many ways. The sanctuary had wooden pews and kneeling benches with no padding. Ouch! The ceiling & walls were water stained particle board in need of paint. Some windows had curtains and all had iron bars. The “Subversive Cross” was displayed at one side. This cross had become a major issue in the dispute between the church and the government because it listed the many charges of human rights abuses. Also displayed was a copy of Martin Luther’s “95 Theses” and a large painting of Jesus overlooking the chancel. Color abounded on the diaz with a large colorful cross, plastic flowers, poinset-tias decorating the cloth covering the large altar, all with a purple backdrop.

The service seemed to follow a rather traditional ritual with a lot of singing accompanied by guitars and flutes. Bishop Medardo E. Gomez gave an impressive sermon (according to Frank) having to do with the 1st Sunday of Lent (Primer Domingo en Cuaresma). 

After the service when we thought it was over came the announcements that seemed as long as the sermon. Then we adjourned to the Bishop’s office where he talked about an ecumenical council he had attended and truly enjoyed. We learned the church came from the Lutheran Missouri Synod, but split off due to differing beliefs such as the ordination of women. The church contributes to the economy of the country by helping farmers develop better practices. 

We had a lunch of chicken with sauce, rice & red beans and the Lutheran Guest House. Afterwards we took off to visit Marco’s very nice home and make plans for our food shopping trip. It went well due in part to a very nice, well stocked grocery store.
The traffic was very slow as we travel in the evening to Pupuseria Paty, a restaurant high above the city. The area was crowded, with parking spaces at a premium. None the less, we were soon dining on pupusas with several different fillings and toppings. Some of our group followed up with dinner of chicken or beef. My notes said that Marco compiled our food order, and making sense of it was next to impossible. He succeeded and the food was great. While we were eating, vendors with candies, balloons, marionettes, and other wares roamed through the area. Two mariachi groups played at various tables including ours, thanks to Ron. Phyllis got excited about the men and women coming out of the baños (bathrooms) and meticulously washing their hands. The evening on the mountain concluded with a walk past souvenir shops to overlook the city, to see the street performers including a good band. Several in our group bought hand-painted plates as the artist produced them on the spot with his fingers as the principle tools. 

Our discussion back at the guest house focused on what is “justice” and how we could arrive at it. We got to bed early in anticipation of an early start to the worksite.

Day 4 – Monday (Ron Ury) – This was our first work day. We left the Lutheran facility about 6:15 AM with four people in Marco’s Toyota and the rest of us in a minivan.  Marco’s Toyota pickup was loaded to the hilt with 5 days worth of groceries, water, luggage for 12 people, and the steel beams needed for the house rafters tied to the top of the truck. We drove east from San Salvador towards our building site in Guadalupe. Very soon, a traffic jam formed for people coming into town on the opposite side of the road. This jam consisted of hundreds of buses loaded with people, (we assumed commuters coming into San Salvador to work), and mostly intermediate size Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas, and Datsuns. Not many US made vehicles or 18 wheeler size trucks. This jam lasted for about 1½  hours of our 2 hour drive to Guadalupe. It made LA rush hour traffic look good. Our drive out of town had some stop and go traffic but moved fairly well.

On our drive towards Guadalupe we saw hundreds of people beside the road waiting for buses, children walking to school, or people doing their tasks of everyday life such as walking along the road carrying water or fire-wood. In spite of the fact that many of them seemed to be coming from basic dwellings built along or near the side of the road that appeared to have little or no infrastruc-ture, (such as running water or plumbing), the people we saw looked clean and were all wearing uniformly meticulously clean clothes. This contrasted starkly with the endless line of trash along the road, sometimes in “snowdrift” depths. I suspect that I would be a rather grubby looking character if I lived under such conditions. 

We arrived at Guadalupe and our “rooming” facilities about 8:15 AM. Guadalupe is a picturesque little town built on the lower slopes of Chinchontepec Volcano. The cobble stone streets are lined with closely spaced dwellings, many of which are temporary “tin” shelters put up by the government of El Salvador to replace the houses that were demolished in the Jan. 13 and Feb. 13, 2001 earthquakes. It did not appear that there was much in the way of infrastructure such as water or plumbing or sewage disposal. 

Our facilities included a one room house that had survived the earthquake and an adjacent two room cement block house that Marco and his Salvadoran work crew had recently built over the site of a house that had been demolished by the earthquake. To make life tolerable for us “Norteamericanos” Marco had also built 2 shower stalls and two toilets behind the block house. The water for these facilities was supplied by a 300 gallon tank mounted about ten feet above the ground. The water for washing hands and faces, etc., was provided in a 55 gallon drum standing beside a concrete wash basin. The primary source of water for these tanks was a faucet several blocks away. Salvadorans, who would be bene-ficiaries of the houses we were to build, supported us by carrying approximately 3 gallons of water in jugs balanced on their heads from the faucet to our tanks. I talked with a woman named Mary who was walking to get water and found that she was taking “sesenta” (60) trips a day to fill our tanks. Our group was moved and grateful to the fine effort by Marco and his team in building our living facilities and to the Salvadorans for supplying us with water.

I was personally moved by an incident immediately after we arrived. I had walked into the facility to see where we should put our stuff and where we would sleep. As I was walking back to the truck to get my luggage, I was stunned to see a small Salvadoran woman, who I judged to be about 65, carrying my heavy bags into the house. Her name was Julia and I found out later that she was about 55. I was impressed with all of the hardwor-king Salvadorans during the course of the day, but Julia stood out. The rest of the day at the construction site, she always seemed to anticipate what needed to be done next and was always there to help in whatever way was neces-sary. A strong, energetic, and smart lady.

We started work about 9:00 AM. The work site was about 5 minutes walk from our rooming site along a cobbled road. The walk provided a spectacular view of the volcano in the background and the local children provided a10 minute delay in our walk when they came out to hug us. Perhaps the world would be a much better place if all commuters were delayed 10 minutes for children’s hugs. 

There were three cement block houses in the process of construction at the site. The first was nearly complete, needing only installation of the doors and electrical wiring to be completed. The second needed a roof, windows, doors and electrical wiring. The third had just a founda-tion, concrete slab, and one layer of concrete blocks in place. The house design consisted of concrete block walls with one 12 by 16 foot room and a concrete floor. Each house had two windows, two doors, and electrical wiring for two light bulbs attached to metal cross beams and two electrical outlets. There was no water hookup and no plumbing, toilet, or kitchen facility. 

Our group of 12, (10 from California, Marco, and the Salvadoran mason from San Salvador), and approximate-ly an equal number of local Salvadorans started to work. While Brian, Hal, Frank, and Phil started installing win-dows and doors in the first two houses, the rest of us learned what life is like in a world without cement mixers. Marco taught us the mixing procedure as follows: dump two wheelbarrows of sand and one bag of cement on the concrete floor and mix with shovels. Then dump two more wheelbarrows of sand and another bag of cement and keep on mixing. Then form a crater in the pile and start adding water in the crater. Mix dry material from the edge of the pile into the crater (no leaks allowed) until the whole pile is wet and of the proper consistency to start using as mortar. I believe this task produced more sweat that any other task during our construction week. I had forgotten how heavy wet cement can be on the end of a shovel. We started building walls with the concrete blocks and in the course of the day built the walls to a height of about 5 feet. Weather was sunny but not too hot ( temperatures in the mid 80’s) and dry ( not a mosquito in sight). 

After completing work about 5:30 PM, we walked back to our facility for a cool shower and a dinner of chicken, rice, beans, and tortillas cooked by two Salva-doran women. The dinner was delicious and much appreciated. The two cooks received many  thanks and applause. Our evening discussion was led by Larry. Not much consensus among the group, as usual; but for our group, another high point of a day with many high points.

Day 5 – Tuesday(Frank Vasquez) – Our “alarm clocks” were on time: roosters crowing at 4:00 am and the bus horns calling people for the early run to the city, so they could beat the traffic. Our first breakfast in “camp” was good boiled eggs, cereal, coffee, etc. 

Work at the site was concrete block setting, mixing mortar, and hanging doors and windows. I noticed that the construction standards and work methods are not like in the U.S. So, we were going along with the experts among the beneficiaries because we didn’t want them to feel bad. 

Water was hard to get. We had to buy it from people with cisterns or deep wells. (All the water had to be carried in 3-gallon ollas from the source to where it was to be used.) I went to San Vicente to serve as interpreter to buy purified drinking water and construction materials. We were stopped by the police. All they wanted to know was if we had seen a taxi passing by. There were six policemen in the vehicle with AK-47’s. 
During the work I asked some of the beneficiaries if they would rather that we send the money we had spent to come and let them build the houses themselves. The reply was, “no, if you send the money, it will be spent on other than the building of these houses.”
After a good meal prepared by two of our lady beneficiaries, our day ended with a roundtable discussion on “Moral Imperatives. We expressed some inconclusive opinions. 

Day 6 – Wednesday (Phil Allin) – Not much has been said to this point about the special challenges of daily living. All of the water for showers and cleaning had to be carried in jugs on the heads of local women and poured into barrels at the base of our water tower. It was then taken up the ladder and poured into the 300 gallon tank which supplied the showers and toilets. But this water was not safe to drink, so we had 5-gallon bottles of purified water that we had purchased in the city. The shower water was cold and barely dribbled from the showerhead, but each day we got very dirty from the work and needed to shower.

Since water was at a premium, we used paper plates and plastic utensils for all meals. All meals were cooked on a two-burner hot plate, with some help from a toaster oven and microwave. Since we had no tables, we ate with the plates in our laps. Chickens and dogs wandered around our feet. The floor in the area was dirt.

It was important not to dispose of toilet paper in the toilet, either in the city or at the Guadalupe site, so we had to wrap the used paper and place it in a wastebasket.
Wednesday dawned the same as other days and we breakfasted on fruit, cereal, boiled eggs, cheese, etc. As we approached the worksite, the kids greeted us with hugs and friendly chatter. Marco finished welding the metal beams on one of the nearly completed houses, so a crew of eager workers started installing the roof. Others were busy installing missing porch beams in another house while the majority of the crew helped construct the walls of “our” house – the one we had started from slab level. By the end of the day the new walls were up to the top of the doors and windows.
After another hearty dinner and evening reflection, we all fell into bed exhausted but pleased with our day’s accomplishment. 

Day 7 – Thursday(Dick Miller) – Byron and Hal prepared an excellent breakfast of French toast with an optional layer of strawberry yogurt. By consensus this was judged the best breakfast yet. Byron had begun the preparations at 4:30 am. After breakfast the two cooks, Byron & Hal, requested Imodium tablets from my supply. 

Morning work began with the hauling of metal beams and rebar to the worksite. Neighborhood children, some quite small, assisted in carrying the long beams and rebar rods up the hill. Then Frank Vasquez assisted by others wired the first of the three houses we would eventually prepare for electricity, The beneficiaries completed the masonry walls on “our” house. Hal treated twenty children and six adults to ice cream cones (from a street vendor) at a total cost of $3.00.

Lunch, served by Susan and Larry, featured assorted sandwich makings, strawberry yogurt, iced tea, with chocolate cookies and licorice candy for dessert. 

The afternoon work was amazingly productive. Frank, assisted by Susan, Larry, Dennis and Ron, man-aged to complete the wiring for the second house, Marco, Phil and Byron worked on installing and welding the beams and rebar. Unfortunately, Marco accidentally burned his chest and arms, and suffered serious eye damage from the welding. Hal, Dick and Susan worked with mortar filling around the doors and electrical fix-tures. Then those not otherwise occupied carried concrete blocks down the hill for use with the next project house. 

Dinner included breaded croaker (fish) with lime, fresh boiled vegetables, red beans, rice and tortillas. After dinner Dennis moderated a provocative discussion on personal responses to poverty. He asked for definitions of “poverty” and “being poor,” and asked us to consider three levels of personal giving: 1) giving what is left over, 2) giving what others need, and 3) giving what we treasure.

Day 8 – Friday (Dennis Thompson) – “It was a dark and stormy night,“ er, morning. Well, at least between 4 and 6 am the sky was obscured by dense black clouds, as the ever increasing earlybird contingent reported. By the time Phil and Phyllis prepared our breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast (half an hour earlier than usual, at 7:00 A.M.), the sky was the usual clear blue.

Larry’s raging cold threatened to leave our leader voiceless. 

The mood was animated as completion of the third house (“our house”) was in sight. Larry, Byron, Eduardo, Rolando and Antonio, with the help of several other beneficiaries, lifted and attached the roof paneling for the house completed Thursday. Hal, Byron and Antonio hung the metal door frames and doors.  Phil and Phyllis spent much time realigning the metal window frames by grinding away misaligned bricks. 
Dick and I began a search for a conduit lost inside one brick wall, which was located by Antonio, the mason.  Larry proceeded to pull wires in all conduits. Hal perfected his cementing skills, filling in around electrical boxes and recesses cut away for beams. Frank completed final connections in the first two houses and tested the electrical systems. 

Phil, Phyllis, Byron & Marco slipped away at some point to visit a thermal area of steam vents and sulfur pools. The rest of us returned to our quarters to the disconcerting news that Phil, Phyllis and Dick were taking Marco to an eye clinic in San Salvador to have his eyes checked, as he was having trouble seeing clearly and feeling severe pain. Apparently he has injured them while welding metal beams of the roof frame on Thursday. 

It was reported that Phil, while driving, was able to point out several landmarks to Marco (who couldn’t  see them clearly) that Marco had never noticed before because he had been driving. Quite an accomplishment, sight seeing and driving – in San Salvador traffic yet. Way to go, Phil!

Meanwhile, back at our quarters, the rest of us were enjoying yet another special meal, this time egg salad by Susan, the lone cook. We also had fruit specially washed by the chef on demand and over-ripe papaya Susan “would never have eaten at home” and iced tea. The lunch highlight was the cook demonstrating the delicate technique for removing a glass jar lid by “thunking” the jar lid down on a concrete floor. Try this at home at your own risk. Hint: it takes a woman’s touch.

The breeze picked up during and after lunch, and on several occasions large black clouds drifted into and eventually slid by the volcano above us.

Frank, Ron, Larry and I returned to the worksite to do the final touches of completing the wiring (on “our house”). The final wires were twisted together soon. However, a local power outage prevented a final test.  A beneficiary informed us “this could last a half hour or all day,” so we left it untested.

As we gathered up our equipment, Ron asked for a final photo of the beneficiaries that developed into an informal closing ceremony, though several of both groups were not present. An older gentleman and woman thanked us and wished blessings upon us. We in turn thanked them for their hard work and hospitality, and wished them well. All joined in a triumphant parade down the path to our living quarters. 

After waiting for a truck to replace Marco’s to carry the luggage, we set off for San Salvador. It was hard to choose between succumbing to fatigue or staying awake for a few last glimpses of the countryside and our volcano. Larry was once again behind the wheel and did a masterful job of darting and bullying his way through the congested maze of San Salvador streets. 

Back in San Salvador, we soon were enjoying the culture shock of candle lit margaritas, piña coladas, beer and wine – oh, and delicious dinners at Felipe’s Mexican restaurant (with Marco whose eye damage was deemed temporary and already healing).  Having been treated to an electrical storm over a nearby volcano and a drive by the American embassy.

Dick’s “reflections” session helped us relate our real experience to our discussion of poverty and our feelings about it. Then we went to Z Z Z Z’s.

Day 9 – Saturday(Byron Johnson) – The day started shortly after Dick dismissed us from a late reflection session. It was great to be on a real bed, two feet from the floor. The sheer luxury was noted when a certain five of our members were called to breakfast after they had fellowship with the morning coffee in hand. It may be redundant to describe our breakfast menu: scrambled eggs with slices of sausage, beans, plantains, coffee/tea and tortillas so hard and burned they would have served well as wheels on a cart, needing only an axle. Oh well, today is to be special. We’re off to the beach!!
Marco did not make the trip because the doctor told him to keep out of the sun in order to help heal his eyes. Out guide was Vladimir, the young man on the Lutheran Synod staff employed to help communities with their economic development. 

With Larry as our brave driver, all eleven of us headed to the beach. Along the way we noticed various types of improvement, especially the sections of concrete highway with curbs to keep the vehicles from wandering off the road. The jump seats were not very comfortable, but our weariness caused some of us to nod off. Yours truly was one, but Ron and “others” nodded several times. But that was okay. We were on our way to the beach (at the Costa del Sol, about 40 miles away.)

Finally we came to various types of private resorts, some elaborate, others rather crude by resort standards. Then, paradise – that is, the Pacific Paradise Hotel. Larry missed the entrance at first, but quickly backed up and entered the drive to the parking lot. The lobby was small, but beautiful. Going out the door (to the resort grounds) we could see the various rooms. It didn’t take us long to find the changing room, locate drinks, and get settled in a couple of shelters. The water in the pool was clear, clean and refreshing. The ocean, beyond the clean beach of white sand extending out with the most gradual slope that we had ever experienced, was quite warm except for the mist (spindrift) that blew off the white caps – brrr! In the meantime, some of our party continued discussions of serious consequences. We all adopted the sentiment expressed by Phyllis, “I don’t want to be controlled!”

To our surprise, we met members of the Habitat for Humanity team (that we had initially met on the flight from Houston) and were able to share experiences. 

Lunch was served at one o’clock. Phyllis won the prize for the biggest fish. Others had filet of Corbina or steak. All had an enjoyable time, and we reluctantly boarded the van for an hour plus return trip. On the way we witnessed a large brush fire, many people walking along the roadway and a number painted statements stating “McDonalds = corruption.” This started a lot of discussion as to what it meant. According to Vladimir, some of the McDonalds franchises were owned by Salvadorans. Reportedly some of these did not maintain the quality (standards) required of all McDonalds worldwide. They lost their franchises, so they renamed their food business. Then outside investors bought the franchises and operated them in competition. We are not sure of our facts, so it seems to this writer, we are not in a position to render judgment.

After arriving back at the Lutheran Center we cleaned up and were taken to a restaurant, which had an art gallery and (souvenir) gift shop. The food was typical except for the turkey sandwiches.

The evening concluded with Susan leading our discussion which, as with previous evenings, differences were expressed and uncertainty as to how to make the desired changes. The discussion led into an evaluation of the week, a summary of which Larry may want to share with us.  (To be incorporated in the final edition of this.)
Finally, we presented Marco and Vladimir with copied of “The Economic Way of the Cross” and expressed our individual appreciation of Marco as a person and leader of home and community building.

Day 10 – Sunday(Hal Hively) – The morning began with some members of our team packing to go home in the wee hours of the morning to the dismay of those trying to sleep. Hal, Frank and Dennis arrived at the kitchen for their early morning coffee fix. I didn’t say they were the early packers! Susan arrived late again for breakfast. What was it you had to do every morning, Susana?

Breakfast was provided for us by our smiling and gracious hosts. Their spirit and the joy of the friendship far outshine the cold tamale, crema, and unseasoned egg of the day. However we enjoyed the fried plantain, hot coffee and tea

Today was Ron’s 66th birthday and the whole group broke our in song to celebrate the arrival his birthday. After breakfast, we did more packing and said goodbyes. Susan decided we needed peanut butter sandwiches for our long wait at the airport and customs. Thanks, Susan.

At the airport the ticket line and customs search was easier than expected. Hugs and our goodbyes to Marco and up the stairs to wait for our plane. We enjoyed looking in the airport’s duty free shops and artisan items. I was impressed with the modern airport facilities. 

Adios amigos de El Salvador – until we meet again!