Suchitoto and La Libertad area, EL SALVADOR

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Last night I saw the "other side" of San Salvador....where the city´s elite hangs out. I was pleasantly surprised to see an almost different world than the rest of San Salvador I have seen so far. Brand new shopping malls (which would be of AAA rating) with wide boulevards connecting upscale residential areas where security walls and camouflaged men with huge assault rifles stand guard! This is the new San Salvador, which was built after the end of the civil war and also since the latest devastating earthquake. This truly is a world away from the poverty I have seen elsewhere in this country. Like in so many other countries, the gap between the rich and poor is wide - very wide. In San Salvador it is probably wider than anywhere else I have seen...except maybe for India. You somehow understand why the masses started with their protests in the 70´s (in 1980 organized in the FMNL guerrillas) against the 14 coffee-growers´ elite families ruling the nation -- which was ignited by the Reagan administration´s armed support of the elite (and the Government´s ARENA party) and the long civil war extended all too long.

I went outside San Salvador in search of the typical Salvadorian lifestyle in the hope of finding a better world than in the city. Spent a day in the hill-town of Suchitoto, billed as the town similar to Antigua and Granada before the tourists arrived. Well....sure there were no tourists in Suchitoto, but was I impressed with the town...NOT. So I decided if the north was no good, I´ll try the south...the Pacific Coast and the port town of La Libertad and nearby beach villages. Though the small beach towns were probably better than anywhere else I have seen in El Salvador, was I impressed...NOT. With several "private" beaches (belonging to establishments catering to the elite), I was limited to where I could go.

It seems that the Salvadorian people just love to live in their own garbage. The garbage seems to be everywhere which is a real sore in the eye. It´s so common to see people, of all generations, to throw garbage out of the bus windows - no wonder the buses are so clean inside! Poverty is NO excuse for disrespect to others and nature!

Talking with some locals recalling life during the civil war and several devastating earthquakes, makes me realize again that these people have gone through a lot in just a short time.

I must admit that my evaluation is based on the little I have seen of El Salvador. I may change my views if I were to see other regions.

For me personally, the friendliness of the Salvadorian people is outweighed by the garbage. In conclusion, I am glad to leave El Salvador tomorrow and head north to Guatemala. I´ll return one day to El Salvador when these people have learnt to place garbage where it belongs! Adios!