I hope this worked.

Slides + water = Fun in the sun!

One of the cities we stay in is quite hot.  Think 40 degrees celcius without air conditioning! So we often find ourselves searching out cooler places to spend the afternoon like Berto mentioned in this post. One of our favs is the water park Thermos del rio. Levi loved it so much the first time we went that he had his first ever tantrum when it was time to leave the pool. Though the second time he was a little more unsure because we put him in a floating toy. We love this place because it is so relaxing and refreshing. There are some pinic and BBQ areas where you can even put up hammocks for an afternoon nap. Here´s a look at our little oasis.

Fruit themed info booths

Water slides and wave pool

Levi struttin´ his stuff in his swimsuit!

Not too sure about this shark

Dad trying to convince him this is fun!

Great hair!

Mr. Serious!

He never really warmed up to the floating shark. Next time!

~Sylvie

Chocolate!!!

We finally got access to our pictures!  So here is the long-awaited-for post about chocolate.

In high school, I considered becoming a chocolatier. Instead, I settled on becoming a chocoholic. No in all seriousness, I did think about moving to Switzerland and studying to become a chocolatier. I think it would be so cool! Chocolate is soo yummy! And of course what is a trip to Latin America without making some of your own? Afterall, they grow cocoa beans here. So without further ado...

How to make your own chocolate:

Cocoa beans grow on trees in pods like these.

Crack them open and they are filled with beans.

 After taking out the beans, you need to roast them for a few minutes.

After that you need to crack off the shells of the beans. But be careful as they are hot and can burn your fingertips!

Then you add sugar to the bowl of shelled beans.

Take this mixture to the local mill and grind it all up into a chocolatey paste! The sugar and beans get poured into the top and are pushed through the grinder with a stick.

Now you can boil this paste with water and cinnamon to make a lovely chocolatey drink!

There you have it folks!  Homemade hot chocolate!

~ Sylvie

Cool Spots in El Salvador... Literally.

El Salvador is a hot country, especially during the time of our stay (30-40° C during the day). In fact, had I known how hot it gets during this time of the year I probably would have changed the dates of our trip! Thankfully, there are certain spots in the country that are cooler because of the higher altitude. One of these spots is Cerro Verde (which Sylvie has previously blogged about). Cerro Verde was once an active volcano, but now it´s a national park where you can hike through the crater, camp, and admire a whole range of mountains and volcanoes. Below you will notice that I posted a shot where Sylvie and Levi are all bundled up. This is a significant picture because it is VERY rare that we are bundled up in El Salvador! Sylvie had to buy a sweater when we got there and even Levi had to change his usual attire which consists of a diaper.

Walking path on a cool and foggy day at Cerro Verde

Parque Nacional Cerro Verde, El Salvador

Izalco Volcano, as seen from Cerro Verde

Other cool spots in El Salvador are the road leading to Santa Ana, as well as the towns of Juayua and Apaneca. Again, this is because of the higher altitude. My parents are really good at finding restaurants in the mountains near these towns. Usually these are places where you can eat, drink, walk through their gardens, and have a nap in their hammocks. Among them are Kal-Tepet in Juayua and El Jardin de Celeste in Apaneca (both restaurants are near these cities known for their cool weather). Definitely worth checking out if you are trying to escape the heat or simply wanting to appreciate the picturesque landscape of mountains and volcanoes... Oh, and did I mention the food at both of these places is delicious?!

Santa Ana Volcano, as seen from Kal-Tepet Restaurant

Kal-Tepet

"Puyaso" dish at Kal-Tepet

Easter

I know Easter is long passed but I thought I would still do a post on the tradtitions here now that we have access to some of our photos. On Good Friday, local school and church youth groups get together and make large murals of easter scenes on the street. The street is a pedestrian mall so they dont have to worry about cars running over their art. The large murals are called alfombras (carpets) in Spanish. They are made of sand, saw dust and grated cheese dyed different colours. Here are some of the ones we liked best.

This one was dones by our nephew Wil and his youth group.

Jesus with the woman at the well.

Piles of coloured sand.

Can you believe this is all done with sand, saw dust and grated cheese!

So colourful! 

Levi enjoying the murals!

At night we returned to the pedestrian mall to see the Easter procession. Local catholic church members basically march through the street signing songs and carrying religious symbols: a case with a statue of a mouring virgin Mary and a casket with a staute of Christ. It was really interesting to witness this event. Very different than our typical Easter celebrations.

~ Sylvie

Coffee Culture

Coffee beans. Photo taken at El Boqueron volcano,
as we sipped on  some delicious high altitude coffee.

One of the great things about El Salvador is its coffee and its coffee culture. I love that every afternoon people stop what they are doing and indulge in a cup of coffee accompanied with pastry. I find it particularly interesting that for the most part, coffee shops don´t sell coffee to go. If you do decide to buy it to go, you are most likely going to get it in a small cup and it will not have a lid. In other words, coffee is simply not made to be enjoyed on the run. People stop in the middle of the day or after work and really enjoy a cup of coffee. In general, coffee culture here encourages people to slow down, whereas in North America it seems that coffee encourages us to run faster. I love coffee and being here has taught me that more than a drink, coffee is also an experience.

-jgm