My parents are visiting us in El Salvador this week. This is the second time that they’ve visited us and it’s always exciting because they bring us lots of stuff that we miss from the States, we get to hang out with them, and we get to act like gringo touristy types. We don’t get to do this too often because we’re too busy doing our actual jobs most of the time to get to enjoy some of the beautiful and unique parts of El Salvador. So we got to be tour guides and show my parents around.

On Saturday, we took a boat ride on Lake Illopango.  This is a crater lake formed by the Illopango volcano. It’s a beautiful ride with turquoise waters and a glimpse into the local wildlife and fishing industry on the lake.

Then yesterday (Sunday) we took a drive up through the mountains north of San Salvador to the Chalatenango department.  This was our first time driving through these moutains and it was absolutely breathtaking. We could see all the way to the San Salvador volcano and the rugged, volcanic-formed peaks were unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, there was no safe place to stop to take a picture with all the switchbacks, so you’ll have to make a trip to El Salvador and see for yourself. After about an hour and a half trek through the mountains we reached the town of La Palma. This is a town famous for the painting style of Fernando Llort, a Salvadoran painter, and it is filled with this particular artisan style. We ate a great lunch at a restaurant just outside of town then walked the streets of La Palma admiring the murals painted on the walls, lightposts, and telephone poles of the town. The museum was closed, but we still had a good time viewing the art around town.

Lovely mountains and plants

My Dad tasting the house special at a restaurant specializing in tilapia.

Yummy!

Gardens around the restaurant

Monkeys in the garden.

                                                                                                                                                           And kids acting like monkeys in the garden.

Love the architecture.

Tori checking out the street murals.

This artwork shows the Salvadoran style.

The vivids colors brought the streets to life.

Murals everywhere.

Some tiles painted in the local style.

Colorful cups and plates

It was a great day seeing a new part of El Salvador, and gave my parents a chance to see what life is like in many of the small towns that make up the country. Today we visited the National Cathedral, Oscar Romero’s tomb, and the National Palace…more pictures coming soon.