El Salvador

Hi! I realize that I havent updated for a LONG time! We made it safely to El Salvaodor and have been VERY busy since! My Grandma was here for one week and we rented a car and saw lots of El Salvaodor. Now it is just our familly back here in San Pedro Nonualco. I am VERY excited to hit the beach some more! We went last week but only for one day. The people here are keeping us very ocupied with farm tours, baptisims and lots of visiting! We will start to teach more english this afternoon down at the newistipeci(im not sure ow to spell it) school. Noelle and I are also trying to start a inport-export of coffee to raise money for the school and village. Our dog here had 5 cute puppies! Muneca( our dog) is coming home with us on the 6th! It was a long process to find out HOW to get her home! She is 2 inches to big to go on the plane and she cant fly as our luggage so we are paying a big fee for her to go as cargo! But I am SO happy she is coming home! I am getting very excited about returning to Alaska....13 days left! Miss you all!
Vienna

can you guess what these are ??

These are call marions, in Us we eat the green seed at the bottom, the cashew. Here they eat everything. the red is the fruit and you can eat it or make delicios juice from it. I love it the kids hate it.

La Palma El Salvador

The builings here are all painted with the La Palma trade mark. La Palma is a beautiful city high in the mountains with incrediable gardens. Also great Artesian shopping.

Shaved ice anyone ????

We often see people vende, selling their goods while bicycling in home made contraptions like these.

Sugar cane Molina

After cutting the sugar cane , extracting the juice and boiling and stirrring for 6 hours they pour the panella into molds and then the work begins. She is trying to teach me how to wrap the product in corn husk and tie with banana leaf. Sound easy, Ha I gave them much to laugh at before I gave up. She wraps 500 in a day.

Home again In El Salvador

To our surprise Muneca had 5 babies two weeks ago. The girls are loving playing with thm and we have found homes for 4 of them.

grandma dips her toes in the Carribean Sea

Notice the lovely poised pointed toe. Noelle and Vienna and Treava are trying to help her with her modeling skills but we think maybe AARP might buy the photo.

Embra Lady making the beautifull beadings

All the Embra Ladies wear these beautiful beadings on their legs. First they make a long string which we still don't understand how they get the patterning exact to make these designs as the leg width changes. Then they wrap it around their legs and stitch it together. Once on it is there till you cut it off. To make for one leg can take 2 days.

grandma Schmitter loves to Shop

My mom spent 1 hour looking at these molas made by this embra lady. There are four layers of material here each hand stichedogether in a way that you can't see the threads. This woman said it will take here una mes, one month to make one. Mom bought one for $25.

Treava and the endangered Baird's Tapir

The tapir is the largest land mamal in Central America. It has a long tongue and is very cute.

Golden frog of Panama

The golden frog is an endangered species. Currently it is really n trouble as there is a fungus that is attacking all frogs in Panama and Central America.

My mom watching and bargining with the Embra women selling beadings

Mirflores locks at the Panama Canal

The boat coming through on the right side was raised up to the level youy see here here and then passed through two more locks and on to the pacific ocean.