Tag: Spanish

Beautiful, safe El Salvador

El Salvador is one of the prettiest countries I’ve visited. Today is my 40th birthday. In the past decade, I really embraced my love of travel and visited 20 different countries. El Salvador is now easily one of my favorites.

El Salvador has historically had a rough reputation. Colonization, extermination of indigenous communities, civil war, and massive gang violence. However, in the past few years, according to literally every Salvadoran I spoke with, things have gotten much better. Salvadorans shared with me a variety of political opinions, but universally are happy with the fact that gangs are off the street and the country is safer than it has been in ages.

I got to enjoy that safety. I walked around alone at night. I didn’t have to constantly be on the lookout for pickpockets the same way I had to in parts of Europe. The police presence was significant and not in any way invasive of my privacy. It was their presence that was making life safer for the average Salvadoran and for me as a tourist. Statistically speaking, San Salvador is safer than Atlanta and it feels safer too.

El Salvador is a tiny country, but it packs a punch when it comes to the amount of nature you can see in it. In one day, you can go from the beach to freezing cold mountaintops. The country is so green. While deforestation is apparently an issue, I didn’t notice it personally because everywhere I looked were rolling hills and forests. I hope the country continues to preserve its natural heritage. Here are some pictures:

The amount of green space made me feel calm and relaxed. Every view put me at ease and helped me soak in the serenity of this fascinating place. El Salvador is rich not only in nature and scenery. Its people are so warm and welcoming. I can’t tell you how many times I was able to strike up conversation with random people, sometimes for hours at a time. Salvadorans are social, outgoing, and easy to talk to. While in many countries, you might schedule time with official tour guides, in El Salvador, I’d simply find a friendly Uber driver and ask if they’d be open to taking me around the country. Every single time, the answer was yes. They’d enthusiastically go out of their way to make sure I was comfortable and would share their personal stories of how their lives intersected with the country’s history.

For example, one driver/tour guide I met actually grew up hanging out with Monseñor Romero, the famous Salvadoran bishop who was assassinated in 1980. He is an icon of this country and everyone knows who he was in El Salvador. He told me stories about Romero telling “dad jokes” to him and his siblings, who would roll their eyes at him and laugh.

Another tour guide told me stories about him illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexican border in search of a better life and how he’d prefer to do it legally next time if he ever went again. He added that he was much happier in El Salvador with the increase in security and didn’t feel a need to leave as much as he did in the past.

People were open, honest, and sincere about how they felt about everything from politics to history to the economy to family life. And with me, someone they had just met. It kind of reminded me of Israelis. Warm people who have been through a lot and yet hold on to their sincerity and kindness. Perhaps it is because both Salvadorans and Israelis have been through so much that they are so forthright with their feelings and live in the moment. Life is too short to keep everything bottled up inside.

Another highlight of my trip was exploring El Salvador’s indigenous culture and history. Unfortunately, native communities were treated extremely poorly by the Spanish colonists and some Salvadoran governments, so not much remains in terms of living culture. Much of it is now mixed with Spanish/mestizo society.

However, I did get to visit two places that meant a lot to me. One was Panchimalco. This largely indigenous town is not on most tourist maps. My guide took me there and we wandered around until I asked someone inside a 500-year-old church (!!) if anyone still spoke the Nahuat language there. He pointed me to a certain part of town where he said a man with long hair lived who taught the language. My guide and I went enthusiastically in search of him. The man we found was absolutely fascinating and super friendly. He told us all about the history of the language, some vocabulary, and the importance of preserving indigenous culture. My guide was learning as much as I was – he had never learned the language either. It was fun to share in the adventure together. I even got to learn how to count to ten in Nahuat!

While some people are preserving indigenous languages, other people are preserving indigenous architecture and ruins. On my way to Suchitoto, I got to explore the (nearly empty of tourists!) Cihuatán. These 1000-year-old ruins are still being excavated since they’re a relatively recent find. And unlike in some other countries in the region, you can still climb the pyramid!

Those of you who know me well know that in certain circumstances, I have a fear of heights. Sometimes I like to challenge myself to overcome it and sometimes I decide it’s not worth it. In this case, I decided to climb the pyramid. I took it “one step at a time”, just like my mom’s mantra, and I made it to the top. I looked down, my guide took a picture of me, and I made my way down. It was incredible not only to look out and conquer my fear for that day, but also to literally be stepping on over 1000 years of history. I couldn’t recommend this place more!

After a week of exploring El Salvador and enjoying every bit of it, I decided to join the local synagogue “Comunidad Israelita de El Salvador” for Shabbat services. The total community in El Salvador is only 200 or so people. And yet there were over 20 people at services that night, meaning 10% of the community. It’s really impressive. You don’t often get more than 30-50 people at Shabbat services at 4000-person synagogues I’ve been to in Maryland and Atlanta. What would Jewish life be like if American Jews were a little more participatory? A little more Salvadoran?

The services were musical and joyous and just wonderful. The congregation is led by an Argentinian rabbi and I was able to meet congregants from all over the world in just a few minutes: Colombia, Venezuela, the U.S., El Salvador, and so many more places! Because this is Latin America, the greeting from many people was a kiss on the cheek. It felt so warm and welcoming. I highly recommend visiting this synagogue if you come to El Salvador.

I could write for ages about how awesome El Salvador is, but the bottom line is you should go see it and experience it with your own two eyes. The media wants to talk about politics and violence because they’re “sexy” topics which get eyeballs. But in the end, we have a choice of where to look for our knowledge and inspiration. El Salvador surprised me in the best way possible. Beautiful, safe, and filled with some of the most fun and interesting people I’ve ever met. Go visit! ¡Arriba El Salvador!

Mérida, Mexico

This past year, I’ve been blessed to visit Portugal, Spain, Malta, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, and Hungary. All far away destinations with rich history and natural beauty. It’s been a great year.

Surprising to many of my friends, before last week, I had never been to our southern neighbor, Mexico! This is all the more surprising considering I speak fluent Spanish, used to be a classroom Spanish teacher, and majored in the language in college!

Sometimes the greatest gifts are looking you right in the face, waiting to be discovered at your doorstep!

Mérida, Mexico was one such gift.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. On the news, Americans often (sadly) see Mexico as its crime-infested, dirty neighbor. It deters many people from visiting anywhere but the areas most catering to foreigners with all-inclusive resorts that barely interact with ordinary Mexicans. That may be totally fine for some chill vacations, no hate. But it’s not how I prefer to travel.

I knew I wanted a city with some tourist infrastructure but an actual Mexican city. After talking to a friend who had visited Mérida, I became curious. I found out that the city is not only incredibly safe, it’s actually much safer than my current home of Atlanta or my hometown of Washington, D.C. I walked around at night without any issue whatsoever and I wasn’t even staying in Centro, the main tourist area.

The city is absolutely beautiful. Its colorful architecture and sunshine lift your mood immediately. The city is filled with beautiful historic homes as well, dating from the prosperous era in which it served as a center of the henequén trade. Here are some pictures of ordinary homes and the massive mansions that dot the city and make it so beautiful:

Speaking of the henequén trade, I actually got to visit Hacienda San Eduardo where they still make fibers out of this plant. It was beautiful to be out in the countryside in addition to my stay in the city:

If you’ve been to Mérida and haven’t experienced the Mayan culture of the Yucatan, you haven’t really visited this part of Mexico. It is incredible to not only see the rich architectural and social history of this people, but also to recognize that this is a living civilization. Many people in the Yucatan, especially in smaller towns, still speak Mayan! I bought several bilingual books in Spanish and Mayan to explore the language. Much like Jews have preserved our ancient civilization, so too have Mayans. We both like to build massive prayer structures centered on sacrifice (the Temple in Jerusalem, Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Xcambó, and so many other Mayan sites). We both preserve ancient sacred stories.

The Mayan archaeological sites in the Yucatan are incredibly impressive and well preserved. Most people know about Chichén Itzá. It was beautiful and gigantic. Fortunately, I got to visit late in the day after most of the tour buses had already left and it was relatively empty. It’s true that this site has its fair share of commercialization, but I simply put my headphones on to walk through the line of vendors and was totally fine.

What fewer people do in their visit to the Yucatan is visit lesser-known Mayan sites such as Uxmal and Xcambó. The latter predates Chichén Itzá by about 2000 years, making it about 3000 years old! Uxmal was incredibly impressive for how well preserved its architecture was, the massive size of the complex, and the fact that there were fewer tourists there (and no people trying to get you to buy stuff!). I highly recommend a visit to both! It’s a spiritual experience to see such amazing human accomplishments from so long ago. Check them out:

In addition to visiting Mayan ruins, I had the chance to visit villages along the way with some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Motul, Dzemul, Muna, Yaxcopoil, Izamal (the yellow city!), and the pink Mayan salt flats of Xtampu. Rural Mexico is especially beautiful. The people have a deep kindness to them. The nature and architecture is as beautiful as the people. Here are some more pictures!

Mexico’s greatest resource is not its ruins nor even its nature. It is so clearly its people. It’s the Oaxacan woman on one of my tours who gave me her number and invited me to visit. It’s the gentle octogenarian bookstore owner who encouraged me to keep traveling and kept shaking my hand, grateful for me visiting his store. He said he wasn’t allowed out at night anymore since he was getting older, so he really appreciated the chance to chat and he couldn’t stop smiling. If you find yourself in Mérida, visit his bookstore at Libros Ruben Ojeda and you’ll find some true treasures!

The friendliness was also the staff at my hotel. They went out of their way every day to make me feel welcome and give me travel recommendations. Sometimes we’d chat for an hour at a time, just about life. On my way out, they gave me a hug and said I was a wonderful guest. I’ve traveled a lot, but nobody has ever hugged me who worked at a hotel. That’s just the nature of Mérida and a warm culture. That warmth extended to an antique store owner who composes her own Mayan-inspired poetry – and spent the better part of twenty minutes reciting it for me in Spanish! Visit her store and maybe you’ll get the chance to experience this magic too. It’s called Galería Alfaro Antigüedades.

One of my last nights in Mérida, I found myself at a Cuban restaurant. I’ll probably write a separate blog about my trip to Miami and its rich Cuban and Latin American culture, but for now I want to share this anecdote. I was at La Bodeguita del Centro, a delicious Cuban-inspired restaurant. I had read online that there was going to be live music, and the owner told me the singer would be starting as soon as I sat down! It was a slow night, only me and a Canadian couple at the table next to me, who I ended up dancing with!

Before long, I was requesting salsa songs and having a blast as the incredibly talented Cuban refugee singer belted out hit after hit.

Then, she walked down from the stage and pointed me, gesturing to come closer. She grabbed my hands and told me to salsa dance with her. We danced to my favorite salsa song “La vida es un carnaval” by Celia Cruz. I felt like I didn’t have a care in the world. Everything was just right.

As the translation of the chorus goes: “Ay, there’s no need to cry, because life is a carnival, it’s more beautiful to live singing. Oh, Ay, there’s no need to cry, for life is a carnival, and your pains go away by singing.”

I could feel the pain slipping away as I belted out the song with her. The stress, the worry. Who knows what this woman has been through, escaping the dictatorship in Cuba. Building a new life for herself in Mexico. And yet here we were, two humans just dancing the night away.

That is the spirit of the Caribbean. It’s the spirit of Mérida. And it’s the spirit of Mexico. It’s a place full of wonder, of mystery, of ancient civilizations and modern cultures coming together.

I’m so glad I went to experience life a bit with my southern neighbors. I’ll be back! ¡Hasta pronto!