I've been staying in the capital, San Salvador, for a bit more than a week now, doing day-trips to other parts of the country. The big industry here is coffee, and everywhere you'll see it grown on the mountains. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's easy to get a good cup of coffee, the best quality is exported abroad. It feels odd finding yourself drinking instant coffee, when you know the major agricultural product is coffee beans. I guess you could always go to one of the many imported fast-food chains from the States to get one...

Around San Salvador there are many different volcanoes. One of them erupted as late as 1917 and left a huge area covered with black lavastone, an interesting thing to see.

I've met some really nice people here that have been taking me around showing me the country. I went with them to a place called Tacuba to help them out with a transport of banana tree trunks. On our way to the farm we got stuck on a bridge with the underside of the car, due to low clearance. Luckily the fuel tank wasn't destroyed, but we had to put stones under the front wheels and push it back over the bridge while reversing the car to get back upon the road again. As we couldn't continue, we had to go back to the nearest town, rent a 4WD, get the stumps, and load them onto our own pickup back in town again.

As if that wasn't enough, on the way home on the main road to San Salvador, the car broke down completely. We couldn't fix it, so one of the workers had to stay behind overnight with the car, which some people living close let us put in their garden until the next day. A farmer with a machete escorted us to a gas station a few kms away, since it's not a very good idea walking on the highway after dark. From there we got a ride all the way to the capital in the back of a pickup truck.