Day 3: Municipal Clinic in Apopa, Visit to Day Care and Travel to Honduras

The group with the donations we brought and Dra. Yazika Ramos at the Municipal Clinic in Apopa.
see all photos »

Journal Entry by Kendall Gustavson

Our second full day in El Salvador started a little later than we had become accustomed to – most people slept in until eight! After a typical Salvadoran breakfast of eggs, beans, and fruit (and, of course, blow-your-mind coffee) we headed to Apopa to visit the clinic that the Rotaract group from last year made a donation to. With our arms weighed down by suitcases full of donations, we made a quick visit, followed by a surprise none of us will ever forget.

The market in Apopa.
see all photos »

We were lucky enough to be in Apopa for El Día dela Cruz (The Day of the Cross), a national holiday which celebrates a united belief in one god. Although we tried to be discreet and hide at the back of the crowd to watch the festivities we were immediately pulled out as the Canadians (aka the only white people in the city). To honour our contributions to the clinic as well as the yet-to-be-built women’s clinic in the market, we were pulled on stage to watch the show as if we were celebrities.

Uliana being interviewed for Salvadorna T.V.!
see all photos »

While every performance was fun and entertaining, nothing compared with the small boy, about the size of a bread box, who dazzled the crowed with his dance steps and hat tricks – I’ve never seen anything so cute in my life. Following the show we were interviewed by a local TV station, and through broken, embarrassing Spanish a few comments were passed back and forth…we think.

After leaving Apopa we started driving, obviously. It was easy to begin with, a short one hour back to the hotel so that we could pack our things and have lunch – but that was just the beginning. We set off on what we thought was a three, four, or five hour bus ride (no one could agree on the exact duration), but that quickly (or, more appropriately, very slowly) turned into eight. There was a choice between going the short route through Guatemala or taking the ‘safer’ route through the Cordillera Mountains straight to Honduras – we chose the safer and much longer option.

Girls dancing in Apopa.
see all photos »

Twenty-one people and their luggage arrived at the conference in Honduras, in what one might call a bus, ready for a good time and excited to not be travelling for the next couple of days. ¡Qué buena día!