El Salvador Travel Blog

The bridge is finally open for use! Today we met with community members, Alcaldia members, and Daniel to have a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Bridge. Eric was asked to give a short speech, so he and other community leaders shared with everyone the importance of having the bridge, and thanked all the volunteers who helped. The community of Nuevo then made papusas for everyone to celebrate.
Following the bridge ceremony we headed to the coast for a little rest and relaxation on the ocean. All of us have had a great time but look forward to heading home tomorrow.

Lots to update on! We are ready to go with the bridge and tomorrow morning we have an unveiling ceremony for it and will celebrate with the communities in the morning. The past few days have involved some impromptu adjustments with our plans for the bridge but after the concrete pour today, it has all been worth it to see it finished while we are here.
Tuesday the survey team wrapped up logistics and planning and are now ready to step forward with a finalized budget and soon (fingers crossed) a finalized design. Flory and Jen headed to the wastewater treatment plant during the afternoon to collect samples. Chris went to join them later and it promptly started pouring when he arrived. The three then had to trudge through a downpour where some parts of streets required walking through 4 inches of running water. It was an experience to say the least. The rest of the night was devoted to drying off and relaxing.
 
We spent all of Wednesday around the bridge making sure the pipe underneath was at a suitable level and that the deck was ready for the concrete pour. This took up most of the day and was one of the longest days for us as well as one of the hottest.
Tomorrow we look forward to seeing the bridge complete and going to the beach for a little relaxation. We are all doing well and look forward to coming home soon, but of course not too soon!
 
Chris

Productive but long day...we will update tomorrow.

We made it to El Salvador alive and well yesterday with no problems traveling.  We were picked up from the airport by Armando and Diego, two people who work at the alcaldia (mayor´s office) of Nejapa, and taken to our hostel, Los Ranchos.
 
After arriving we had a delicious lunch and talked about our plans for the week with Diego and Armaya, then drove into the communities.  We walked through La Granja and Nuevo Ferrocarril and spoke with the community leaders, and we also spent a while checking out the bridge.  The ravine looks quite different from last January...our erosion control took very well and the sides of the ravine are covered in vegetation, and the bridge in place was a very welcoming sight.  We checked out the support plates and the welds, and everything looks good.
 
Today (Monday) Chris, Jen, and Norm went into Nuevo Ferrocarril in the morning and re-surveyed several of the roads to aid in the collection system design.  They also analyzed our rough design on site to help in its development.  Flory and I went to the wastewater treatment plant to take flow measurements and speak with some of the workers.
 
We all met up in Nuevo Ferrocarril for lunch, then returned to Nejapa for a meeting with the alcaldessa (mayor).  We talked about their plans for the future of the wastewater treatment plant, which they are beginning to renovate, and our involvement in this process, as well as a couple of logistical issues for the system in Nuevo Ferrocarril.  Immediately after this meeting we met with Daniel Rivera, the Rotary San Salvador engineer who has been in charge of the fabrication and placement of the bridge.  We´re hoping to pour the deck of the bridge while we´re in El Salvador this week.
 
It´s been a very busy past two days, but we´re enjoying ourselves and getting a lot done.  The weather here is very pleasant...it´s overcast most of the time and fairly humid but temperatures have been in the 70´s during the day, and not too much rain yet.  Tonight we´re going to relax and prepare for a full day of surveying and water sampling in the communities.
 
-Eric

Hi Everyone,
We leave this Sunday morning (the 22nd of August) bright and early, at 5:45am from Milwaukee.  We'll be in El Salvador until midday on Saturday the 28th.  If you're interested in know what we're up to while we're in country, check back here every once in a while; we'll be updating the blog every other day or so.
-Eric

Sunday, January 17th - Wisconsin Travel Day
The travel team got up early in the morning for our final meal of Mirna's cooking.  There were pancakes, beans, bread, and hot chocolate.  After getting the bus loaded with all of the luggage and saying last goodbye's to our El Salvadorian friends we headed off to San Salvador. Before going to the airport we stopped at a market to get any last minute souvenir items.  The market was very nice and had a lot of great gifts that students purchased to bring back to their friends and family back in Wisconsin.
In the airport people grabbed food from different places in the airport before boarding the flight.  Our first flight was delayed, but we made it on time to Miami.  The group got through customs just fine and loaded up for the final trek of the trip from Miami to Chicago.  Students were then taken back to their homes and apartments in Madison.  It was hard to say our goodbyes to each other because we had been around each other 24/7 for the past 2 weeks, but we know that the friendships and memories that we've made with each other in El Salvador will last us a lifetime.
 
Saturday, January 16th - Final Day In El Salvador
This morning started off bright and early with a community meeting at 8AM at the school in Nuevo Ferrocarril.  Both communities of Nuevo Ferrocarril and La Granja were invited to the meeting.  The turnout ended up to be over 150 adults and around 100 kids.  Right away the adults and children were split off.  Eric translated to the adults’ information about what the group had done over the past two weeks, EWB's community commitment, and our plans for future work.  The rest of the group (lead by Caitlin) worked with the kids for educational workshop about the importance of hand washing.  The group went over reasons why you should wash your hands, when you should wash your hands, and the proper technique.  A Glow Germ activity was done (this is a lotion that you apply to your hands and then use a black light to see all the areas of germs/bacteria that were missed during hand washing).  There was also a handout each child received that is an activity that they are supposed to mark off every time they wash their hands (3 times a day).  We also showed the most current version of the El Salvador documentary.  The community members all enjoyed the documentary and knowing that their story is being told back in the States.  After the meeting the group stuck around and talked with various community members about the future of the project, taking pictures of the kids, and talking about life. David and Nancy Slinde from West Bend area Rotary Club were also in attendance at the meeting which was really nice to see them and have them there!
After the meeting, the travel team headed back to Los Ranchos.  After a small break and lunch the group piled back onto the Nejapa bus.  We ventured off to 'La Puerta del Diablo' (the devil's door) which is a volcano hiking area.  We hit it perfectly - just around sunset - and the view was wonderful with the view of the ocean on one side and San Salvador on the other.  Dusk set in as we climbed down the volcano.  We were then taken to a look out of San Salvador, which in the night view looked like glitter.  For dinner we went to a pupseria for our last meal of pupusas. After dinner we then drove back to Los Ranchos (while some choose to sing 90's hits).  The group stayed up celebrating our last night in El Salvador with dancing.  It truly was a perfect ending to a very successful and fun trip.

Please note flight number from Miami to Chicago has changed:
Flight AA926 San Salvador 2:50 pm to Miami 6:25 pm
Flight AA2039 Miami 9:25 pm to Chicago 11:40pm

Friday!
 
Everyone was up at the crack of dawn again this morning although some of us had a harder time waking up than others.  After yet another delicious breakfast, the group headed to the work site to finish up all last minute tasks.  The majority of the group worked on planting various plants along each edge of the ravine to prevent erosion during the heavy rainy season.  I think we were all surpised at Jim´s green thumb.  We were all happy to see the almost-complete bridge site look so good.  While this was going on, some of us dug up the last manhole by the Pan-American Highway to measure the depth of it and to see how the flow was moving.  Gosh, that was an extreme smell and we were a bit surprised to find a ball down there!
 
The temperature has increased from earlier this week and we were happy to come back to Los Ranchos for lunch.  After lunch, some of the group headed back to the work site to meet members of the San Salvador Rotary Club and show them what we have done with the funding they have provided us.  We are headed to a place this afternoon where there is a great overlook of San Salvador and we will get dinner there.  After this, it´s time to clean up and hit the dance floor one more time at the discoteca in San Salvador.
 
-Bryan