Getting in and out of jams, El Salvador style

OK, it's Friday the 13th -- so you guys up in the states, watch your step today!

But since the legend of  "Friday the 13th" is an American one, it's not valid down here. So we'll be breaking mirrors and walking under ladders to our hearts content here in El Salvador.

See? International travel has it's advantages!  And YOU worried about US?!?!?!?!?    ;-)

         In other news, we're pleased to report that we've found a hardy group of fellow musicians here in El Salvador -- and we've gotten into a few jams (of the musical variety) in the process, as seen above.

     This is a happy development.

Science shows us that joy and laughter are crucial elements of a satisfying life. But the thing about these emotions is this: they can't be forced. You can take drugs, which work like gangbusters in the very short term, but of course the long term consequences often involve frustration, stress and depression (or worse), which tend to cancel out the "joy and laughter" part.

   Which brings us to music. Ah, sweet music!

 You can listen to it, you can sing along and dance to it, or best of all, you can make it yourself. And the end result is often an unlimited supply of joy and laughter -- the natural way, free of side effects.


 In other news, living here in El Salvador for a time, my mind rushes back to the 1980's, when the civil war here dominated the news in the U.S. and around the world.

 For those too young to remember, a military junta came to power here in 1980 in a violent coup. A guerilla army formed in response. The U.S. supported the government forces, and Cuba and other communist countries supported the FMLN (the rebels).

An exceedingly violent civil war ensued, which held this small country hostage for 12 years, finally ending in 1992. 170,000 people died.

The military junta had "death squads" which assassinated leaders, including clergy, who spoke out on behalf of the rebels.  They even wiped out entire villages who housed or supported the guerillas.

  
            The 1989 film "Romero" portrayed the true story of the murder of Archbishop Oscar
     Romero by the Salvadorian government. His crime was speaking out on the side of the rebels.
      
          The rebels were also quite violent, and they murdered many military men in their aim to overthrown the government.

  
             The 1986 film "Salvador" by Oliver Stone chronicles the dangerous adventures of two journalists (James Belushi and James Woods) in El Salvador during the civil war. This, in particular,
                                     is a powerful film which I strongly recommend.

 The U.N. finally intervened in 1992 and put an end to the suffering and death.


      Yesterday we toured El Salvador with our friend Ernesto, a Salvadorian who was a young boy during the war.

                                                                     Our driver Ernesto

     Over a lunch of papusas (the national dish of El Salvador) in San Salvador, he shared
that his parents sided with the government during the conflict. When he was 8 years old, he
was on a bus with his grandmother when two guerillas boarded the bus and shot dead two
military men right in front of him and the rest of the horrified passengers.

     I asked him about the murder of Archbishop Romero by the government death squads and he calmly shook his head and said: "Oh, no, the military did not do this. He was actually murdered by the guerillas, who then blamed it on the military, to gain sympathy for their side and end the war."

   Well.

So there you go...

    In happier news, Ernesto drove us up to beautiful Lake Coatopeque, in the shadow of the Santa Ana Volcano, the tallest in El Salvador.

                               Lake Coatopeque is actually a crater of a long extinct volcano

        We're still working on the art of the "arm's length self portrait." It's harder than it looks, people!

                        See the little island in the middle of the lake? The President of El Salvador
                      has a mansion there. Typical!   They always get the best real estate!


                    We then hiked on a beautiful trail around the base of Volcano Santa Ana.

                                      

           The government provides an armed policeman for gringos hiking in the backcountry
               of national parks. This nice young man looked out for us during our hike.

          Even though we weren't near the top of the volcano, the mountain was shrouded in fog.



       And finally, our friends the Doolittle family aboard their sailboat "Jace" decided to change their boat name to "Knee Deep."  We all participated in a name-change ceremony here on the dock in El Salvador, which featured their young sons JP and Mickey each taking turns ringing the boat bell as dad Ben read the words of the ceremony (basically invoking good will from Neptune for the vessel as she continues to sail the seas).

      Then we all sang the song "Knee Deep" together, which was the inspiration for the name change. Check out the lyrics below, and I think you'll see why they chose this song:


          KNEE DEEP --  (featuring Jimmy Buffett)

Gonna put the the world away for a minute
Pretend I don't live in it
Sunshine gonna wash my blues away

Had sweet love but I lost it
She got too close so I fought her
Now I'm lost in the world trying to find me a better way

Wishing I was knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

Wrote a note said be back in a minute
Bought a boat and I sailed off in it
Don't think anybody gonna miss me anyway

Mind on a permanent vacation
The ocean is my only medication
Wishing my condition ain't ever gonna go away

Cause now I'm knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky

Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

This champagne shore washing over me
It's a sweet sweet life living by the salty sea
One day you could be as lost as me
Change you're geography
Maybe you might be

Knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

Come on in the water it's nice
Find yourself a little slice
Grab a backpack of lies
You never know until you try
When you lose yourself
You find the key to paradise

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