Tomorrow is our last day in El Salvador
This morning we lost a few of our group members as some were heading home and a couple went to spend time with their families here in El Salvador. We ended up being a group of 5 for today and tomorrow, on an adventure back toward San Salvador. Our first stop after saying goodbye to half our group (at 5:00am!) and our new friends from Habitat build, was the zip lines along the Ruta de last Flores. The view out over valleys and mountains on the drive up was incredible so we knew it was going to be a great experience despite any jitters among the group.
One there, we got all strapped in our incredibly flattering, comfortable harnesses and headed up to the first zip line, through acres of coffee bean plants. I was really impressed with our group because no one seemed to be very nervous or have much hesitation when it came time to zip down the line - such professionals, as Wilson would say (he worked there and took our camera to get some good shots).
Each line was unique in many ways, but the most distinct feature was the view each time we zipped along the 12 or 13 lines. So beautiful! By the end I was wishing we could go again, but alas we had to give up our gear and head back down the hill.
The rest of our day was pretty mellow with a drive into San Salvador, dinner with our new hosts at a Lutheran dorm-story-type place called Casa Concordia and a dessert outing with the McCallie group. The children we are now with are adorable and are used to having lots of visitors. After dinner they all asked us to play hide and seek, which they probably would have played all night if we didn't have to leave.
I love the hospitality and kindness here and I don't want to leave just yet as I feel there is much more to see. Tomorrow is our last day in El Salvador so we will all have to be sure to enjoy the day as much as possible and keep a little piece of this experience fresh in our minds as we return to our lives back home. I know I will, and I'm so thankful to have come on this trip and met so many great people.
- Kaja Odegard,'05