Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Perquin and Mozote

We left Suchitoto and headed towards Perquin to visit the Museum of the Revolution

Like Guatemala, El Salvador has a violent and bloody history. The civil war began in 1980 and ended in 1992

We began our with a visit to the Guerilla encampment which was in use for 3 years

and a tour with Mario our guide

of the radio tent

and various military hardware




photos of guerillas

bit of a helicopter shot down ad discovered in the jungle in 2010

a hole in the ground where ammunition was stored

a kitchen

a hospital

where we were told sympathetic doctors from around the world would volunteer their skills, a tunnel



a couple of bridges across the river in the rainy season



There were signs that we crossed the bridges at our own risk. I would not want to be in a hurry to get across! Here is a trip wire, attached to a small rocket


bits of a bomb impaled in a tree

The tour was in Spanish, but Mario was very patient and helped us enormously to understand. We left the way we arrived through a curtain made of spent bullet shells

Then we went for a walk to the Mirador which promised to offer spectacular views. Our walk took us through more encampment which has been less well preserved

another hospital

a bomb crater

and finally the vista

and a few moments to reflect


Next we visited a recreation of Radio Venceremos


(the walls are lined with egg boxes) and the museum. Then we headed back to our hostel to prepare to leave

and our room was the open door.

Then we headed to El Mozote


A small village with a tragic past. We wanted to see the memorial for the men women children and foetuses massacred by their own government




We visited the Garden of Reflection

which contained a beautiful mural with all the names of the children who were murdered

It depicts the strength and endurance of the human spirit.
El Mozote felt bleak, a scarred soul etched on the faces of the folk we passed who are old enough to remember. It was a deeply moving experience and a further reminder of man's inhumanity to man.

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