Puerta del Diablo and Panchimalco

Tourist day!

And what a day it was. Starting first with a productive culinary morning of homemade coconut milk, green mango chutney and a risotto-ish experiment (which turned out pretty good if I do say so myself), a couple hours later Abuela, Henry and I were off for a new Salvadoran adventure. First stop, Panchimalco.

Panchimalco is one of El Salvador's few historic towns, popular with gringo tourists such as myself for the visible Pipil and colonial influences. You've entered Panchimalco once you reach the cobbled streets and white washed houses with colourful doors. If you visit the town on a weekend, and head over to the church, you will meet Don _ the local Pipil expert who will greet you in the Panchimalco variant of Nahuat. He's a nice enough guy and since it's a tiny town he'll show you around the place and recommend sites like Miguel-Angel Ramirez' art studio and the Panchimalco Cultural Centre. I did not visit either of these, but Miguel Angel Ramirez for example is one of El Salvador's most famous artists known for his children's portraits. So if you're into art, his studio is definitely worth a visit.

The Panchimalco church is one of my favorite churches ever. And I swear I'm not really into churches at all. This one however, is made almost entirely out of wood, with the exception of the front façade which is made out of clay or brick(?). That last part needs to be confirmed. The inner floor is made out of clay and the interior structure is decorated with beautifully crafted wooden beams and altars. The front altar is another elaborate wooden structure which houses various figures of the Virgin Mary, Christ and other saintly figures. It reaches up to the domed wooden ceiling of the altar room. This church is the oldest surviving colonial structure of El Salvador having been built around 1725.

Panchimalco church and Puerta del Diablo

Facing the church, camera poised to take a picture, you will notice prominent cliffs to the left of the church. This natural formation is known as the Puerta del Diablo, the devil's door, and is also well worth a visit if you're up for a short climb that will provide you a full circle view of El Salvador and its major landmarks such as the San Salvador Cathedral, San Vicente (otherwise known as Chichontepec - the big breasted volcano), San Miguel volcano, and Ilopango - El Salvador's biggest volcanic lake. There are many myths and legends surrounding the devil's doorway, the most obvious one being that here lies the devil's entrance to the underworld. But as the entrance to the underworld is yet to be found, plenty of locals and gringo tourists make their way over for a spectacular view. You'll also get a taste for Salvadoran culture from the rastafarian moteros selling hemp products nestled on the side of the cliff, to the reggaetoneros blasting 70s rock at the foot of the cliffs. If you're extra adventurous be sure to wear stilettos for the steep upward climb.

Photies - click to enlarge

Panchimalco church details

A tiny doorway

San Salvador and Quetzaltepec volcano

El Salvador del Mundo - The Saviour of the World, famous monument

The art of making smoothies with a fork

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp of yogurt
• 1 banana
• juice (of your choice or whatever's available)
• honey (optional)
• fork (not optional)
• glass (also not optional)

The other day I came home from work craving a smoothie. And although there are plenty of cafés along the way, I neither like nor trust their smoothies. If you're drinking something which kind of tastes of ass with sugar added it's not really a good sign or wonderfully appealing to the taste buds. Therefore, I decided to make my own. With a fork. It's not like I have a blender, much less electricity to use the blender so I've had to improvise a bit.

In order to make this smoothie in Nepal you need a fork. And a glass or mug, or any receptacle with high enough sides to mash the banana against the sides with the fork at a high speed without spilling the banana puree onto the laminated kitchen floor. So you have your fork and glass, great, now you need to locate a hole in the wall which sells dairy products. Perfect, you found one. Buy yogurt. Now go across the street and buy those shriveled looking black things which they call bananas. Go ahead and buy six of them, it may take a bit of practice, or it may be so delicious you immediately want another.

You have the yogurt, bananas (a carton of juice would also be a good idea), a fork and glass, wonderful. Wash bananas. Yes, wash them. You don't want to get street bacteria on the wrong side of the banana peel. Now peel the banana, and cut up into small pieces in glass. Grab fork, mash banana into mush with fork until it resembles baby food. The best way to do this is to start slowly, making sure all large chunks of banana come between the prongs of the fork and the side of the glass. Increase speed until the banana is thoroughly mushed.

The hard part is over, now you can add the yogurt. Fill half way full, mixing banana and yogurt as you go along. When the two are completely combined, add juice and/or honey to taste, a little at a time to make sure everything is properly combined. The trick is to make it feel and taste like a smoothie so you really need to makes sure it's well mixed. You really don't want to come across random pieces of green banana as you're chugging this down. Once everything is combined and the contents of the glass are all th same colour, find your sunglasses and sunny corner to sit down in and enjoy the fruit of your labour with a spectacular view of the snow peaked mountains.