The Vision

As I laid on our bed that first hot sticky night unable to sleep in our new home in San Miguel, El Salvador I wondered what had I done. Why did I build in such a damn hot humid place. Having married a truly beautiful woman a true "garobera" I learned some simple facts: June/July/August are very hot and humid. Not the best time to be in el Oriente of El Salavador. October-January was better and the Carnaval in November was the best time, but travel outside the traditional US school summer break was near impossible until our children became adults.

One recurring thought continued in my mind like a old carousel slide show stuck on the same slide; where is the tourism. El Salvador is a beautiful country with plenty to offer, but it lacked the organization, promotion, the mind set of tourism. Now I don't mean turicentros that are no more than a place with a pool, but something like you would see in Costa Rica. In El Salvador you will find a geothermal vent with cows milling about; this same geothermal vent in Costa Rica would be a spa with mud baths and hot springs, why not here?

Yea, I know I heard it all: the country is just getting over a civil war, the country is poor, the people don't want it or are not sophisticated enough! No, not true, Salvadorians will travel across borders and spend their money in Honduras, Guatemala and other places. They want something else they are starving for things to do in their own country, but something different.

Just north of San Miguel on the Panamerican Highway about 3 miles is a turn off to the east, the locals call it "el desvio de Feble" or the road to San Jorge. As you make that turn you notice a imposing feature: a volcano, a big stand alone volcano with a small ring of ever present clouds at the top. At about 2 mile on this road some subtle changes begin you notice the vegetation is greener and you begin to assend gradually at first, then is it steepens. The air is lighter, fresher and cooler. You are now on the skirt of a active volcano officially known as El Volvan Chaparristique or as the locals call it El Volcan.

At about the 3 mile point on this road my wife and I came across the burned and destroyed ruins of a coffee plantation hacienda know as Hacienda Suarez. My wife had childhood memories of this place she had grown up across the road and had the opportunity to have seen it at it's prime. She recounted how the area around the ruins were the owners personal gardens and the rare and imported fruits and plants that still existed here and only here.

Just by happenstance we noticed that some surveying was being done on the property. Being the curious type I asked what was going on. The surveyor said the land was going to be sold as small parcels by the owners and a street was planned down the middle of the remaining ruins. We were able to find the company who was responsible for the sub divisions. They said that the parcels were for sale but had not marketed them yet. We inquired that if we bought all the parcels around the immediate area of the ruins would they not build the road. After a back room meeting and a few phone calls we has a deal. The initial out lay was for 13 lots and over the years it grew to 24.

This area is known as the Volcan, a hamlet of homes in the dense vegitation with towering trees. The locals enjoyed the country the cool air the afternoon breezes, the darkness and stillness of the night, and so did we. But it lacked all the neccessary services, there is electricity and phone service, but no water. The large land owners had tried drilling for wells but gave up after very expensive attempts to find water. The locals live by drinking harvested rain water from their roofs and stored it in ground tanks or any way they could. Those with means were able to have potable water trucked up and stored in tanks. Cooking was almost 100 percent done with wood.

We began to clear up the over growth and after cleaning up the ruins we would invite our city friends up for a cook-out and place hammocks between the trees and just past the time. All would comment on how nice and cool it was up here. They would love to spend time up here if there was just the facilities they wanted. You know, creature comforts: running water, flush toilets, and security. I began to think about places I had seen in my travels, in Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Belize, and Mexico. I could do this, a local get away, a simple spa, restaurant, and hotel and tours of the local natural wonders that surrounded this area. The fever began slowly at first, then it ran and hard it ran , the fever was on, I was going to build.
Si se puede!