My body still on Eastern Standard Time, I awoke in El Salvador at 4:45 a.m.  Forty-five minutes later I got up to a beautiful morning.  As it would be each morning, breakfast was at 7:00.  Today we would enjoy beans, baked bananas, scrambled eggs and rolls.  Shortly after 8:00, we loaded up our water and lunch provisions prepared by Senora Blanca and prepared to leave for our work site.
 
Claudio drove us 50 minutes to the village of El Congo.  There we met Arce (short for Arcelio), a local man employed by the diocese to oversee the fields and direct the work of the groups who arrive from week to week.  Our job was to clear Avenida Tercera (Third Avenue) for what will become a community of 30 homes, a church, school and clinic.  Arce demonstrated how to remove the coffee tree stumps using a machete, pickaxe and axe.
 
I jumped in enthusiastically only to tire badly in ten minutes or so.  I chalked it up to the altitude.  After an extended rest I caught my second wind before lunch with a renewed appreciation for the necessity of pace.  Arce was insistent:  work, rest, drink, work, rest, drink.
 
During lunch Arce showed us his home.  A single room, it measured about 10x13 feet.  He shares this humble home with wife, Carmen; 3-year-old son, Erik (sick with a cough); and 18-month-old Rosia (crying from a burn on her hand).  Erik’s friend, Jessica, would prove to be our constant companion; a beautiful little girl who would appear each time we arrived and never leave our side.
 
After lunch, we worked till 2:00.  On the way back to San Salvador we stopped at Lago de Cuatapeque, a gorgeous lake I had spotted during our plane’s descent the evening before.  An itinerant guitar player stopped to serenade us as we sipped soft drinks and enjoyed the breathtaking view.  We made a stop at the pharmacy to get some medical supplies for Erik and Rosia.  While we could buy many more items over the counter in El Salvador than in the US, it was clear that only the wealthiest could afford to purchase standard medications that we take for granted.
 
Back in San Juan, my cold shower felt terrific.  Our dinner was served at 7:00.  Once again the food would delight us: fried fish, beans, rice and vegetables.