Last of Xela

Yes I realize it has been a week and a half since we left Xela. However, we were struggling with a lack of pictures and then blissfully without internet, so I am justified in my delay.

Gatito!
There was a little calico kitty that lived at our house. She liked attention and she liked to cry.


After pulling it off the shelf in our room, she discovered she also liked the Mennonite granola.


Gluten Friday 2.0
The fabled fruit-filled donut. This is the strawberry.
It was delicious, but I needed coffee with it. It was nearly too sweet. Just look at all that filling!

Dave was a man of vision and adventure and bought a cinnamon donut. It was a glazed donut, but before it was glazed, they dusted it with cinnamon. I can say without hesitation, it was the best of all the donuts from Bakeshop. Sublime perfection. Because it was so perfect, the only picture of it is wrapped in the blue bag in the previous shot. Dave ate it so quickly, there was no time for a picture.

Last Day at El Nahual
After another good community lunch, we had our last afternoon of class. I ventured into the present tense subjunctive and Dave and Mariela laughed a lot. During the break, Anna and some of the other volunteers put on a puppet show for the kids about not littering. The kids had made the background and puppets during the afternoon art classes at El Nahual.

Strange Fruit
Of course I have since lost where I wrote down the name of this fruit, but I did know its name at one time, and will find it out again! But for now a description. It resembles an overripe pepper with a lima bean stuck ontop. The flesh is a little shriveled, and there is the big bean. But it is considered a sweet something, not a savory. I would disagree and say it is a bitter something. The flesh is soft, like a mango but not stringy. The flavor is unique. It puckers the mouth with bitterness, much like a super-sour candy will. It leaves the tounge with a mossy coat, much like a tannic wine. The juice is so bitter that the edges of my skin around my lips that contacted the juice tingled for an hour or so after I tasted it. I was told that the bean-ish part is actually the bottom of the fruit, not the top, and is delicious and a special treat when cooked, but otherwise the fruit is eaten raw.

The last night we were in Xela, we went to Trattoria Genovese for delicious homemade gnocchi (at least that's what I went for) and shared a great meal with 10 of our friends. Then we made our way to El Cuartito for some live music and mojitos.
Anna, Marta and I were all smiles.

While it was sad to leave Marta, Lindsay, Maia, Sarah, Eva, our host family etc, I was very excited to see somewhere different. El Salvador has not only lived up to my expectations, it has exceeded them!