On Thursday, Jon's last day here in El Salvador, we made our way to Nahuizalco. This small town is known for it's artisans--especially woodworkers. From our experience driving to Suchitoto on Tuesday, instead of making the trip by ourselves, we decided to take a translator. We were happy that Jona and Diego could go along.
We found the square in Nahuizalco without any problems . . . . there were vendors everywhere, selling everything imaginable. We visited CEDart--a school that teaches various types of creative and artistic courses, including woodworking. Unfortunately, there were no courses in session while we were there.
Next stop was a furniture workshop . . . . we randomly stopped at Muebles Hernandez (Hernandez Furniture.) One of the reasons we wanted a translator with us was because we wanted to be able to explain to the artisans that we weren't interested in buying furniture, but rather were hoping to see their workshop and ask questions about the furniture building process. We couldn't have found a more willing guide in Melvin Hernandez. He cheerfully showed us around the whole shop explaining their work processes. He answered all of the questions Jon asked, including many questions about the variety of native woods that are available to them. Jon wanted to buy a "chunk" of wood to take back with him, but Melvin wouldn't let him pay for it. As you can see from the picture, it was a sizeable piece. Once again, I am amazed by the generosity of the Salvadoran people. Jon will add this piece of "cortez blanco" to his collection of wood from Central America. One of these days he says he will decide what he's going to build using the two woods from Costa Rica and this new piece from El Salvador.
After an early dinner at Pollo Campero in Sonsonate, we made it back to San Salvador about 7:00 p.m. It was a great last day!
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