The war Cinquera and the ruins Tazumal. El Salvador

I guess sometimes it is convenient when some of your travelling group are little old ladies, who forget to pack their tenna lady or whatever make of nappies they wear these days. Lots of unscheduled stops , like this one in Cinquera.

In 1980, when the civil war began, the army began full on fighting, many families were separated — some fled, some moved to San Salvador for safety, others joined the freedom fighters.

The church was rebuilt after the town was nearly flattened during the fighting. Bomb casings now stand as a testament along with a mural showing a revered hero, Archbishop Romero

Many families living in Cinquera joined the guerrillas, one of the hardest things about being in Cinquera were the bombings.The air force would constantly bomb the whole area throughout the day.

UH-IM HELICOPTER TAIL UNIT 273 OF THE SALVADOREN AIR FORCE, SHOT DOWN WITH RIFLE FIRE BY HEROIC GUERRILLA COLUMN IN CANTON SAN JOSE EL TULE, YEAR 1991
"CINQUERA" RADIOLA SUB-ZONE
CENTRAL FRONT "MODESTO RAMIREZ FARABUNDO MARTI FRONT FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION

Most of the buildings in town were flattened and had to be reconstructed, mostly with debris rescued from the rubble and other cheap materials

Would have liked longer here but pee pees complete we left

Tazumal

The former Mayan complex of Tazumal, on the edge of Chalchuapa, a small town in El Salvador, proudly proclaims to be the finest archeological site in the country.

Inhabited from between 100-1200 of the common era, it was quite sizeable with it is believed to be over 1200 buildings. Apart from the main discovered and renovated structures the rest are now buried for ever beneath the township of Chalchuppa.

Between 1942 and 1944 excavated and restored the main pyramid structure, the restoration included coating the structure with modern cement. It was judged to be sufficiently similar to their original appearance as to justify its use.

In 1947 the site was declared a National Historic Monument, and until as recently as 2001, the Salvadoran 100 colón note carried an illustration of the ruins.

Mother Earth will always find a way to allow her children to grow and flourish.