My neighbor Sabas may be poor, but he’s got the coolest flower and fauna around.
Here are his digs, a humble house of corrugated metal. He sells firewood for a living, a scarce commodity in this area. But don’t feel sorry for him – he doesn’t want your sympathy. He’s happy have his good health to collect firewood, and he is OLD! (Seventy-something. A lot of very old people are seen working throughout El Salvador, but the good news is they’re in much better health than Westerners their age).
Most afternoons you’ll see Sabas stroll down main street with a caretilla (cart) filled with the day’s wood findings, while gleeful upper-class Salvadoran tourists skip along the other side, deciding which bar to thrown down a couple of beers at and enjoy the view on the “Mirador” side of the mountain*.
Thanks to Hermano Juancito I was able to find this plant’s name: heliconia rostrata. For amateur botanists, check out National Botanical Tropical Garden.
Does it get any better than this? A Torogoz, the national bird of El Salvador, hangs out in his backyard every day.
Photo by Ruben Quinonez. Visit www.quinonezphotography.com
* El Mirador is one of two major tourist stops in Los Planes de Renderos (San Salvador), El Salvador. This viewpoint is GORGEOUS both day and night.
The other hot spot is the Puerta del Diablo (Devil’s Gate) on the other side of the mountaintop, also with fantastic views. The area is popular with young couples for ‘romantic jaunts’ but also with families on weekends, who like to enjoy the cooler climate, drink Atol de Elote (sweet corn drink), and eat Riguas and Tortas (pancake-like treats made out of cornmeal).
A friend called it “Busca novia/o” looking for a boy/girlfriend.
A US friend said it’s a “heliconia, probably a heliconia caribae”
You can see my photo and note at
Juancito in Honduras
Excellent. It’s definitely a Heliconia. Apparently there are numerous kinds. It looks like “heliconia rostrata”, as flowers go downward. Here is a link to an informative plant site I found to nail down the name, with pics and descriptions of 20+ heliconia that’s nice for gardeners and amateur botanists: http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant_details.php?plantid=5839
I love your picture of the torogoz!! I’ve never seen one sit still long enough for me to get a photo! They are beautiful birds and I never get tired at looking at them.
The Torogoz are definitely people-shy. All the pics I have are with the zoom all the way out – I think 15 feet is their physical ‘boundary’ for humans. Oh, and my husband told me a great Torogoz story just this morning. He said that they sing at exactly 5:00 in the morning. If you hear them and look at your watch – yup – 5am on the dot.
I never saw a torogoz after living in ES for 18 years! Im jealous. It is a beautiful bird
Karla, you must come back to El Salvador and visit the country for several days. I think you’ll see one then. How crazy you never saw one, but you still have time yet.