OVER THE WATERFALLS NEAR EL TUNCO

Kip screams his way down an unnamed waterfall near Tamanique, El Salvador, as Pedro looks on.

Traveling first class as usual, we dropped 50 cents each for a local bus that struggled 20km along a winding, hilly road to the tiny town of Tamanique. A surfer we had met earlier in El Tunco told us there was a series of waterfalls not faraway that we should check out, so off we went.

As soon as we stepped off the bus, a friendly 30-something guy approached us. "To the waterfalls?" he asked us in Spanish.

We were the only two gringos for miles, and there was little question why we'd come. Our inquisitor's name was Pedro, and it just so happened he owned the waterfall, or so he said (he also said he used to service pools in southern Maryland, but that's a whole other story). Off we went again.

After a 45-minute hike down a trail better suited for mountain goats than flip-flop-clad gringos, Pedro took off his shirt and went flying over a rocky ledge into a pool surrounded by sheer rock walls.

"Come on in, it's cold and deep!" he assured us from below.

So we did.

The first jump of about 10 feet felt refreshing. The next one, at 15 feet, got the blood going. The last one, well...Kip screamed almost as loud and little-girl-like as he did when he was deep water soloing in Thailand.

A big thanks to Pedro for taking us to his waterfalls, which he ensures anyone reading, are way more fun than any pool in Maryland.

SHOE DELIVERY IN SAN SALVADOR

Inner-city school kids in San Salvador show off their new shoes.

It's a beautiful thing when the goal of helping others turns into a successful business that allows you to help even more. Such is the case with TOMS shoes.

Kip and Natasha unloading the many boxes
of shoes from the truck.

Started in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie, TOMS has evolved into a successful footwear (and now eye wear) company that has gained international acclaim for its "One for One" campaign. 

For each pair of shoes sold to consumers, TOMS distributes another pair to a child who can't afford them. 

So far, the company has distributed more than two million pairs of shoes to needy kids worldwide. They also raise awareness for their cause through the "One Day Without Shoes" campaign.

What does this have to do with us, you ask?  

Well, thanks again to our friend Phil (of Reto del Volcan fame), we were introduced to Natasha, Communications Director for an El Salvador based NGO, Glasswing International. And now, thanks to TOMS and Glasswing, we kind of smell like feet. 

Happy kids hold up their brand new pairs of TOMS shoes.

Kip has a group of kids in stitches with one of
his goofy Spanish jokes.

In addition to working on health and education initiatives, Glasswing partners with TOMS to bring shoes to underprivileged kids in El Salvador. We jumped at the opportunity to be part of the distribution team for one of San Salvador's biggest public schools. 

Our day began early, as we arrived at the school and unloaded boxes and boxes of different sized shoes from the truck. Once the boxes were arranged by size, we were ready to meet the kids and get started. 

Have you ever tried to put a cloth shoe onto the sweaty-socked foot of an eight-year-old? Trust us, it's a lot tougher than it looks! 

Together with the help of some very patient and dedicated 8th grade student volunteers, we sized and fit hundreds of kids from multiple classes of K-8 graders with a brand new pair of shoes.

All was great until a group of boys came in right after recess. They had been playing soccer, and yes, as they jokingly pointed out to us and to each other, their feet were not exactly downy fresh. We held our breath. They laughed hilariously. Many were so excited, they didn't put their other shoes back on, wearing the new pair for the rest of the day.  

Liz fits a sweet girl with her brand new pair of TOMS.

We had a great time laughing with the kids as they excitedly yelled the few words they knew in English and held up their new shoes. Though timid at first, they really started hamming it up for the camera, as shown in the photo below. 

This class gives us some goofy poses while they hold up their new shoes.

A big thanks to TOMS, our fellow volunteers, and Glasswing International for letting us be a part of their program. 

For those interested in volunteering in El Salvador, Glasswing has a variety of individual and corporate volunteer opportunities, in addition to helping out with TOMS. Check out their website for more information.

UN-FUNNY MONDAY: SHARK FINNING IN EL SALVADOR

Fins of baby sharks.

Near the end of a scenic, somewhat smelly stroll through the fish market atop La Libertad's main pier, we saw something that didn't seem right. Tossed across a wooden table lay a pile of what looked like tiny shark fins. 

Worse, in a 50 gallon drum next to the table, mixed in with discarded fish entrails, we found the detached heads of more than a dozen juvenile Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks, a proposed endangered species.

For the short-sighted fisherman who caught them, these sharks are worth more dead than alive. Their fins can fetch as much as $700/KG in Asia (though far less locally), and presumably the shark meat was sold as well.

At least one study has shown the true value of sharks when it comes to tourism. In Palau, individual sharks can bring in more than $1 million in tourism- and scuba diving-related revenue. A story in this week's New York Times revealed that perhaps demand in China is waning, a sign of hope for the jagged-toothed predator.

Heads of endangered hammerhead sharks tossed into a 50-gallon drum of fish entrails.

Environmental rant aside, the truth is these fishermen need to feed their families. And until a sustainable profit can be made from these species alive, with benefits reaching the residents of La Libertad, these practices will continue. 

Killing sharks for their fins is a complicated issue that numerous groups and governments are attempting to address. For more information and some interesting shark resources, check out the links below: 

• This blog post notes some interesting facts about the rapid decline of the Scalloped Hammerhead Shark.
• Here is an interesting article about the Hammerhead population in Belize
• A website for global shark conservation
• Ways to take action to stop shark finning
• New York Times article on the "Hidden Cost of Shark Fin Soup"
• A recipe for "imitation" shark fin soup

PHOTO FRIDAY: NATIONAL BIRD OF EL SALVADOR (& NICARAGUA)

El Salvador's national bird--the Torogoz, aka Turquoise-browed Motmot--keeps an eye out
for unlucky insects flying in its vicinity.

Torogoz hangs out on a highline, catching some rays.

In some countries, the national bird has become a rarely seen endangered species, as with Guatemala's Resplendant Quetzal. 

It's nice to know that the national bird of El Salvador can be seen throughout the country, almost any day, hanging out on a high line wire in the city or flying through the thick groves of trees. 

How the colorful creature, which is also the national bird of Nicaragua, didn't make this list of Top 10 Most Beautiful National Birds, we have no idea.

These guys have popped up virtually everywhere we've been lately. Forgive us for geeking out a little, but it's been almost as insane as it was for Kip when he got to go to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur's bird parks. Almost.

Learn more about the species here. Or head to El Salvador or any other Central American country and take a look for yourself.

LIZ'S FIRST STORY FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST

Despite her brush with death while trekking with the gorillas in the Ugandan jungle, Liz managed to write her first Huffington Post article about our time with the endangered primates. Read an excerpt below or view the full story here.

Gorilla Trekking on the Cheap

By: Liz Zipse
When my husband and I made our list of things we wanted to do on our round-the-world trip, hiking to see the mountain gorillas in Africa didn't make our top 10. With tours costing upwards of $1500 per person (including a required trekking permit of $500-$750, depending on the country) it sounded like a budget buster. Plus, considering visitors are limited to spending only one hour to visit with the massive primates, we felt there could be more rewarding things we could do with our limited dollars.

Yet, the closer we traveled to Uganda and Rwanda, where the majority of the world's mountain gorillas live, the more interested we became, and so we did some research on less costly alternatives to the typical tours. What we found saved us hundreds of dollars...

 Read the entire article here.