About halfway to the end, we gazed to the right up the cobblestone point. Surfers carved lines across the heaving swells in the distance. Several days later I would borrow a board and surf the point. It was my duty as a California surfer.

We then had lunch. I ordered a mariscada, a delicious mushroom soup chock-full of shrimp, chunks of sea bass, and squid. To my surprise, there was even a small steamed crab defending the bottom of my tureen.

I spent the duration of my stay at Patricia’s home in Santa Ana. In spite of the devastating blows the revolution inflicted on the Salvadoran economy, this town has retained its colonial charm and elegance.

Iguanas Bound for Market,
Meanguera del Golfo, El Salvador, 1978.