I had a desire to observe the environmental situation in Central America and compare what I saw to the accounts I had read. For I d heard rumors that El Salvador had no environmental laws at all, and factories in Guatemala could dump pollution right into rivers. Of course everyone has heard the adage, Don t drink the water.
Some people HAVE to drink the water.
They live in towns where rivers and wells supply the only available drinking water. They can not afford bottled water. With an eye open to environmental issues, many of my observations have a certain slant to them. Instead of looking away from the dumps and crumbling factories, I tried to see as many details as possible. The polluted rivers held a macabre fascination for me.