ABSTRACT
Latin America has a reputation for being dangerous. And in El Salvador, the Chorros waterfalls near Juayúa come with this caution on my hostel notice board: ‘Muggings and robberies are common here. Ask at the police station for an armed escort’. I’m sceptical but cautious and organize, instead, a local guide who carries a machete and knows the shortcuts. We set off early, just after first light, laughing and talking along the way. We swim, talk, walk, and it feels so good to be off the high alert of fieldwork, where even when I am ‘off’, I am always ‘on’.
