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My strongest memory is the smell. It came to me immediately after stepping out of the Airport. Fire. Smoky, heavy scents, sticky like molten sugar. Like most westerners, I only knew the few things international media communicates about El Salvador. Earthquakes, poverty and violence. Situated between Honduras and Guatemala, El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. Large volcanoes dominate the landscape, lava fields stretch away onto the black sand beaches of the crystal blue Pacific. Black Sands is a collection of personal memories. The way I experienced this strangely beautiful, immensely raw and honest land and its people. A personal view on a much undervalued country.