Blogs from San Salvador, Central, El Salvador, Central America Caribbean

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My second stop to my Anthony Bourdain No Reservations Central America Trip 2016 is El Salvador. Stopping at a town called San Benito, San Salvador.... read more
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I enjoyed walking around San Salvador along with my Mexico and Guatemala Northern Triangle Working Trip! I enjoyed exploring the immigrants of El Salvador, migration in El Salvador, the land of El Salvador, the food of El Salvador and the people of El Salvador! I was very fortunate to get a very cheap flight to fly to El Salvador because I was heading to Mexico first before I flew to Guatemala, etc!... read more


Here we are, spending some time in the last country of Central America I have never visited. Put it simply, El Salvador doesn't have the best record for safety, so basic rules do apply. Kind of funny to write when you know I'm writing this today from Congo DRC! Yes, El Salvador is classified as one of the more dangerous country in the world. There is no war here per se, but the gangs, and gang wars do rule in most part of the very poor country. So I was not going to play any game on this multi-weeks trip. Why El Salvador, well, it was an easy 48 hours stop between Roatan and my next stop, just an hour from here. San Salvador is also country count 157 for me. As of today, I still ... read more
Diego and the boatman....
Ready for some serious fun...
Three to five meters visibility, maximum!


Being in El Salvador feels a little like being in a modern day western. It seems as if every other person here is carrying a rifle or pistol and a belt of spare ammunition. The reason of course is the number of security staff employed here (even fast food restaurants here have guards), the vast majority of whom are armed. There’s also a visible army presence patrolling streets. Most of the soldiers are very young. Having said this, San Salvador is much more civilised than I had expected with new shopping centres, shiny fast food outlets and wide modern roads. Even the old centre isn’t too bad, though we don’t need to venture here in the evening as we are staying in the Los Heroes area. The main city sights (Metropolitan Cathedral, Theatre, National Palace and ... read more


“Welcome to El Salvador; my name is Edgar,” grinned a stocky man in his late thirties. Edgar possessed an enviable shock of black hair, and his friendly face made me warm to him straight away, which was great since he was going to be my guide for the next few days. “Is this your first time here?” His accent was thick but perfectly understandable. I nodded. “It’s good that tourists are starting to come. This is what the government wants and what I want.” He led me outside into the blinkingly bright sunshine. “Wait here, I’ll get the car. I should only be a couple of minutes.” With that he was gone, leaving me alone to take in this most dangerous of Central American cities. El Salvador was the edgiest country of my trip. The mention ... read more
El Salvador has the best car plates in Central America
Chicken bus
Musicians in downtown San Salvador


"If you have made it to El Salvador you must be either totally naive or you actually have a mind of your own" What we (think we) know: El Salvador ranks number 134 of 136 in safety and security of all countries according to the World Economic Forum report ranking the travel and tourism competitiveness of 136 countries. The number of homicides by violent, well-armed street gangs — 18th Street (“Barrio 18”) and MS-13 ("Mara Salvatrucha") has dropped to below 6 a day (last year). While the gringo trail (and backpackers highway) through Central America takes a wide d-tour around it and although El Salvador has the worst image ever as a country to travel to we decided not to skip the country and we have loved every bit of it. We have been travelling for ... read more
Tortuga Verde!
Great place Tortuga Verde
Colourful fishing boats


I had put my alarm on time, I woke up as well, but then I fell asleep again. I guess I was still tired from the hike. At 4:00, the night securety of the hostel woke me up with his flashlight telling me the shuttle was waiting for me. Luckily I packed my backpack the night before already! I was traveling with Bryan from El Salvador and Emma from Switzerland. The other night, when I asked Bryan what to visit in El Salvador after he told me he was from there, he told me I could join them because they were going there on monday. The shuttle brought us to Guatemala City. There we had to wait for the busstation to open. We could wait in the lobby of a Holiday Inn hotel. Emma and I ... read more
Border crossing (new bridge in the back)
Night out in San Salvador
Almost christmas at the mall


Geo: 13.7069, -89.2018Today was cause for celebration - having wreaked too much havoc in the Guatemalan and Salvadoran criminal underworlds, we received word that the gangs had given up on getting revenge on us. So we honoured this most special occasion in the most Salvadoran way possible - with several rounds of beer at a ... Salvadoran craft brewery???!!? Who woulda thunk it, that a place like El Salvador would have a cool, hipster-esque craft brewery?Sure, we had sampled some Cadejo beer in a few different places in El Salvador, but it really didn't clue in to us how unique this truly was in a developing country such as this, until we rolled into San Salvador. Not having traveled through any of the more affluent parts of El Salvador until today, we had almost forgotten that ... read more
Rosario Church - Definitely Non-Traditional
More Rosario Church
Ruins of Tazumal


That is just what God has done. He has opened doors for us. This month has been one filled with new ministry opportunities, and new experiences. And finally, God has opened the door to allow me to share the team’s experiences with you. So here’s what’s up… Spanish classes have started. And not too to my surprise I was placed in Basico 1. So yeah it’s a bit humbling to start at the basic level, but it also presents an opportunity for me to get better at the Spanish I do know, and learn more in class. I quite enjoy my Spanish class, although the idea of being in school is kind of a drag. Also the atmosphere in class is very different. Our teacher says about five English words per class, which is good cause ... read more
Dia de Indepencia
Fam photos


After one week in El Salvador I couldn’t be happier that God has called me here. Reality is now beginning to hit, and even though I’m on a mission trip, I am also living here for nine months. El Salvador is my home, and it is really starting to feel that way too. The team gets along, and it’s been a pleasure to share testimonies of what God’s done in our lives. Also we’ve spent this week going out together on excursions to see the country. We’ve been to two volcanoes so far. One called Coatepeque had a lake in the crater that we went swimming in, and we managed to get some sweet pictures from the top too. Besides seeing the country we also began attending Vida Nueva services. My favorite so far has been ... read more




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