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Published: March 15th 2011
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Alegría
The view from my room After spending a day in Suchitoto, I really wasn't sure where to go next. I was tempted by the Jiquilisco Bay, but the lack of information available on accommodation around there, made me discard it, as I feared I would end up having to pay a lot more than I wanted to. Also the costs to get to some of the islands were out of my price range (the idea to pay $30 to get picked up didn't sound like such a great plan). The other 2 places I was really interested in were Perquin to the North East, an important location in the civil war, or the beaches and islands around La Union, to the South East. I felt that with time ticking, I really needed to pick one of the 2 to enjoy, rather than try and do them both quickly. In the end, the choice was easy: having been to some of the beaches already, I wanted to try and see something different, but also, the cost factor on the Golfo de Fonseca islands was really putting me off, so I was going to go to Perquin after all.
Although going from Suchitoto to Perquin didn't seem so
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in the village far in the grand scheme of things (El Salvador is only small), I felt that a stop half way was a reasonable idea and with the LP recommending the mountain village of Alegría and it's crater lake, that seemed like the best plan.
So I got the 8am bus from Suchitoto ($0.60) back towards El Salvador. I had to jump off part way through, when the road rejoined the main “Interamericana” Highway and then get another bus towards San Miguel (which I believe is the second biggest city in the country). The first San Miguel-bound bus that turned up was a luxury one ($2), so I ended up with a comfy seat and plenty of space for my bag. After a while, we got near the village of Mercedes, where I had to hop off for my next change. There, the bus driver told me to follow an old lady, who in turn told me to get on the tuk-tuk with her. I wasn't happy because I didn't want to pay “taxi” prices, but it turned out to be just $0.25 for the 5 minutes ride up to the village centre. There I had to get another bus to a
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from the mirador village called Berlin ($0.50). That's where the old lady was stopping. She was funny! Insisting on talking to me even though I could understand almost nothing she said (I have issues understanding old ladies!) and stroking my arm (it seems to be another old lady trick... Not sure why!). From Berlin, I had to get one final bus ($0.35) along the scenic road overlooking a large lake and taking me the last few kilometres to Alegría.
It must have been about 1.30pm by the time I arrived in Alegría. I saw the hotel from the bus and as I came off, the owner saw me and came straight to me asking if I needed a room. The guest-house was nice, and for $10, I had my own room with private bathroom, hot water (as well a towel and soap) and they let me use their family kitchen. After a quick re-read of what the guide-book had to say, I decided to go for a walk. The first thing I found was the “mirador”, which was just the end of a street that came to some steps and where there was a nice view over the distant lake (although the view
Alegría
Walking up towards the laguna on the scenic route from Berlin was probably nicer!). After a couple of pictures, I then decided to head for the crater lake. After asking for directions a few times, I finally found the path (the Lonely Planet had suggested a 2km downhill walk, which was what misguided me, as it was not downhill!) and started walking along. There were some nice views over the village along the way and after about 30 minutes, I arrived at the “Laguna de Alegría”, a pretty lake in the crater of a volcano. The greeny-blue water looked inviting but it was a little on the chilly side. You could see from the surroundings of the lake that the water was a lot lower than it had been in the past, but I wasn't sure whether that was just because it was the dry season, or a more long term change.
I could see it was getting a bit cloudy and after the tropical storm (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration there) the day before, I was hoping it would hold on for a couple of hours. The lake was very pretty and small enough that I could have a stroll around it in less
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the lake than an hour.
Once that was done, I did some fast walking back down to the village, hoping to get to the hotel before the rain started pouring down. I made a quick stop in one of the shops to buy some food for the evening and had a look around the central square (Alegría is a pretty small place, there wasn't much to see other than the surrounding landscapes). I was back at my hotel before 5pm and settled in, looking at the dark sky and waiting for the rain that in the end never came.
That evening in the village, there was a bit of activity going on. The lady from the hotel explained it was something to do with Easter (is it the start of lent or something? I don't know about all these religious things!). Basically, they had a procession around the village, carrying a statue of Christ, with a lot of people in purple robes, a brass band playing and the villagers singing religious chants. I got dirty looks when I took pictures, so I wasn't sure whether I was meant not to and didn't insist too much... The walk finished in the village church
Alegría
the lake where there was then a short mass type thing (can you tell I'm not used to this sort of thing?). I stayed and listened, telling myself it would do my Spanish some good, but also because I didn't dare leave half way through when there was nobody else moving an inch...
That marked the end of my day in Alegría. I really liked the village despite it being on the small side. I wish I'd got the chance to spend some time in Berlin too, as it seemed a little bigger, but I asked when I got back from the lake and didn't have time to go there and catch the last bus back to Alegría. Maybe a better idea would have been to stay in Berlin and do the side trip to Alegría. Oh well... The magic of hindsight!
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