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Published: March 24th 2011
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My experience in El Salvador was very different to my experiences in all the other countries I visited on my trip, as a few weeks before I arrived my Paraguayan sis put me in touch with a friend of hers who lives in San Salvador. I had planned to stay in El Salvador for about 6 days, but this quickly changed into 10.
To get to San Salvador, I took a shuttle from Copan Ruinas in Honduras which cost me about $35. The shuttle arrived late due to is tyre bursting on the way. Luckily there was just one other girl in the shuttle so we had plenty of room! The quickest way to get to El Salvador is to cross into Guatemala and the over again into El Salvador, lots of stamps! You have to pay to enter and exit Honduras, but luckily not the other countries!
At the Salvadorian border, which happened to be the most professional (probably because of the female staff!) our driver was stopped as he was carrying 24 bottles of a very expensive larger in the car. We had to wait about 3 hours for him to go through all of the procedures
and pay the tax on the alcohol... due to this he took us for dinner to say sorry! This is when I first tried pupusas! Pupusas are yummy. They are... like little pancakes, savory, made with corn flour, filled with different things; cheese and beans, chorizo and cheese, some veggies... lots more which I now cannot remember.
After dinner we carried on and soon arrived in San Salvador, which looks just like the big USA cities look in the films... massive 3 or 4 lane roads, fast food restaurants and shopping centres everywhere. I didn't see much of San Salvador as I was advised against it, however the next day, Fatima and Luis (two new friends) came to meet me to take me to a few museums and art galleries and then later, after having a lovely lunch in Luis's house, to El Boqueron, a volcano next to the city where you can get a wonderful view. We had a beer there before returning to my hostel.
The next day I went to Joya de Ceren with Fatima, a Mayan village which was preserved by the erruption of one of the many volcanoes in the area. This is
a really interesting place. It is not as big or as impressive as Tikal and Copan (although one day it might be, there is more to excavate once they find a way to preserve the houses) but to me, it was so much better as you can see how the people actually lived, not just the architecture. Most families had 3 or 4 buildings; a bedroom, storeroom, sauna and kitchen, as well as a little garden patch. The doorways show how tiny the people were, even I would be too tall to enter a house (I'm about 5ft2 - I think). I really enjoyed visiting this museum. The other benefit is they don't charge you extortionate prices, most museums are $1 for natives, $3 for foreigners.
Suchitoto was the place of interest for the next day. Another little colonial village, there are many in Central America, however this one is more charming and peaceful than most, because there are hardly any tourists! There are lots of shops selling hand-dyed indigo clothing, many of which will let you observe the dying process. Close by there is a lake too (this is a country full of volcanoes and lakes!) which would
be a nice place to go sit and read.
Some of these lakes are used for scuba diving, so the next day, I left my new friends to go to Lago Ilopango to do a couple of dives. This was FANTASTIC. I love lake dives. First of all, the lake is just beautiful. Secondly, the water temperature is always around 26 or 27 degrees. Perfect. Thirdly, my dive buddies were really friendly. The diving was stunning. Yes, it's a lake, so yes, visibility is not excellent, but I prefer that. Everything has an eerie green tinge, it's a bit spooky but it feels like a dream. Especially when floating through a forrest of long grasses... In El Salvador you can also do sea dives at Los Cobanos, which makes me think I may go back to do my dive master there, more expericences to be had.
That night, Friday night, Arlette, my Salvadorian sis, and Dessiree took me to a salsa bar and we had a great time dancing away.
Then is was the weekend... beach time. We found a little hotel on the top of the cliff next to the beach, dumped our stuff in the
room and went for a swim. The water was lovely and warm and the waves were big and perfect to frolic around in. We spent a good hour or so in th sea as the sun went down before getting ready to go out to eat. We headed for the nearest resort, El Tunco. El Tunco is where most tourists/ travellers normally go, it is a bit of a party town, therefore I don't think I would like it. Too many people, too loud. Although we did find a nice little jazz bar to chill out in 😊
In the morning we had a quick swim and then headed off on the Ruta de las Flores, a system of little towns surrounded by beautiful, volcanic countryside. I stayed the night in Apaneca, saying bye to my friends, before setting off on the bus to Barro de Santiago the next day.
Barro de Santiago is heaven...
I was the only person in my hostel, which meant I had about 3 km of beach to myself. I read, swam, relaxed in a hammock, walked along the beach, had surf lessons and went on a mangrove swamp tour. Julio, the guide
and surf instructor was great, if a little pervy. He brought coconuts along to drink, found fruits to try, caught fish to show me... Excellent guide. The mangroves are wondeful, probably my favourite place so far.
After three days, I went back to San Salvador, had a final meal with my friends before heading to bed early. The next day, my bus to Nicaragua was to leave at 5:30.
Practical details...
$s are used in El Salvador.
Shuttle from Copan to El Salvador was from ViaVia Cafe. It should take about 6 hours if the driver doesn't get stopped at customs! He will also take people to El Tunco after El Salvador.
Apart from this I didn't take many buses in El Salvador as my friends drove. There are many places near to the capital where you can go on day trips (Joya de Ceren, Lago Ilopango, Suchitoto, the beaches too).
From Apanece to San Salvador is about hours, from Apanece to Barro de Santiago, you must first go to Sonsonate which takes about an hour, then get a bus to Barro de Santiago from there, 2 hours. This all costs about $3 or $4. From
Sonsonate to San Salvador takes about 2 hours.
The diving was with El Salvador divers, find them on facebook. Two dives, full equipment and transport costs $75. Both dives are in the morning.
In San Salvador I stayed in Ximena's guesthouse, very basic but quiet and friendly ($9 p/night) and in Barro de Santiago I stayed at Capricho's more basic and more expensive but worth it for the location, food is really expensive... take provisions!
Accommodation in El Salvador was quite expensive but everything else was very cheap.
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