El Salvador

A new-to-us port and country today … where we were greeted by folk dancers and lively music as passengers began to stream off around 8:00a.

I had organized a private tour for four people to check out what we could of the Ruta de las Flores — the flower route … so named for all the white coffee plant flowers that decorate the area during the right season. Alas no flowers for us. Josue, our guide from El Salvador Positive, later told us that coffee is the number one export of the country … the USA being their number one importer of the same.

Yesterday, another couple asked to join the tour, so we ended up being six people in a van that could have accommodated twice as many. We set out at 8:30a and headed up into the mountains. There was a light breeze and the elevation we were at — 4,000+ feet — offered us comfortable temperatures for our day of exploration.

Our first stop was in Nahuizalco, a town of some 50,000 people. Tradition has it that it was founded by four families. We started off at the small museum, which Josue explained was founded by the local people to keep their history alive. From there, we walked across to the day market where locals bring their goods to sell. It was a colorful and lively market where we were made to feel most welcome even though we were not shopping.

Next, we continued onto Concepcion de Ataco, a highland coffee village. On the outskirts of Ataco, we dropped off the two newcomers to our group at a coffee plantation for a mini tour and coffee tasting.

Then, onward we went. The plan was for them to join us later. In the meantime, we would be taking a coffee break at a cafe recommended by David, the Toscana chef on Insignia, who hails from Ataco. Unfortunately, the place he recommended was closed. But Josue took us to Café Axul, where the coffee aficionados in our foursome delighted in tasting Salvadoran coffee … I can say that the peach smoothie I opted for was delicious. Josue also encouraged us to taste the Salvadoran version of a quesadilla … a sweet bread/cake.

I was particularly keen on visiting this town because I had heard that there were a lot of murals to search out. I did find quite a few of them, but had we been on our own, I probably would have managed to find more. After taking a group photo in front of the Ataco village mural, we hopped in a trailer pulled by a 4WD vehicle, and went up to an overlook from where we enjoyed views of the village, with Cerro El Aguila (a volcano that spans the border of El Salvador and Guatemala) serving as a distant backdrop.

By the time we came back into the downtown area, it was time to move on again. A short distance this time to Entre Nubes Café for a late lunch. Good, simple food … and a bit of time to relax and converse after our busy day of exploration.

We were back on the ship shortly after 5:00p … well ahead of our scheduled 8:00p departure. The tour was longer than we planned … but none of us were complaining as we all had a delightful time. The best part of our day … all the wonderful, smiling, friendly Salvadorans we met in the streets of Nahuizalco and Ataco.Read more