Lake Coatepeque

Day 411.

Two hours down the road by chicken bus was Lake coatapeque, the home of the rich and famous of El salvador plus one, and only one budget backpacker hostel - so we were off!

The lake was indeed a paradise, a crystal clear lake, towering volcanoes and plenty of jumping platforms - we quickly decided to extend our stay here. Plenty of swimming, jumping (or not jumping in some cases) and sunrise kayaking.

There were indeed a couple of screams, from me slightly overstepping my jump to the sheer fear of limbster thinking she is about to be forcebly rolled off the 5ft platform..

Well away from the closest supermarkets we made sure we were well stocked on arrival, two sacks of lychees, instant mix horchata and a cerveza or two - all we would need for 3 days in paradise. That being said we were never far away from the local Pupuseria and didn't hold back from indulging.

For the first time in a while there were some real characters at this hostel, safe to say we're not fond of bikers - and can add this category of person to the long and quickly growing list of people we are quickly running out of patience with. It was a also a pleasent surprise that the turkish backpacker would be the one to deliver us the most laughs we've had for a long while.

A trip to anywhere recently wouldn't be complete without a climb up a Volcano, and this would be no different. The nearby santa ana volcano, famous for its crater sulphur lake was an easy climb but certainly a first for us. The smell at the top was strong and the edges were steep - just ask limbster, I think she got close enough to just about taste the fumes.

Life at the lake was bliss and it was hard to tear ourself away, but Nicaragua was calling and it was time to make our way south. A nice few goodbyes and a great sloppy wet handshake from an American later and we were packed back onto another bumpy chicken bus ride.Read more