El Salvador
El Salvador

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    • Day 1

      San Salvador - Day 1

      April 12, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Mostly a long travel day. But not uneventful either. Not always for the right reasons :)

      I let my cat outside the night prior to my flight, and when i got up at 5:45am, he wasn't anywhere to be found. Usually he's at the front door. But i had to pack still and leave by 615, so priorities shifted unfortunately. Luckily just as my uber pulled up, so did my cat. Phew!

      Had a long layover in Toronto and met a nice American at the barstool next to me. Chatted for a bit and eventually learned she is from el salvador. What are the odds? Apparently not bad haha.

      On the houston flight, i had the chattiest 86 year old ever next to me. Incredibly interesting guy from moncton but he also feels ukraine is equally part of the problem so we weren't exactly simpatico. Once we got past that awkwardness, it was just both of us spewing travel stories over and over for 4 hours.

      At a pub in Houston, met a nice guy named Colin who does emissions testing all over the US... which made me laugh a lot .. cuz yknow... trump, Republicans, etc. If i didn't have a quick connection, we would chatted forever.

      And finally arrived in el salvador. The airport is literally next to the ocean and san salvador is waaaay up in the mountains. So, that was a very long drive into the city. The equivalent to Ottawa having its airport in Cornwall. Weird. I asked for a taxi and got a 15 seat van to myself for an hour ride for $35. I'm sure there were cheaper options but i noticed most people were riding in the back of pickups! 35 is fine, thank you!!

      Settled in, showered, and went across the street to the Cadejo brewery (perhaps not coincidence). San salvador has a lot of unsavory areas but zona rosa is a giant safe area and my hotel is amazing. I can't believe its a third world country hotel because its pretty swank. Nicest place i have stayed in, for years.

      Live band at the brewery and everybody bouncing off their seats (my vid unfortunately is not depicting it). Surprising for a Tuesday. Then went across the street again to a very lively outdoor establishment. Feels like a Saturday.. fun vibe.

      Fun day, despite a million airport hours logged. I traveled a gazillion miles and as soon as i arrive, 50 feet is my boundaries somehow, apparently haha. Everything fun is literally right here. Perfect for a late arrival. Tomorrow, i explore.
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    • Day 2

      San Salvador - Day 2

      April 13, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      Today i wanted to see some sights of the city before heading into the countryside of el salvador. Had lunch near my hotel and then took an uber downtown. There were a few nice buildings like the cathedral, the theatre and the palace, but otherwise all of downtown is completely consumed by street markets everywhere. And i mean everywhere. And most buildings were in really rough shape.

      After walking around in the heat, i wanted to find a restaurant to sit down and have a cold beverage and eventually use the wifi to get an uber back. But i literally couldn't find one. I came across a couple of really rough looking places but thats it. So i walked about an hour towards my hotel until i found something decent. My hotel area has endless awesome restaurants and bars but centro area is completely devoid of it. So weird. And oh boy was it hot.

      Ubered back my hotel around 4, grabbed a couple of things and then took another uber to a nice restaurant up on the side of a volcano with awesome views of the city. 35 minute drive but my uber cost 5 dollars haha. Its ridiculously cheap for transportation in this country.

      Once i got dropped off it occured to me it might be hard to find other uber drivers on the volcano haha... and the wifi at that restaurant wasnt working. Slight problem. so i walked down the mountain about 15 minutes to another really nice restaurant, sat down for a beer and watched the sun set over san salvador and another nearby volcano in the distance. And began the long process of trying to summon a driver to get me back to the city.

      Eventually got one and arrived back at the hotel around 8pm. Finished the evening at a really nice lounge spot. Super tired as i think all the travel and heat caught up with me. And needed a good sleep to be fresh for driving around the country tomorrow.
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    • Day 3

      Santa Ana

      April 14, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

      Decided to walk in the morning to the rental car location from my hotel. Zona Rosa is super duper safe so i left early to walk around a bit and see some different streets and maybe scout a good place for supper another night. Despite being a bit after 9am, it was sweltering hot. This country is maybe the hottest i have experienced. No joke.

      I was a bit leery about driving through san salvador to get out to other areas because i noticed some really different traffic light situations where its a red light but also a flashing yellow forward arrow next to it. Confusing. But i didn't encounter any of that fortunately.

      The drive to suchitoto was really nice. Very jungly once i got out of the city. Got behind a big tuk tuk jam again in some tiny town but that was the only issue.

      Suchitoto is probably the cutest colonial town i have ever visited. Super colourful, cute terraces, cobblestone, beautiful plaza and cathedral. Very small and walkable and a huge artisan market in the plaza. I was told to visit a certain restaurant for great food and amazing views high above the lake but the lineup was out the door and down the street. The secret is out!! But i managed to convince them to let me enter and take some pics. They really didn't want to but somehow they let me in there, snapped a few pics and ran away.

      Then drove down lakeside to a cool restaurant location packed with locals. I ordered a soup and got served a side of chicken and salad. I think my spanish revealed a few chinks in the armour there somewhere haha. Also got a beer and smoothie for a grand total of 12 bucks. Life is easy street here.

      Then drove to santa ana through the mountains. Always a mountain backdrop or actually on top of a mountain during the drive. And the roads were great! I was expecting Guatemala quality roads and was pleasantly surprised. But just before entering santa ana, the road was closed. I studied the map for a while and concluded my only route was to drive through a cemetary. No joke. And there were detour signs in there, so my conclusion was right, but i felt so weird driving by people mourning their loved ones. Also there's a serious lack of manhole covers in this country. I drove over or near 12 of them today with no manhole cover!!! Yikes!

      My hostal in santa ana is super nice. I think i have the best room in the place with the only balcony. Walked to the very pretty main plaza and cathedral and via endless outdoor markets on the way there. Its like our version of a department store but outdoors. Found an awesome pub overlooking the cathedral. Met up with some friends i made in san salvador but forgot to take a group pic, silly me. Hit up one more pub en route to the hotel and thats a thursday wrap :) Great day.
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    • Day 58–61

      Juayua

      February 25 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      Danach geht es weiter nach Juayua, einer kleinen Gemeinde, die zusammen mit einigen anderen Dörfern zu der sogenannten "Ruta de Las Flores" gehört. Eine Landstraße, die all die Gemeinden verbindet mit einigen schönen Blumen am Straßenrand und diversen Aussichtspunkten auf die Berge drumherum. Allerdings ist aktuell nicht all zu viel von der Blütenpracht zu sehen.
      Die einzelnen Gemeinden kann man sehr einfach mit dem Bus besuchen, und so unternehme ich diverse Trips zu den einzelnen Dörfern. Meistens gibt es dort einen zentralen Platz mit einer Kirche. Außerdem mache ich in Juayua die Wanderung der 7 Wasserfälle (eigentlich sind es sogar zehn). Die Wanderung macht sehr viel Spaß, wir klettern teilweise die Wasserfälle hoch und werden mehrfach komplett nass.
      Und ich probiere mich durch die Pupusarias in Juayua, eine traditionelle Füllung hier ist mit "Mora", einer Pflanze, die ein bisschen wie Spinat schmeckt.
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    • Day 63

      La Unión

      March 1 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

      Der Wecker klingelt um 2:30 in der Früh und als ich kurz vor drei das Hostel verlasse steht das Shuttle schon vor der Tür. Es geht in den kleinen Ort La Unión und von dort aus weiter nach Nicaragua. Um mir die mindestens 12-stündige Busfahrt durch Honduras zu ersparen, habe ich eine direkte Bootsüberfahrt nach Nicaragua gebucht.
      Am Hafen angekommen wird erstmal gewartet. Vor dem Gebäude für Migration stehen schon diverse andere Reisende und warten ebenfalls. Nach ungefähr einer Stunde geht es dann zum Boot. Die Überfahrt dauert ungefähr eine Stunde, das Boot legt direkt am Strand an und um ans Festland zu kommen müssen wir unsere Schuhe ausziehen und ein kurzes Stück durchs Wasser waten. An der Grenzstation heißt es wieder warten.
      Dann werden irgendwann die Pässe eingesammelt und wir werden einzeln aufgerufen und müssen unser Gepäck verzeigen und es wird durchsucht.
      Danach passiert wieder für mehr als zwei Stunden nichts und wir warten erschöpft in der Hitze. Endlich gibt dann den Reisepass mit Stempel zurück gegen Zahlung einer Einreisegebühr.
      Ich hatte vorher schon gelesen, dass die Einreise nach Nicaragua eine sehr zeitintensive Angelegenheit sein kann. Meine bisherigen Grenzüberquerungen sind alle relativ schnell und unkompliziert verlaufen. Endlich können wir die Grenze verlassen und mit dem Shuttle geht es nach León, wo ich gegen halb vier endlich im Hostel ankomme.
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    • Day 242–244

      El Salvador

      March 8 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      Weiter, immer weiter ...
      Wir erreichen El Salvador und werden warm willkommen geheißen, und das in doppeltem Sinn: Es ist tropisch heiß - auch Nachts kühlt es kaum ab - und die Menschen sind zugewandt, freundlich, aufmerksam. Das bemerken wir nicht nur an der Grenze, an der wir auf lächelnde Beamte treffen, die uns, ohne dass wir etwas bezahlen müssen, schon nach einer Stunde Richtung El Salvador entlassen. Auch das kleine Restaurant direkt an der Straße mit Blick auf den Pazifik besticht durch freundlichen Service. Am Übernachtungsplatz, einem öffentlichen Park, melden wir uns beim wachhabenden Polizisten am Eingangstor: Ja, der Ort sei sicher, natürlich könnten wir hier übernachten, nein, es koste nichts. Wir erzählen, dass wir in den Morgenstunden unser Auto - ja, die Radlager - reparieren wollen und er bietet sofort Hilfe an: Sowohl Polizei als auch Militär stünden bereit.
      Für das weitere Lösen der Radlagermuttern benötigen wir nur knappe 2½ Stunden und sitzen deswegen am nächsten Morgen schon am Frühstückstisch, als eine kirchliche Gesangsgruppe auftaucht und auf dem Platz beginnt Kirchenlieder zu singen: Die Melodien sind uns bekannt, der Text kommt uns Spanisch vor.
      Unser nächster Stopp liegt direkt am Pazifik. "Tortuga verde" lädt dazu ein, einfach nur abzuhängen. Dafür sind überall Hängematten befestigt. Wir baden im warmen Pazifik, sitzen im dunklen Sand, essen Fisch. Sonnenuntergang!
      Morgen werden wir Honduras erreichen, San Salvador ist klein - etwa mit der Größe Hessens zu vergleichen.
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    • Day 71–75

      Santa Ana, El Salvador

      March 11 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      Today we left Copan Ruinas in Honduras and took a bus to Santa Ana in El Salvador whilst this was only a 5 hour trip we went via Guatemala. This meant a total of four border points and four more passport stamps.

      But we are now in country number 5 of this trip. Until recently El Salvador was quite a risky destination but the current president declared a state of emergency and put all the gang and cartel members in prison with very little legal process.

      The people love him for it as the murder rate and corruption levels and fallen like a stone. He was just reelected with 83% of the vote.

      That said there is a strong armed police, army and security guard presence all around. A shotgun toting guard at most cash points for example.

      We haven’t done much other than eat some street food for tea ($2 each for a meal), done some food shopping and visited the impressive gothic cathedral.

      Tomorrow we are planning another volcano hike (together this time) and to visit a nearby crater lake.
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    • Day 73

      Seeing beyond the Flowers.

      March 13 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Today we took a drive along a road known as the route of the flowers (Ruta de Las Flores). It is a bit out of season for the flowers but it was still a pleasant drive. And there were plenty of flowers to see along the way, along with street art, artisan crafts and a nice mix of street food and coffee plantations.

      Our guide Carlos told us all about the history much of it sadly violent. A genocide of native groups in the 1930s by a military dictator. A civil war from 1979 to 1992 which resulted in over 75,000 deaths and many “disappeared.” Our guide told us how his grandmother was tortured and killed during these years and showed us a place where a rebel leader was shot by firing squad. This isn’t ancient history but fairly recent.

      After the civil war the country was weak and at this time the USA deported thousands of gang members from Southern California. The country could not cope with these violent and organised criminals and gang warfare flourished. Gangs were more powerful than the state. As recently as 2015 El Salvador had the highest murder rate in the world 103 murders per 100,000 in a year (UK is 9.9). Again our guide told us how the gangs would collect extortion money from his parent’s business and those that didn’t pay were killed.

      Over the last couple of years a new president - Nayib Bukele - has led a massive crackdown. Ironically the gangs culture has been used against them. Gangs identified using tattoos. One gang for example had a sad clown face tattoo and a tear indicated you had killed someone. During the crackdown these tattoos were enough to arrest and convict (for life). During the crackdown 70,000 gang members have been put in prison (2% of population) with minimal judicial process. If you want to get an idea of scale and seriousness, see https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-64…

      The murder rate is now 2.4 per 100,000 (less than UK) and the president has been re-elected with 83% of the vote. To bring this closer to home, our guide told us that the place we are staying was a stronghold of the notorious MS-13 gang and completely unsafe a couple of years ago. Now they are welcoming tourists and hopefully the economy can grow and flourish leading to a better life for all here.
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    • Day 134

      The vulcano ride

      January 19, 2020 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      What do we do when it's hot? Climb a mountain to get into nicer temperatures! Today, we decided to cycle to Volcano de Santa Ana. After some busy kilometres on the CA-1, the panamerican highway, we turned onto a smaller road that lead around Lake Coatepeque, a crater lake. The road was awesome: smooth asphalt and stunning views of the lake and the volcano.
      At the end of the crater rim road, we had to climb to Cerro Verde from where the hike started. That road was in a pretty bad condition, so the elevation gain of 1000m was tough work. At the top, we checked with some locals where we can start our hike. They told us that the next guided tour would start in about 15 minutes. We didn't want to hike in a group (worst case scenario for us), but they convinced us by saying that it's for security reasons and groups are accompanied by an armed security guard. Plus, other travellers had raved about the views from the summit.
      So we took part in a group hike with about 15 participants - and REALLY didn't like it. People just walked too slowly and stopped every few metres. Furthermore, our guide was a 20-year-old girl and no armed guard walked with us. Interesting security, more of a tourist scam I think. However, there were quite some armed officers based along the route, so they do take care of the visitors.
      Interestingly, our guide saw that we got impatient after stop number [stopped counting] and told us we may as well go on our own - which we did straight away. So hiking up got more fun! Until we got close to the top - that was when we saw those hundreds of people who had the same idea for their Sunday activity. No fun at all! Plus, when we got to the top, we saw: NOTHING! It was VERY windy as well as the clouds had come in. So we quickly took a photo and went back down - as fast as possible with hundreds of people on the way.
      Finally back on the bikes, we were happy to have escaped the masses. Downhill on the crappy road wasn't fun but at least quick. Then we were back on the amazing crater rim road which calmed us down. We didn't have enough time for a swim in the lake, but stopped for a cold coke and enjoyed the view before heading back to Santa Ana.
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    • Day 135

      Ruta de las Flores

      January 20, 2020 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      Today, we left Santa Ana to get to the Ruta de las Flores, a nice mountain road with several cute colonial villages. In order to get there, we headed West again. On the way, we detoured some 5km on a dirt road in order to swim in Salto Malacatiupan, hot spring waterfall, we had heard about. And what a great place! Apart from 2 friendly dogs, 4 goats and the family living there, no other people. The water was very warm and we went for a bath. Very relaxing, although with almost 30 degrees outside, a cold waterfall would have been ok as well 😉
      We then continued to Ataco, the first village on the Ruta de las Flores. Just after Ahuachapan, we saw a bad accident which had just happened. 2 guys on a motorcycle crashed into a car that came out of a smaller road. The guys didn't look good, but they were alive. As several people were already busy calling the ambulance and taking care of securing the scene, we quickly passed by and let them do their job.
      We then had to climb for about 900m in the middle of the day, so we sweat a lot. Ataco is a little touristy, but has colourful murals and colonial style houses. It's quite pretty and we stayed a while, mainly to sort out our local SIM card (we had found out that they had sold us one without credit before...) and buy food for dinner.
      Then we went on and climbed a little more until we got to a small hotel we had found on AirBnB. The place is owned by Dave (US) and Sonia (originally from El Salvador), who welcomed us warmly. We wanted to get something a little cheaper, but the 20$ we paid in the end were well worth it: a perfectly neat and clean room, a washing machine we could use for free, regional coffee in the room, a roof terrace, a kitchen we were alllowed to use and a great discussion on the Salvadorian culture.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Republic of El Salvador, El Salvador, Ɛl Salvadɔ, ኤል ሳልቫዶር, السلفادور, Сальвадор, Ел Салвадор, Salivadɔr, এল সালভাদোর, ཨེལ། སཱལ་ཝ་ཌོར།, Salvador, El Salfador, El Salvadɔ nutome, Ελ Σαλβαδόρ, Salvadoro, السالوادور, El Salwador, An tSalvadóir, એલ સેલ્વાડોર, El Salbador, אל סלבדור, अल साल्वाडोर, Սալվադոր, Salvadoria, エルサルバドル, სალვადორი, Elsavado, អែលសាល់វ៉ាឌ័រ, ಎಲ್ ಸಾಲ್ವೇಡಾರ್, 엘살바도르, ئێلسالڤادۆر, Salvatoria, El salivado, Savadɔrɛ, ເອຊາວາດໍ, Salvadoras, Savadore, Salvadora, എല്‍ സാല്‍വദോര്‍, အယ်လ်ဆာဗေးဒိုး, Ersarbador, एल् साल्भाडोर, Lo Salvador, ଏଲ୍ ସାଲଭାଡୋର୍, Salwador, Ël Salvador, سالوېډور, Eli Saluvatori, एल-साल्वाडोर, Salvadöro, එල් සැල්වදෝරය, Salvadori, Салвадор, எல் சால்வடார், ఎల్ సాల్వడోర్, เอลซัลวาดอร์, ʻEle Salavatoa, ئەل سالۋادور, ال سلواڈور, Salvadorän, Orílẹ́ède Ẹẹsáfádò, 萨尔瓦多, i-El Salvador

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