Volcán Santa Ana y Joya de Ceren

We got up relaxed at 7, prepared some coffee and then got ready to hike the Volcano Santa Ana. As there were no tourists yet at 8 we decided to get a guide on our own to hike up because it's a National Park you need to be with a guide. Our guide, Nacho, was really nice and knowledgeable about the area and it's flora and fauna. We made several stops at viewpoints but the hike was pretty easy and we could actually enjoy the way ☺️
After 1.5 hours and 400 metres of altitude change, we arrived at the top and looked down into the crater. The view was amazing with all the colours of the different layers and the intense green lake at the bottom. We spent about half an hour up there at the edge of the crater taking pictures and snacking on Lychees while Nacho told us interesting facts about it. Then it was time to make our way back down and we encountered soooo many people going up! Apparently there are no tours leaving after 11am because the wind intensifies during the afternoon. We've had perfect weather and even got lucky to have some cloud cover on the way up!

When coming back we changed and then drove to a viewpoint overlooking the nearby lake Coatepeque. I've tried the local "Quesadilla" which doesn't make sense as it's a biscuit pie and doesn't contain any tortilla 😅 It was pretty decent together with a coffee though. And we also tried the local beer 🍺

The next stop was about an hour away but there was heavy traffic in direction of the capital and it took us half an hour longer to reach the archeological site Joya de Ceren. It's remarkable in different ways, like in Pompeii a volcano eruption froze the village in time. It was left and the mixture of ash, rain and dirt cemented the village in 14 layers that kept it perfectly preserved. Also it's the only relict of the everyday life of Mayan citizens, the other ruins are temples and palaces. Here are the huts that tell about the lives of peasants and artisans. A really interesting and well made museum offering a different viewpoint.

We had thought about visiting the capital, but after the traffic we had, decided to drive North in direction of the Honduran border. There was a hotel half an hour before, Hotel Maya where we stayed for dinner and the night.Read more