El Salvador Was A Whirlwind of Places Recommended Along The Way
After getting my shot in Houston, Texas, I found a direct flight for barely $50 to El Salvador.
Having not been there before, it was only logical that I decided it was time to visit.
I knew absolutely nothing about El Salvador at the time, nor did anyone I know ever mention it in their travels.
I only found out later that a good buddy of mine had backpacked and surfed in El Salvador for several weeks, back when it was one of the most dangerous places in the world.
But by mid-2021, the President at the time, a young guy of 40 years old, had managed to clean up a considerable level of crime and violence in the country.
So when I arrived, my plan was to see the capital city and then do a tour-de-force (a rapid adventure) with a rented car, and ultimately drive over 500km around the country of El Salvador
Not A Good Start
But things didn’t go immediately to plan upon landing at the El Salvador International Airport. When our plane arrived, it was well past midnight, and there were no more buses or taxis available.
So on the first night here, I would end up sleeping in a corner somewhere. The following morning at 8 am, with red eyes and total irritability, I managed to grab a taxi to my hotel about 40 minutes away in the main city of San Salvador.
Exploring San Salvador Like a Naïve Tourist
The following day, I threw on my expensive camera and started walking around the streets of San Salvador, fully oblivious to anything potentially happening to me. In most, if not all, Latin American countries, every local will warn you against flashing anything, like your phone, cash, or in this case a giant Sony Alpha-series camera.
But for some reason, I totally forgot these precautions because I had lived in Mexico for so long, and nothing ever happened there, so I assumed San Salvador would be the same… and so… nothing happened. Everything was fine. I even walked around the city center with my camera, with not a care in the world, listening to podcasts as I explored.
Walking Towards The Downtown Core of San Salvador
After a quick walk around the outskirts of downtown, it was time to venture into the heart of San Salvador. Along the way, I had to walk past 4 or 5 grouped homeless people who were leering at me in curiosity. Luckily, nothing happened.
A Giant Open Air Market Fills The Center of San Salvador
By most word of mouth, walking around the downtown core of large Latin American cities is a risk. You can get robbed at knife point, gun point, or simply a running robbery where someone swipes whatever you have out of your hands.
Living in Mexico for so long made me oblivious to this fact, so I went into this casual self-tour like a naive tourist.
Plaza Barrios, San Salvador
The giant open-air market surrounds the main plaza in the center of the city called Plaza Barrios. El Salvador has no shortage of historical atrocities committed by its people, onto its people.
Whether it was a suppression of peasant farmers who wanted equal rights, protests against corruption, or genocides against anyone who was deemed a communist.
And even before those, you had the destruction of indigenous cultures, the independence against Spanish rule with the help of Simon Bolivar, and so on it goes.
A Road Trip Around El Salvador
The following day, I got up early, checked out of my hotel, and went to rent a car. Over the course of 3 days, I squeezed in over 500 km of driving around El Salvador. Sometimes getting stuck on muddy roads that Google recommended, while other times, having to backtrack an hour of driving because I wasn’t allowed to drive up a volcano in the evening.
The first destination was a Pueblo Magico (Magical Town) called “Suchitoto” about 1 and a half hours away.
The Town of Suchitoto
Suchitoto was the original capital of El Salvador in 1528, but was eventually abandoned. These days, Suchitoto is simply a tourist destination due to its well-preserved colonial designs.
Climbing Ancient Volcanoes
After visiting Suchitoto for no more than an hour and a half, I continued my journey toward the Santa Ana volcano. Driving past lots of wandering cows, and highways that were being reconstructed in a new El Salvadorian economy. I started to drive up the volcano, and eventually made it to what I assumed was the entrance, but was informed that you could not enter this park past a certain time.
Thus, after a few selfies, and beautiful videos, I drove back down to the giant “Lake Coatepeque”, which was actually a volcano as well many millennia ago.
Climbing Santa Ana Volcano
The following day, bright and early, I woke up with an amazing view of Lake Coatepeque. Then I quickly threw my things into my car and made the drive up the volcano once more to the Santa Ana Volcano park entrance. Apparently, you need a tour guide for this place, otherwise, they won’t let you inside.
Santa Teresa Hot Springs
My next destination was another Magical colonial town called “Ataco”, but on the way, my guide recommended visiting the “Santa Teresa Hot Springs”.
This facility features well over 30 different hot spring pools to swim in.
Some are extremely hot, while others are more manageable.
The Sleepy Town of Ataco, El Salvador
After visiting the hot springs, I quickly dried off, jumped back into my car, and made the second-last leg of the journey to the town of Ataco.
Ataco, for most of its history, was a relatively small town with not much going on. You can literally read the history of Ataco, and see how non-eventful the town has been over the last several hundred years in the Pre and Post Independence section of Wikipedia.
The town mostly reminded me of San Cristobal de las Casas in Mexico, with its small-town colonial feel.
A Rapid Race Down to the Coast of El Salvador
By now, it was well past evening, maybe 2 or 3 pm. I had planned to drive down to the coast of El Salvador, and spend the night there.
My only reference about the coast was that people went there surfing.
Other than that, I just wanted to keep driving around El Salvador, and enjoying this beautiful country.
A Night On The Coast, and Back To San Salvador The Next Day
By the time I arrived at my hotel on the coast, it was already nighttime. I simply got some dinner, looked at the ocean for a moment, and went to sleep. The following day was a quick breakfast, and within an hour, I was already driving back to San Salvador.
My final goal was to visit the San Salvador Volcano, then return the car, and check into my hotel for a final rest.
El Salvador Conclusions
El Salvador is a small place, with a tonne of adventures. While I only managed to visit one-third of the country, there is an entire two-thirds remaining for adventures.
The best part is that the president managed to make the country relatively safer than it was for the decades prior.
Thank you El Salvador for a fun experience!
The following day, I simply relaxed, visited a few more things in the city center, and the day after that, I got on a flight to Costa Rica!
Cheers,
Leonidas
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