My Central American Adventures
Part 5 - El Salvador
Welcome to El Salvador! This is the fifth country on our journey and we are here for 3 nights. I only know bad things about this country so hopefully things go well!
Day 24 Copan Ruinas to Suchitoto
This morning I woke up to the cat crying loudly at 5.50am. I let her into my room then climbed back in bed for 10mins. She stayed with me until it was time to go. Followed me to the toilet and everything! We had to be packed and ready by 6.20am so we could leave at 6.30am.
At 6.35am we set off. It's 20mins back to the border of Honduras & Guatemala and the price was very quick today. We exchanged money into USD then continued with our long drive.
At 10am we reached the border into El Salvador. There was a huge, and I mean huge, line of stationary trucks parked on the road. There must have been over a hundred! We had to drive on the wrong side of the road to pass them and get to the border. For some of the trucks it would take all day to cross! It took us a short amount of time to leave Guatemala. When we entered El Salvador, the officer just got on our bus, looked at all our passports then let us go. Easy peasy.
We drove for about 1hr to a town for some brunch. Most of the group went to Subway, but a few of us went to Pollo Campero. Adrian called it the Latin KFC. It was pretty good!
While there, Adrian told us some interesting information about the country. My only knowledge is that El Salvador is very dangerous and not very safe for tourists. Apparently, they have a new President who has been in for 3 years and he is doing an extremely good job of cleaning up the country. He is neither right nor left wing, and hates corruption. He has been throwing all corrupt people in prison, helping his people during covid with payments, arresting the Mafia and he is even donating his salary to the schools. They are currently building a huge prison designed to hold around 40,000 people. That is a ginormous prison!! They have a law here that President’s can't be re-elected consecutively, but he has said that if the people want him back for a second term then he will abolish that law. Sounds like things are improving for this country.
We got to Suchitoto just after 1pm, which was good timing. We checked into our hotel (I got my own room again which was awesome). The local guide came by to explain the activities on offer. In the afternoon from 4pm-7pm we had 2 options, but only 1 would run. The first was a visit to Los Tercios waterfall and a stop at a program providing assistance to children of domestic violence. The second option was a boat ride on Lake Suchitlan to observe local birds then watch the sunset. The majority chose the sunset boat ride so that's the one that took place. Tomorrow the option is 7am-12pm hike in the jungle to visit civil war places and learn the history of the area with regards to the civil war.
Then we had an hour of free time so I walked to the central square and bought some fruit (bananas and a peach). First fruit I have seen in days! Then I went for a Walhalla through the mercado and to the supermarket. I also went to the local liquor store and got 2 cans of alcoholic flavoured sparkling water for the boat trip.
At 3pm, a war veteran came to speak to us as he isn't available to tall to us on the tour tomorrow. He was one of the fibres of the rebels and fought for the local people for many years. He told us his story from his experiences during the war.
Then, at 4pm, 11 of us were taken to the lake. We boarded a boat and began cruising the lake toward Bird Island. The scenery is good but the lake is full of rubbish. A few weeks ago there was a big storm over Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. A large river runs through those countries into the lake, and the storm flushed all the rubbish from the countries down. Such a shame.
We saw a lot of cormorants and egrets, a white pelican, storks and a whistling duck.
Then we headed to a viewpoint to watch the sunset. It wasn't amazing as it was very cloudy. I did manage to get a fee pictures and I also got some handheld zoom pictures of the moon.
When we get back to the hotel, some people went out for food but I went to bed. I was nearly falling asleep during the veteran’s talk and during the boat trip!
Day 25 Suchitoto to Playa El Tunco
This morning I woke to my alarm at 6am feeling much better than yesterday. I had to pack everything for both our move to the next town and also for my morning activity.
At 6.40am I went to a local Cafe to collect my pre-ordered breakfast (ham & cheese omelette) then headed back to my hotel to eat it while I waited. At 7am, our guide for the morning arrived and took 4 of us, plus a random stranger to the nearby town of Cinquera. This place had the crap bombed out of it during the civil war and is where the guerilla rebels started.
We started hiking through the jungle, following the trail the rebels used. It is a beautiful jungle! The trail is quite steep though, definitely not what I consider easy (as described by our guide).
We stopped several times to look at things and get some information. We saw a Vietnamese kitchen, which uses 30m of pipes to distribute the fire smoke without giving away the position of the kitchen or camp-site.
Eventually we reached the lookout point. The view is awesome. It was nice to have a decent break too.
Then we headed back to the waterfall. 2 people swam but the rest of us just sat on the side with our feet in the water. It became very busy with locals turning up to have a BBQ and swim.
Then we headed into Cinquera town to the main square. They have half a helicopter displayed as a monument as well as a few disabled guns.
There is a mural which depicts life in the town before, during and after the war.
The only structure left standing after the war was the facade of the church. Every single other structure was demolished by bombs. They actually had bombs dropped on them every single day for 12 years! In front if the church as 3 unexploded bomb shells on display. The rebels found the unexploded bombs, removed the explosives to use against the army and kept the shells. When the church bell was stolen, they used the bomb shells instead because it sounds like a church bell when you hit them with a rock.
Then we headed back to our hotel. I noticed an increase in police & men with guns outside places and on the streets. Apparently, it is because the holidays have just started here.
I went for food with 2 of the other people from the activity, but only for a Coke Zero, then headed back to the hotel. We boarded the bus as soon as we got back and began our 2hr drive to the beach.
We had to drive through San Salvador and stopped at a servo for a toilet stop. There was a security man with a gun at the servo. Then we were driving through and there was a big truck carrying lots of gas bottles....and there was a man with a gun standing on the gas bottles in the tray! Guns....petrol....gas bottles! The local Mafia, known as Maras, do not attack tourists, only locals, as they know they get into huge trouble if they cause international attention by harming tourists. The police, security and military with guns in the streets is designed to prevent violence and protect the people. Which makes sense logically. But I also get a bit worried and start to think that the streets must be very dangerous places and the guns are a retaliation. Guns are literally everywhere. I don't think I have seen so many guns before! Oh and they are big guns too. Not hand guns, long guns of some sort.
We got to Playa El Tunco at 3pm and checked into our hotel. We were told it is a beach town, and will be busy with locals. It is also a popular surf spot. This time I’m sharing a room with just 2 other girls. The room is sparse but nice, 3 single beds & a bathroom. At least we aren't in bunks!
After sorting out printing of documents for Nicaragua, my roommates and I went for a wall in the town. This place is tiny, like 3 blocks wide and deep kind of tiny. We are right in the centre of everything (hard not to be in a place this small!), so we went walking down the main shopping & restaurant street towards the beach. It is definitely far more touristy than Suchitoto.
We got to the beach and I realised my expectations were FAR too high. There is nothing resembling a beach to me. It is big grey rocks & pebbles on top of grey dirt and rough, choppy brown water. Delightful. The shopping area is really nice but boy does the ‘beach’ suck.
After walking around for a bit, we decided to join a group at one of the waterfront restaurants. They have buckets of beer from only $7 USD and cocktails from $6 USD. I had 2 cocktails and a serve of calamari with chips. Yum!
Then we decided to go back to the hotel and go swimming in the pool. The water was really warm! We stayed in for about an hour before a big thunderstorm rolled in. Just after we all got back to our rooms, we had a torrential downpour and big storm for about 45mins.
At 8.45pm the rain stopped so we headed out to a local cafe/bar. It was empty when we arrived but had loud party music courtesy of a DJ. They had 2 for 1 pina coladas so I got that. It was fun but by 10pm I was done so I went back to my room.
Day 26 Playa El Tunco
This morning started off great. I woke up feeling good, got ready then went to see about breakfast. It's included in this place which is nice, but it was a shemozzle. I was waiting about 45mins for them to bring me a plate with scrambled eggs, fried banana, refried beans, 1 bread roll & cream cheese, and a coffee. This place runs on time going backwards I think!
At 9.30am 8 of us went to the surf shop across the road as we had booked a surf lesson. It was a 1hr lesson with transport to a sandy beach, board, instructors on a 2:1 basis & rashie. We were driven to San Blas beach, which has black sand. I was excited to give surfing a try as I would never, ever do it at home. I would be eaten by a shark!
To begin with, we were shown how to position ourselves in the board & how to stand up. We did this on the sand to begin with. Then I was paired up with the Dutch guy and the lead coach. At we were entering the water he told us we needed to go further to the left as they was a strong rip.....
From then on, I was scared. We Aussies know that you do not swim in a rip. Rips kill people. There was a VERY strong current & the waves were strong. He made us go out to him, get on the board, then he held us until the wave was upon us. From then we had to paddle hard, try to stand and ride the wave back to shore.
I managed to get on my knees a few times. But I was dunked by big waves so many times and the current was so strong that by the time I got out to the guy I was completely exhausted. Then he put me back in the board & sent me off.
At one point I was standing in the shadows (mid-shin depth) holding my leg strap so my board was flooring next to me. Another girl came zooming to shore and the waves crashed over us, her board going to my left and her body going to my right. Due to the force of the waves, I was knocked over and dragged backwards as her leg strap was tight across my ankles. I started to panic as I couldn't get up, the waves crashing on us & pushing us backwards, with the strap right against me. Fortunately I was standing next to Adrian talking to him just prior to this so he ended up coming to my rescue.
With the increasing strength of the rip & current, and increasing height of the waves, my exhaustion was growing and so was my fear & anxiety. I rode a wave (on my knees) right to the beach and sat there until the next wave came and pushed me over. I was done. I stood up and started carrying my board back to our area so I could recover. Adrian came over to me, asked if I needed a break and I started crying. Oops. He carried my board for me and tried to calm me. I couldn't tell him what was wrong as I couldn't breathe. I was in full panic crying mode. He stood next to me with his arm around me, trying to help me regulate my breathing. It took a while. I was so frightened. Clearly I'm not a surfer!
I sat on my towel for a while before Alice took me for a walk. I was able to tell her what happened and she said it was too rough as well and would never have happened in Ireland either.
I stayed on my towel for the next hour just watching. Every time I thought I was ok, someone would ask if I was ok and I would cry again. I couldn't speak.
Just after 12pm we went to a restaurant for lunch. It took half an hour, and a lot of effort, to finally get someone to take our order, then it took 45mins for the food & drinks to come out. I never even got my drink. Service was awful.
2hrs later we paid and left. I went and sat on the beach to wait until our transport came to collect us at 3pm. While we were sitting there, 3 Army men with big guns came past and just stood nearby. I decided to ask Adrian if he can ask them if I can have a photo with them so you can see what I mean about military on public beaches with big guns! At first, they told Adrian that they have no problem with it but the bosses would have a big problem if the photo went onto the internet and spread around. Ok fair enough, I completely understand so I went back to sitting with my group.
About 10mins later they called Adrian over and told him that they would be happy to do it, but the condition is that the photo does not go on the internet anywhere, ever. Awesome! The main guy that Adrian spoke to was so enthusiastic and even put his arm around me (photo style not sexual ststylefor a good picture. Obviously, I’ll keep my promise and not post the picture, but if I see you in person, I’ll be happy to show you on my phone!
When the transport came, some of us got to ride local style in the back of the ute. It was similar to a Toyota Hilux with the open tray at the back. I sat on the actual edge with Adrian, while the others sat on the tray floor. It was bumpy, breezy and so much fun! A few hairy moments (never let go!) but we survived unharmed and got a couple of great pictures. Here's one I took:
Some of us headed straight for the pool when we got back. It was nice to be in completely calm, clean water, and to wash the fine black sand off us.
Then I decided it was shower time. When I took my bathers off, I had so much black sand underneath them! The floor of the shower has so much accumulated from the 3 of us now! It was nice to be clean and I was definitely feeling better after the surfing disaster.
I went to one of the local supermarkets and stocked up on snacks and drinks for the trip tomorrow. We have a long day of travel, possibly 10hrs, to reach León in Nicaragua.
Then I sorted my documents and spoke to my mum for a bit. She had to sit in her car outside the supermarket while I whinged and complained about the surf trip. Luckily she puts up with my complaining 😊
Most of our group went to the Bao House for an Asian dinner tonight but I went to a local place to try pupusas. These are a specialty of the country and are basically a stuffed tortilla. They have a lot of filling options, and originally I chose a chicken one and a shrimp one. They ran out of chicken so I changed to a pork one. They took ages to come out but I was right next to the BBQ so I could watch them making them. They make the actual tortillas right there, stuff them, then fry them on the grill plate. They were very good. Turns out they ask for with cheese too. I also ordered a banana & chocolate one, which was also very good. Only cost me $1 USD each do that was a cheap dinner.
Then I headed back to my room to begin packing. We have to be at Reception at 3.50am tomorrow morning due to the potentially long border process. The last G Adventures group who crossed into Nicaragua at the same border crossing we will use, took 4hrs to clear immigration. Apparently, they are very slow, and at times, extremely thorough. They will search every single pocket of every single bag, and every pocket in the clothes you wear. Fingers crossed tomorrow when we arrive, they have had coffee and are in a good mood!
Our visit to El Salvador has been short but relatively pleasant. I'm glad I haven't felt unsafe on the streets (just the ocean!), and haven't seen any signs of violence etc. I'm not sure it is a place that is a must visit destination. I mean, if you're in the area, sure pop in and say hey to the locals and have a pupusa, but I wouldn't make El Salvador my main destination. I would much rather spend time in Guatemala (although hopefully Costa Rica will be my favourite country in Central America!).
Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to Nicaragua I go!