Exploring El Salvador

El Salvador is a tiny country and mountainous squeezed in between Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala and now during the Xmas holidays when I had an opportunity to visit it I did of course took it. Everything else would be stupid. I made some research before and knew that I wanted to visit the famous volcano of Izalco and the vulcano lake Coatepeque. Since I trebles myself I looked for a tour and after some research and negotiations I got what I wanted. Despite the two attractions I also got to see a Mayan site that is the country’s only UNESCO world heritage site. It was not on the top of my list but I enjoyed it.

Mayan site

Visiting historical stones is not my cup of tea but spending two hours to get to know about the Mayan people was actually rather interesting. I never been to Chitzeniza since I am not interested but ancient history but after this little introduction I might go next time I visit Mexico. It is in the end one of the new seven world wonders.

Lake Coatepeque

This was my kind of place though. A beautiful lake in between volcanoes. We stopped by and had a walk at one coffee plantation which also works as a cottage and had coffee and a quesadilla El Salvadore style.

This I call coffee break with a view. It was breathtaking this clear day.

Izalco vulcano

The volcano that had its last outbreak as late as in 1971 now serves as a famous hike. You could take a hole day hiking tour but I wanted to see more of the country than just a hike so the four hours visit was perfect. We drove and hiked. Even at the vulcano site the tourist police are visible. They walk with hikers to the top and around the vulcano they were also stationed. There was no reason the feel scared. Tourists is an important source of income for El Salvadore and although the bad reputation there are loads of natural gems in the country that easily could be visited. With a guide. You should not walk around yourself if you don’t know the area.

Travel in El Salvador

I had a great day and saw a lot of the country. This will be a place and some days I will never forget. It was truely a unique experience and I didn’t saw any other Scandinavian or blonde person during my days in the country. People were very friendly to foreigners but also curious. The hotel staff helped out with everything and the guide I had at my tour was also excellent. Knowledgeable and kind. He had lived abroad in the us and worked for UN in Haiti and Honduras so I got some bonus stories about that. The day before he took the Japanese ambassador at the same tour as I got but guess what? He got a flat tire not just once but twice during their tour. Luckily that didn’t happened during my tour. That was it from El Salvador. If you have the opportunity you should go and visit the country but pick a safe hotel like Intercontinental or Crown Plaza.

/ Pernilla that love to explore places