Small but mighty.
When you think of Central America, you likely don’t think of El Salvador. It is the smallest country in Central America and not top of mind for backpackers and tourists. The country has had a radical change with the election of a new president. The history of El Salvador has been marked by gang violence, with the country suffering from one of the highest homicide and crime rates in the world. But since Nayib Bukele came to power, he has succeeded in lowering the country’s murder rate by imprisoning more than 50,000 alleged gang members since March of 2022. Because there has not been as much tourism in the past, the country’s infrastructure isn’t as well established as say Costa Rica. However, that just means there are less tourists and more richness and culture. El Salvador is now incredibly safe for visitors and the people have so much pride, for good reason.
El Salvador has so much to offer. From beaches made for surfing, large sprawling cities with rich history, beautiful landscape with volcanoes and waterfalls, to delicious food and cheap textiles. Public busses will take you anywhere you want to go, not quickly or comfortably I may add, for no more than $2. So, all this being said, I had to experience it for myself. I made my way up from Panama via bus, stopping in a small beach town in Costa Rica for a few days to break up the journey and flew from San Jose Costa Rica to the Salvadorian capital, San Salvador.
Markets and fast food.
El Salvador has a population of just over six million people, more people live in NYC alone than the entire country. The biggest city is San Salvador, with about a million inhabitants. Most visitors skip the city and head straight to the beach. While you know I love a good beach, I wanted to see the city as well. I booked a hostel for three nights in the ritzier part of town where you can find huge malls, expensive hotels, and every kind of fast food you could ever want. There is even a Quiznos – I haven’t seen one of these in YEARS. I knew my fate, Wendy’s was calling. In fact, I am writing this after finishing my Wendy’s Tajin chicken sandwich and it was just as good as I remember.
On the way from the airport, my taxi driver informed me that the country food staple is called a Pupusa. It is their version of an empanada/quesadilla/torta. You can find a pupuseria on legit every corner. Most are only open for dinner, but there are street carts that sell them until about 6pm when they close up shop and head home for dinner. They will cost you fifty cents to a dollar (I thought this was a joke) and most people order three or four for a meal (if you are good at math that is about $2-3 for a large meal). You can fill them with any kind of meat, vegetable, or beans. My favorite was the shrimp and jalapeno. I had a pupusa almost every day and after 11 days in El Salvador I was pupusa-ed out!
I am sure you guessed it, but on my first full day I scheduled a free walking tour of the historical part of the city. Erick was my local guide and no one else signed up so private tour for me! He walked me around the main Libertad Square to see the famous Church of the Rosary. This is one of the most unique churches I have visited. It was in the shape of an arch with tiny pieces of stained glass on all sides. It honestly doesn’t look that special from the outside, but when you enter…it takes your breath away. Simple yet refined. The architect, Rubén Martínez, wanted to defy the norms and create something a bit different. He got approval from the Vatican to try something different to showcase his countries uniqueness and beauty. The light shining in, the horseshoe shaped pews and small gallery of 14 steel artworks are just incredible. The $2 entrance fee was well worth it. You cannot miss this beautiful structure.
Next, he showed me the first bank of El Salvador that now serves as a museum and library. In 2001, El Salvador changed from pesos to the US dollar for their national currency. They are also the first country to use Bitcoin as a national currency (paving the way for many to come I’m sure). The country phased out the peso slowly and now has fully adopted the dollar. The most popular coin is the $1 which you rarely find in the US…maybe because El Salvador has them all 😊. We made our way to the General Barrios Plaza to see the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador (which I couldn’t go in because I was wearing a tank top and shorts and you need to have knees and shoulders covered) and the National Palace. These buildings are stunning with ornate architecture. We walked through many markets in the streets and the largest one in the city stretching eight blocks wide. You can find anything here from birdseed to watches to nuts. I bought some coconut oil for my dry skin and cashews to munch on. Erick is a tour guide during the day and a bartender by night so to end the tour we went to his bar (which wasn’t open yet) to have my first Pilsener, El Salvador’s national beer.
After the tour I walked back towards my hostel stopping in Cuscatlan Park that was recently redone and beautifully landscaped. I sat on a bench reading until my stomach told me it was time for lunch and walked to Café de Don Pedro based on positive reviews online. I got the club sandwich, and it was incredible. I ate every last bite. I booked a massage for the afternoon (my first one in two months because of how expensive they are in Panama and Australia – they are not $6 like they are in Southeast Asia sadly). I can honestly say it was the best one I have had on this trip and exactly what I needed after so much travel in Panama. I took an evening yoga class at Yogashala El Salvador (a freaking hard class I may add) and listened to the thunderstorm as I lay in bed grateful for a wonderful first day in El Salvador.
The land of long hair.
Once again I find myself heading to the place I love the most, the beach. El Tunco is the most popular beach town in the country and surfers flock here year-round for the perfectly crested waves and chill vibe. I would venture to say about 75% of the locals and tourists in El Tunco have long hair and fit the stereotypical surfer look. You would think after so many surf towns, I would pick up surfing…nope. Instead, I chilled on the rocky beach reading and watching incredibly skilled surfers ride the waves. I met many surfers, both tourists and locals on Saturday night and danced the night away to reggaeton and pop music. I did yoga each morning on the front porch of my private room (!!!!) and took a lovely evening yin class at Balance Yoga. One of the afternoons I spent in El Zonte, a neighboring beach for a change of scenery and had fresh fish and a paloma overlooking the stunning beachline.
A few days earlier, I saw on Instagram that Bill, a traveler I met back in January in Ecuador, just landed in El Salvador with a group of his buddies to surf for the week. I immediately messaged him to inform him that I was also in El Salvador…what are the chances??!? He was headed to Mizata, another smaller surf town an hour north of El Tunco. After a few changes in my itinerary I made plans to see him for two days in Mizata.
Because Mizata is very small and not quite developed for tourism yet, there are only three or four hostels in the town, and all were booked already. I luckily found an adorable Airbnb the morning of that was tucked away and I had the whole place to myself. I was the very first guest as the host, Ricardo, had just finished the construction after a year and was happy to greet me when I got there. The place was so beautiful. I had a little hut and an entire infinity pool to myself, not to mention the beach was 50 meters away. I walked to the beach to meet Bill and his seven buddies from San Diego to watch sunset and feast on pupusas of course. They were all a hoot and we laughed until it hurt.
The next day I had breakfast one of the only restaurants in town and the only one close to my Airbnb. I did yoga by the pool, wrote in my journal, and finished my last blog on Panama. I was feeling so productive. I headed to Bill’s hostel to cool off in their pool and enjoyed cold beer on the beach. It goes to show that you never know who you will meet again and where. The world is so big and small at the same time. See you again somewhere else in the world Bill!
My last stop.
Santa Ana is the second largest city in El Salvador and a more desired location compared to San Salvador. It is walkable, quaint, close to the popular Santa Ana Volcano, and has hundreds of waterfalls nestled in the lush wilderness. It is also a starting point for those that are planning to travel “la ruta de las flores” or the route of the flowers. After many, many hours on the local bus, or the “chicken bus” as they call it, from Mizata I made it to the bus station (aka the side of the road). The bus had no air conditioning and stopped about every 4 minutes to pick up and drop off people. An hour and a half drive took about four hours. I checked into my hostel and immediately went to get food at Simmer Down Café, a tourist trap. However, I had an amazing salad that hit the spot and was exactly what I needed after traveling. I booked a free walking tour and my host Luis met me at the famous Cathedral of Our Lady Saint Anne in the center of town to show me around his city for a few hours. We walked around the Liberty Plaza surrounded by the National Theatre, City Hall, Art Center, and the giant outdoor market. We ended at his favorite pupuseria while we waited for the rain to stop.
The next day I planned a waterfall hike to The Seven Waterfalls with a Finish girl, Camila, I met in the hostel. It was an early wake up call to take another chicken bus about an hour and half from the city into nature. We spent the entire morning/early afternoon hiking through the jungle passing by ten waterfalls. We scaled up many of them with some hesitation on my part as it seemed way too dangerous. Our guide Alex reassured us that his mom did it and if she could, we could. His mom is 45…so it didn’t give me the confidence I needed, but I went along with it. The waterfalls were huge and magnificent. I have seen a lot of waterfalls in my day, and these definitely impressed me (photos to prove found here). Alex’s rule was that we had to get it every single one. The water was fresh enough to drink and brisk enough to cool us down. We ended the afternoon with some pastilitos, or the Salvadorian version of potato filled empanadas.
Day two in Santa Ana was for hiking the Santa Ana volcano. It was not super challenging and the views at the top were stunning. We took the early morning bus to the trailhead and joined a group of about 20 others with local guides for a small fee. After about an hour and half trek up, we only had about 15 minutes to spend at the top and needed to rush back for the bus back to the city. We met many other lively Europeans on the trail and went for coffee at a highly rated coffee shop in the city called Kadek Coffee. We were all a bit drained from the long morning, so we needed a pick me up. We planned to meet back up in the evening for some cold beers. Luis, my tour guide from the first day, told me about a popular bar Café Tejas that was having a 10-year anniversary party and invited us. There was live music, cheap drinks, and good conversation. We ended the night at a discoteca, aka club, and sweat through our clothes.
The jen essentials for el Salvador.
- Some level of Spanish (El Salvador is not as touristy so many people, especially in smaller towns, do not speak English)
- Cash/change (surprisingly 😉chicken busses don’t take credit card, but most trips cost 70 cents)
- Flexibility with plans (when your friend is unexpectedly in the same country you make arrangements to see him!)
- Bug spray (I ran out and paid for it)
- Rain jacket (It is rainy season and Santa Ana proved that to be true)
- Pupusas (no trip to El Salvador is complete without them, breakfast lunch and/or dinner)
- Ticket out of the country (the airline would not let me board until I had proof that I was leaving the country…)
- Hiking partners (hiking volcanoes is better with people)
- Free walking tours (all the towns have so much rich history and it’s a great way to get acquainted with the city and get local insights)
- A good book (with lots of time on the bus and beaches, it’s essential)
Wrap it up jen.
El Salvador is a small country but has so much to offer. It boasts of world-class waves that are crammed into its mere 190 miles of coastline. Skilled surfers from all over the world come to ride the OLAs, Spanish for waves. Often swimming is not recommended because the waves and currents are so strong. Apart from waves, the waterfalls were a highlight of my trip. It was thrilling and calming all at the same time.
My Spanish is improving as I was forced to speak it with the locals. That is the best way to learn right? The locals are so kind and always there to help tourists navigate around. El Salvador is charming and not yet flooded with tourists like many surrounding countries in Central America. Give it ten years and it was likely be what Costa Rica is today. I hope you get to say HOLA to El Salvador one day.
Up next: A country I have been dying to visit for years, Guatemala!!
Signing off for now,
Jennifer