Pacific Breakers, Black Sand, and Birthday Juice

 

Today is Jay's birthday, which was our main reason, or at least a very good excuse, for taking this trip to El Salvador. Since we return to Canada tomorrow, it also served as the final day of our journey. We had the hotel breakfast and walked out to the pool to snap a photo or two.  Jay caught up with a lot of birthday wishes on the Barcelo wifi and I summoned an Uber.  Having not yet visited the Pacific coast, we earmarked the morning to head down to La Libertad to see the ocean and watch the waves.  Sliding down to the coast takes about 40 minutes by car.  

     

We found that not a lot was open once we arrived, even the Sunset Park with its tiny amusement rides is closed on Tuesdays. The new Surf City malecón was a bit disappointing and simply too hot to enjoy without sufficient tree cover. There did not seem to be much worth sticking around for, so we did not linger on the pavement. Instead, we sat outside at one of the newer restaurants not far from the fish market and watched the waves break from the shade. I had the tiniest beer, a 296 ml lager called a Golden lager rather than a pilsner, while Jay had a big goblet of orange juice that was mild and not soda. Even with the heat, sitting there watching the water felt like a fulfilling exercise.

After our drinks, we took a short walk through the downtown core, though that did not take very much time. There are quite a few beach towns along this coast, and I had assumed La Libertad would be the most developed due to the direct highway connecting it to the capital. Seeing the dark shoreline also reminded me that I definitely prefer sandy white beaches over black rock. I have always liked having mountains right next to the water, which is why Puerto Vallarta was always a favourite and became the place where we spent our first complete retirement winter. The Bitcoin connection here would certainly make buying property easy, but we have no desire to tie ourselves to a single place while we still have a good dozen years of travel left in us. We also do not need to travel the way we did when we were younger. We just wanted a simple lunch afterward, so we ate at a Subway. It is nice to be able to do whatever you want while still choosing modest options that match your immediate needs.

Getting back up the mountain turned into an adventure of its own. Our Uber driver was a young kid in a car without air conditioning, and the ride up the highway was a bit frightening, but we made it back in one piece before 1:00 PM.

Back in the room, Jay checked us in for tomorrow, though only for our first flight. Avianca could not assign our seats on United, promising instead that our names would simply be placed on the manifest for the next leg, which is a fine example of how seamless airline tie-ups actually are. Later in the afternoon, we watched a brief thunderstorm roll through from our sixth-floor hotel window. The rain and thunder started at 4:15 PM, knocked the dust down, and completely cleared to blue sky by 4:53 PM.

We will decide what to do for dinner a bit later, especially since the daylight fades quickly at this latitude. Packing will be painless since we only have a single suitcase between us. Tomorrow offers a civilized departure with our flight to Houston leaving at 12:05 PM, sparing us an ungodly morning alarm. Even allowing an hour for the drive out to the airport, we will still have plenty of time to enjoy our final breakfast buffet at the Barceló. All told, it has been an easy, pleasant birthday for Jay and a satisfying way to wrap up the trip.

A Trip to the Rim of the San Salavador Volcano

Soon after finishing our breakfast buffet, we headed outside to hail an Uber to El Boquerón National Park. The volcano looks like a stone's throw from the city, but considering it is a volcano, it is probably better if it is not throwing any stones back. The ride turned out to be a solid 15.5 kilometers from the Barceló, winding endlessly up narrow, steep switchbacks before finally reaching the park gate. I suppose, by their very nature, volcanoes are traditionally known for having rather steep sides.

Sorting out a ride back down meant working past a heavy language barrier. Our driver spoke no English and our Spanish was equally useless, so we resorted to smartphone translations and wild hand gestures. We convinced him to wait by promising that our hike to the rim would be fast, easily taking less than an hour. He agreed, which saved us the headache of trying to hail another car on a mountain where drivers rarely accept pickups.

The walk up to the rim was steep but straightforward. Paved paths, cobblestones, and sturdy wooden stairs wound through thick greenery, bringing us to the glass viewing floor in under twenty minutes. It got the heart pumping a bit, but it was far from an exhausting workout.

The crater itself has a wild history, with the volcanic complex dating back roughly 70,000 years to the formation of its ancestral structure. The current caldera stretches nearly five kilometers across, having collapsed and rebuilt itself multiple times over those millennia. The last major eruption was on June 7, 1917, kicked off by strong earthquakes that shook the capital. The heat boiled away a large lake that used to sit on the crater floor, setting off massive steam and ash blasts. That eruption left behind a neat little cinder cone called El Boqueroncito right in the center, while lava broke out along the northern slopes and wiped out the railway line to Quezaltepeque.

We snapped our photos, looked down into the crater, and headed right back down the trail. We reached the parking lot in well under an hour, finding our driver waiting right where we left him. We skipped the app on the way back, paying him straight cash: US$10 for the return ride plus an extra $5 for his waiting time. We were back at the hotel around 12:30 pm. When you are spending a week in San Salvador, an absolute must-see is going up there.

Ruta de las Flores, El Salvador

A Rose by any Other Name

Anyone boarding transport for the Ruta de las Flores expecting an endless botanical explosion of roadside orchids and wild blooms will find themselves thoroughly swindled by marketing. The name is largely an affectionate promotional flourish; what it truly represents is the picturesque ribbon of cool mountain towns, lush cloud-forest canopies, and coffee-blanketed volcanic ridges threading through the Apaneca-Ilamatepec range. The "flowers" are more of a collective metaphor for the vibrant indigenous craft cultures, whitewashed colonial plazas, and emerald coffee plantations blooming across western El Salvador.

Caravanning to Nahuizalco

Our day kicked off promptly at 8:00 AM when Osmaro rolled up to our hotel. We were travelling in style with an entire, spacious van dedicated to just our modest trio, including Jenna, a fellow traveller from California who had originally emigrated with her parents from El Salvador at the age of nine. Our initial climb brought us into Nahuizalco, buzzing with weekend energy. In a country compact enough to traverse from corner to corner before dinner, a Sunday festival reliably draws crowds from every department. Streets were lined with bustling vendor stalls, intricate wicker and woodcraft, and half the republic out for an open-air promenade.

Idle Mills and Holy Days in Ataco

From Nahuizalco, we ascended towards Concepción de Ataco, pausing at a historic, 1930s working coffee estate and processing mill (beneficio). It was quiet machinery today; coffee harvest operates on its own seasonal calendar, meaning the massive sorting basins, pulpers, and drying patios sat in clean, silent anticipation of the beans they process for both their own estate and neighboring smallholders across the valley. Back in town, Ataco was caught up in full festive stride, preparing for the nativity of the Virgin Mary. The cobblestones were alive with families, street food, and vibrant murals, making the winding drive feel like a living postcard.

Rejuvenation at Santa Teresa

After a leisurely lunch tucked into a lovely local spot, accompanied by the familiar sight of Salvadoran Sunday traffic swelling as families took to the highlands, we wrapped up the expedition at the Santa Teresa Hot Springs. Having received a timely WhatsApp reminder to pack our swimwear and towels, we slipped into the thermal mineral waters for well over an hour. Steaming amidst the lush volcanic greenery, the restorative soak was nothing short of miraculous; I am quite certain I emerged looking a solid fifteen years younger.

   

Appreciating Our Situation

Looking back on the day, Jay and I are reminded once again of how exceptionally lucky we are. Taking this week away to mark Jay's birthday by exploring corners of the world so fascinating and unique is something we never take for granted. Travel is not for everyone, but for us, having the opportunity to step into the daily lives and cherished spaces of others is a true honor. Our immense gratitude goes to Osmaro for guiding us, offering us an experience far more valuable and enduring than any physical possession could ever be.

Rambling in the Reborn Core: Books, Civic Squares, and a Lot of Walking

The traditional Centro Histórico is about seven kilometers from our hotel at the Barceló. While our own neighborhood in the Zona Rosa has plenty of sleek new buildings, embassies, and rapid modern development, the old city center is going through a massive renewal of its own. After a leisurely breakfast, we called an Uber to skip the morning traffic and had him drop us off as close as possible to the front steps of the new National Library (BINAES).

Calling this place just a library hardly does it justice. It looks more like a glowing open book crossed with a modern spaceship, and it stays open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Inside, the regular books seem almost secondary to entire floors filled with manga, digital spaces, robotics, 3D printers, and gaming setups, all kept cool by ferocious air conditioning. Jay and I rode the elevator straight to the sixth floor simply to get a look at the area. The view from the top terrace was well worth the ride, giving us a wide look over the red tile rooftops, the open plazas, and the massive San Salvador Volcano looming over the skyline in the background.

With our aerial recon sorted, we headed back down to hit the pavement. The city has turned a huge part of the center into pedestrian-only streets, which made walking around surprisingly easy and civilized compared to what this area used to be like years ago. We spent the morning wandering from one plaza to the next.

First was the Metropolitan Cathedral facing Plaza Barrios, with its stark white front and the crypt downstairs where Archbishop Óscar Romero is buried. Across the square sits the sprawling National Palace. It has a grand European look on the outside. We didn't bother going inside today, though we knew all about its large open courtyards filled with tall palm trees and dozens of old government rooms.

From there, we drifted into the surrounding commercial streets and made our way into the Mercado Hula Hula. It is a large, multi-story modern market built to give former street vendors a permanent roof over their heads. We enjoyed wandering through the stalls, taking in the busy atmosphere and checking out the endless rows of clothes, shoes, small electronics, and household goods.

By early afternoon, our stomachs reminded us it was time to eat. We skipped anything aimed at tourists and ducked into a simple, cafeteria-style lunch spot packed with locals on their midday break. We grabbed trays, loaded up on solid local food, and added a couple of cold cans of Sprite. The whole bill came to about $7.90 CAD ($5.75 USD), proving once again that you get the best value where the locals eat.

After lunch, we crossed over toward Plaza Libertad. It was full of life, with people gathered under the shady trees listening to loud cumbia music and vendors selling sliced fruit. On the east side of the square is El Rosario Church, which looks on the outside like a rather grim, arched concrete hangar. We were keen to go inside to see the light pouring through all the colored glass embedded in the walls, but our timing was off. Even though a sign clearly promised it would reopen at 2:00 PM, the doors stayed firmly locked. We had to settle for a look at the exterior before moving along.

You have to give the city full credit for turning what used to be a notoriously rough area into a relaxed, walkable public space, but civic improvements do not grant amnesty to old knee joints. Having traded churches and city views for our daily quota of steps, we happily summoned an Uber to escape the afternoon heat and head back to the air-conditioned Barceló for a thoroughly earned nap.  He spent nearly as much time navigating to our pick-up spot as the ride back took!

Mayan Heritage Tour: El Salvador Positive Tours

We booked today's full-day archaeological excursion through Viator last week before leaving Vancouver, eager to dig into more Central American Mayan history during our week in El Salvador. We stirred slightly earlier than usual, if rolling out of bed at 7:00 AM can truly be considered early for a pair of retirees. Missing the Barceló's lavish morning buffet was out of the question, particularly with our tour guide, Gabby, scheduled to collect us precisely at 8:30. As luck would have it, Jay and I were the sole passengers on the manifest today, turning our outing into an impromptu private tour with Gabby handling both driving and narration duties. Joining our small convoy was the tour company's social media specialist, riding along to capture video snippets and still frames for their digital marketing presence. We had the entire day mapped out to explore two primary Mayan landmarks, a circuit that would ultimately carry us deep into the western highlands and nearly up against the Guatemala border.

Joya de Cerén

Our first stop of the morning was Joya de Cerén, El Salvador’s sole UNESCO World Heritage site and widely billed as the "Pompeii of the Americas." Unlike the monumental stone pyramids and royal ceremonial complexes that dominate most Mayan circuits, this place offers something far rarer: an unvarnished snapshot of ordinary agrarian life. Around 600 AD, the nearby Loma Caldera volcano erupted violently, smothering this modest farming village beneath four to eight meters of dense, relatively cool volcanic ash. Because the catastrophe occurred so suddenly, the everyday physical infrastructure was remarkably flash-frozen in place. Protected beneath massive modern metal canopy roofs, the excavated wattle-and-daub dwellings, communal storehouses, kitchens, sleeping quarters, and even an intact circular sweat bath (temazcal) remain intact. Fortunately, unlike its Italian counterpart, an apparent warning earthquake gave the two hundred or so inhabitants enough time to flee, leaving no human casualties behind: only their abandoned agricultural tools, ceramic bean pots, sleeping mats, and furrowed garden plots preserved beneath centuries of compacted tephra.

Tazumal Ruins

From Joya de Cerén, our route led further west to Chalchuapa and the imposing ceremonial complex of Tazumal. If our morning stop celebrated the humble daily existence of the common farming class, Tazumal provided the towering counterpoint: monumental stone architecture, royal prestige, and sacred civic power. Anchoring the archaeological park is the formidable B1-1 main pyramid, an expansive multi-tiered acropolis rising roughly twenty-four meters above the surrounding residential streets. While archaeological purists often wince at Stanley Boggs’s heavy-handed mid-century restoration, which sealed large expanses of the ancient stone structures under a controversial skin of gray cement to halt erosion, the raw scale remains genuinely compelling. The complex witnessed continuous engagement spanning over a millennium before its sudden abandonment around 1200 AD, revealing intricate drain systems, wide ceremonial plazas, and unmistakable trade links to Teotihuacán and the Toltecs. The ceremonies stopped but people have now been living there non-stop for over 3000 years!  Walking among the shadowed balustrades and adjacent ball court under the afternoon sun, you feel the profound spatial weight of an empire that commanded the regional obsidian and jade trade long before the first Europeans ever drew breath in the Americas.

Lunch Overlooking Lago de Coatepeque

Before turning our wheels back toward San Salvador, our appetite finally caught up with us for a late lunch at 2:30 PM overlooking the breathtaking amphitheater of Lago de Coatepeque. Perched high along the rim of this colossal volcanic caldera, our table offered an unobstructed, sweeping panorama across sapphire-blue waters cupped tightly by verdant, sunlit mountain slopes. Far below, the forested contours of Isla Teopán seemed to float lazily on the glassy expanse, while gentle cloud shadows drifted across the brooding silhouette of the Santa Ana volcano in the distance. It was the quintessential Central American postcard: cool caldera breezes cutting the afternoon warmth while we lingered over plates of different chicken plates with rice, trading archaeological notes and soaking in the tranquil geometry of a volcano that collapsed tens of thousands of years ago just to provide us with an extraordinary dining backdrop.

The last hour of the trip was getting back to San Salvador.  We got here at around 4:40 pm.  It was a fantastic day thanks to Gabby who drove and explained so much about the ancient past of her country.