We have officially pivoted to an alternate destination to explore during Jay's birthday week. Mexico City was our initial target, especially because it remains an unexplored metropolis on our travel ledger. Unfortunately, the awkward flight timings and steep fares quickly dampened our enthusiasm for that option. Jay stepped in with his dependable flight-sleuthing discipline and found clean, affordable routing to El Salvador via Houston, TX. A sensible schedule with an included checked bag always beats an overpriced, midnight ticket.
Returning to El Salvador offers a front-row seat to one of the most dramatic social turnarounds in modern Latin American history. Back in 2011, we took a grand bus tour across Central America, but our stay in San Salvador was unusually brief because holiday bus timetables over Easter forced us along. At that time, the country held the grim distinction of murder capital of the world, registering homicide rates above 70 per 100,000 residents. Today, following a massive and controversial security offensive, the homicide rate has plummeted below 2 per 100,000, making the country statistically safer than the United States national average. History rarely moves this fast without a total change of scenery.
Our stop in San Salvador was short on a bus trip around Central America in 2011.Frankly, Jay and I were surprised to see just how quickly the country transformed into a global travel hotspot. Tourism has rapidly become a vital pillar of the national economy, welcoming over three million international visitors each year and injecting billions in foreign exchange. The chaotic, barricaded street markets from our 2011 visit have given way to brightly illuminated plazas, manicured pedestrian corridors, and a modern national library open around the clock. International travelers who once bypassed the region completely are now filling boutique hotels and coastal venues. Clear streets and reliable infrastructure serve as the ultimate marketing campaign.
With our September dates locked down, we are now actively combing Expedia for the ideal hotel base. We are scheduled to depart exactly two weeks from today. We decided to stay directly in the capital city rather than basing ourselves in the mountains or along the coast. Staging from accessible urban districts like San Benito or Colonia Escalón makes day trips to volcanic calderas and Pacific beaches remarkably straightforward, while keeping level sidewalks and dependable elevators close at hand. We look forward to rediscovering the country, experiencing its modern transformation, and enjoying a memorable birthday expedition. A great travel adventure only requires an active volcano, a fresh plate of hot pupusas, and an elevator that actually works.