El Salvador in November
Little did we know that El Salvador is a great place to travel in November. The weather was great, it didn't rain and not a lot of people are traveling so it as super easy to find places to stay. Here is a rundown of what we did along the way.
We flew into the San Salvador airport which is far from most towns so we had to take a cab to the coast for $30. We made a hotel arrangement for the first night since we didn't get in till after 2am. The rest of the trip we just figured out along the way.
We spent the first night here at the Pacific Paradise hotel. It was right on the beach and nicely landscaped. We ate their delicious local breakfast, then enjoyed the beach for a bit. We didn't spend much time here since we wanted to start exploring so we grabbed a bus to La Libertad in the early afternoon. We really enjoyed traveling on their buses. Each one was decorated differently, some played music, and people were always hopping on to try and sell stuff to the locals. We had delicious coconut treats, random drinks and papusas from vendors on the bus. People would try and sell medications and protein bars, all with a long speech about how they will heal everything and/or make you nice and strong! It was entertaining to say the least. The buses ranged anywhere from .25 to .90 cents.
La Libertad
We got to La Libertad around noon and had some time to explore before dark. We checked out the pier where they sell fish and other random stuff. They have a pretty neat setup where they hoist the boat (along with its people and contents) out of the water, put it on a dolly and leave it on top of the pier to sell the contents. After exploring for a bit, we got a hotel to relax for the night. The hotel was only $15 and had a view of the beach. It was tiny, but I was impressed for the price. The next morning, we woke up and headed to Juayua, a little town in the mountains.
Juayua
This was a cute little mountain town with lots of pretty views. We wanted to go see the Chorros de la Calera so we talked to the local tourist police and they said it was a little late to hike so we all hopped on a little rickshaw that lead us to the last part of the path. It was still a little hike, and well worth it! We visited two falls and swam in one of them. The water seemed more pure than any other water I had swam in. It was a perfect (chilly) temperature and nice for relaxing.
Once we returned, we enjoyed the town center and had some snacks from the local bakery. On the weekends, they have a food fair, but we were only there during the week. We staying in Hotel Juaua for $45 and it had a wonderful view of the mountains. It was rustic and cute, but had thin walls. We never staying in a place where we could not hear our neighbors so I guess it is pretty standard. We started our trek early the next morning since we had a long way to travel. Next stop: El Imposible.
El Imposible
We were supposed to catch a bus to El Refugio in Cara Sucia, but we didn't know where it would be (we learned later is is obviously in the middle of town), so we asked around and no one knew. A police officer offered to drive us to the foot of the hill it drives up so we could catch it there so that is what we did. The ride was long and slow up a mountain.
We stayed at the El Imposible Eco Lodge for $40. It was such a beautiful piece of property and we were the only ones there so we had it all to ourselves. That afternoon, we decided to hike parts of the National Park so we headed the rest of the way up the hill and met our guide, Jose. We had all kinds of great info about the park and he was great at speaking Spanish to people who has shitty Spanish skills (us). We got back around dark and ate a nice dinner at the Eco Lodge. We decided to relax the next morning and enjoy the property so we read for a bit and just relaxed near the natural pools. We left late that afternoon to head to Santa Ana.
Santa Ana
We arrived after dark and didn't see a Taxi anywhere so we asked a lady where a hotel was. She led us to the closest hotel and here we payed only $8 for the night. The funny part was, we could have payed $10 for a different room, but the only difference was, the more expensive one had a remote for the TV. We laughed and took the cheap one. What we didn't realize at the time was that it was a pay-by-the-hour hotel. We saw some interesting signs on the wall that are posted below. We were grossed out, but would only be there to sleep to we put down a couple sheets and slept with our clothes on. When they brought us towels, they also brought us a condom...we were entertained. The only reason we went to Santa Ana was to catch a bus to the Santa Ana Volcano, but what we realized later was we could have stayed in a town along the way to catch the same bus. Next time we would probably stay in either Colon or Coatapeque.
Volcan Santa Ana
The views from the 'base camp' were already spectacular. We heard the hike was short and easy but it took 2 hours to get to the top and some parts were a little steep. Once there, it was super windy and freezing! The hike was definitely worth the views. Once back, we hitched a ride to the bottom of the hill and caught the next bus to San Salvador which we just used as a stopping point to get back to the coast in the morning.
Surfing Punta Roca and La Paz
I rented a board at the Hospital de Tablas for $2.50/hour and first paddled out to La Paz. It was a fun wave, but was kinda small with lots of rocks to hit. After an hour, I decided to paddle over to Punta Roca and spent the rest of my time there. There were only 3 other guys out and it was so much fun! The waves were about shoulder high with glassy conditions. I definitely want to get back here for more surf. I was happy to luck out with crowds and conditions for this time of year. After surfing, we headed to El Tunco to get a room. We got a place right on the beach for $35 called La Tortuga. There were hammocks overlooking the water and a nice pool. We dropped off our belongings and had some business to take care of.
I had to take some pictures of K59 for a friend so we hopped on another bus and headed to the break. We just asked the bus driver to drop us off at Kilometer 59 where there is a small town to walk through to the beach. We later learned it is very dangerous there and we lucked out not having any problems with locals. On our way back while waiting for the bus, we got picked up by a surfer and went back to El Tunco to enjoy the evening.
El Tunco
This was the first night we went out after dark (on purpose). This town is super safe and full of surfers. It was also the first time we met a lot of people who spoke English. We had a great time, but the town was a little too much like America and it was expensive. The next day we just relaxed around town and enjoyed the beach before heading back to San Salvador to go home.
We flew into the San Salvador airport which is far from most towns so we had to take a cab to the coast for $30. We made a hotel arrangement for the first night since we didn't get in till after 2am. The rest of the trip we just figured out along the way.
Costa Del Sol
We spent the first night here at the Pacific Paradise hotel. It was right on the beach and nicely landscaped. We ate their delicious local breakfast, then enjoyed the beach for a bit. We didn't spend much time here since we wanted to start exploring so we grabbed a bus to La Libertad in the early afternoon. We really enjoyed traveling on their buses. Each one was decorated differently, some played music, and people were always hopping on to try and sell stuff to the locals. We had delicious coconut treats, random drinks and papusas from vendors on the bus. People would try and sell medications and protein bars, all with a long speech about how they will heal everything and/or make you nice and strong! It was entertaining to say the least. The buses ranged anywhere from .25 to .90 cents.
La Libertad
We got to La Libertad around noon and had some time to explore before dark. We checked out the pier where they sell fish and other random stuff. They have a pretty neat setup where they hoist the boat (along with its people and contents) out of the water, put it on a dolly and leave it on top of the pier to sell the contents. After exploring for a bit, we got a hotel to relax for the night. The hotel was only $15 and had a view of the beach. It was tiny, but I was impressed for the price. The next morning, we woke up and headed to Juayua, a little town in the mountains.
Juayua
This was a cute little mountain town with lots of pretty views. We wanted to go see the Chorros de la Calera so we talked to the local tourist police and they said it was a little late to hike so we all hopped on a little rickshaw that lead us to the last part of the path. It was still a little hike, and well worth it! We visited two falls and swam in one of them. The water seemed more pure than any other water I had swam in. It was a perfect (chilly) temperature and nice for relaxing.
Once we returned, we enjoyed the town center and had some snacks from the local bakery. On the weekends, they have a food fair, but we were only there during the week. We staying in Hotel Juaua for $45 and it had a wonderful view of the mountains. It was rustic and cute, but had thin walls. We never staying in a place where we could not hear our neighbors so I guess it is pretty standard. We started our trek early the next morning since we had a long way to travel. Next stop: El Imposible.
El Imposible
We were supposed to catch a bus to El Refugio in Cara Sucia, but we didn't know where it would be (we learned later is is obviously in the middle of town), so we asked around and no one knew. A police officer offered to drive us to the foot of the hill it drives up so we could catch it there so that is what we did. The ride was long and slow up a mountain.
We stayed at the El Imposible Eco Lodge for $40. It was such a beautiful piece of property and we were the only ones there so we had it all to ourselves. That afternoon, we decided to hike parts of the National Park so we headed the rest of the way up the hill and met our guide, Jose. We had all kinds of great info about the park and he was great at speaking Spanish to people who has shitty Spanish skills (us). We got back around dark and ate a nice dinner at the Eco Lodge. We decided to relax the next morning and enjoy the property so we read for a bit and just relaxed near the natural pools. We left late that afternoon to head to Santa Ana.
Santa Ana
We arrived after dark and didn't see a Taxi anywhere so we asked a lady where a hotel was. She led us to the closest hotel and here we payed only $8 for the night. The funny part was, we could have payed $10 for a different room, but the only difference was, the more expensive one had a remote for the TV. We laughed and took the cheap one. What we didn't realize at the time was that it was a pay-by-the-hour hotel. We saw some interesting signs on the wall that are posted below. We were grossed out, but would only be there to sleep to we put down a couple sheets and slept with our clothes on. When they brought us towels, they also brought us a condom...we were entertained. The only reason we went to Santa Ana was to catch a bus to the Santa Ana Volcano, but what we realized later was we could have stayed in a town along the way to catch the same bus. Next time we would probably stay in either Colon or Coatapeque.
Volcan Santa Ana
The views from the 'base camp' were already spectacular. We heard the hike was short and easy but it took 2 hours to get to the top and some parts were a little steep. Once there, it was super windy and freezing! The hike was definitely worth the views. Once back, we hitched a ride to the bottom of the hill and caught the next bus to San Salvador which we just used as a stopping point to get back to the coast in the morning.
Surfing Punta Roca and La Paz
I rented a board at the Hospital de Tablas for $2.50/hour and first paddled out to La Paz. It was a fun wave, but was kinda small with lots of rocks to hit. After an hour, I decided to paddle over to Punta Roca and spent the rest of my time there. There were only 3 other guys out and it was so much fun! The waves were about shoulder high with glassy conditions. I definitely want to get back here for more surf. I was happy to luck out with crowds and conditions for this time of year. After surfing, we headed to El Tunco to get a room. We got a place right on the beach for $35 called La Tortuga. There were hammocks overlooking the water and a nice pool. We dropped off our belongings and had some business to take care of.
I had to take some pictures of K59 for a friend so we hopped on another bus and headed to the break. We just asked the bus driver to drop us off at Kilometer 59 where there is a small town to walk through to the beach. We later learned it is very dangerous there and we lucked out not having any problems with locals. On our way back while waiting for the bus, we got picked up by a surfer and went back to El Tunco to enjoy the evening.
El Tunco
This was the first night we went out after dark (on purpose). This town is super safe and full of surfers. It was also the first time we met a lot of people who spoke English. We had a great time, but the town was a little too much like America and it was expensive. The next day we just relaxed around town and enjoyed the beach before heading back to San Salvador to go home.
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