Crossing the Americas: EL SALVADOR

Do you know what the currency is in El Salvador? You can cheat and google for 5 minutes. You even get a hint: it isn't the Colon. Enough with the mystery. Its the US dollar, and it has been for about 4 years now. That was a happy surprise for Debora and Pat because credit card transactions would be more trustworthy and they wouldn't need to worry about having leftover foreign currency at the next border crossing.

The first place to visit in El Salvador was Lake Coatepeque, which is a beautiful circular lake surrounded by volcanos. Access to much of the lake shore is blocked by private land, so it took a little while before they found a small public beach to check out its clear water. There are many restaurants nearby, and local boaters can take you around the lake for a few bucks.

LAKE COATEPEQUE

After that they left for Cerro Verde National Park and spent the night at Casa Crystal where they only needed US$ 1.00 each to camp. There were also cabins for US$ 14.00 per 12 hours. The next morning they hiked up Volcano Santa Ana with a group of tourists, tourist police, and a guide. The police come along to make tourists feel safe. The officers say this keeps the area crime free. It appears that El Salvador doesn't have nearly as much tourism as the other central american countries and they are trying to bring more in. The hike was easy and took about 3 hours. total. The top of the volcano was marvelous. " The best crater ever so far, and I didn't even get moody because the hike was short", says an excited Debora. This same precious crater has a lake of hot turquoise water inside, and there are views of its neighbor Volcano Izalco as well as Lake Coatepeque, and the Pacific Ocean in the distance. The park entrance fee/tour costs US$ 6.00 including the tourist police and the guide, and it leaves at 11 a.m.

PAT MAKING A VIDEO FROM THE CRATER RIDGE

INSIDE SANTA ANA'S CRATER

FUMES FROM THE HOT WATER

A STOCKED PERSON

SUNSET OVER PACIFIC OCEAN FROM CAMPING SITE

On the same day the couple continued towards the Pacific Ocean to see the country's coastline since they didn't get to in Guatemala. They spent the night in a nice auto hotel (motel with a garage charged by the hour) in Acajutla then kept going south. "I guess the beaches we saw appeal to surfers more," says Pat, refusing to broaden why. Reasons may vary. It could be because they are very rocky with big waves, or maybe because the sand is dark, damp, and less inviting to lay out in the sun. One of the nicest beaches they found was Playa El Zonte where they hung out for a chiq brunch involving ceviche and mojitos.

There they asked locals where to go and were told that Puerto El Triunfo was a nice place to visit. They headed that way, but little did they know that the main attraction involved taking a boat to one of the islands and staying in a hotel. Not willing to do that, they just turned around and went to Usulutan for the night in another luxurious auto hotel for a cheap price. The following day they were already heading toward the border to cross into Honduras, but they stopped briefly in La Union. Both Usulutan and La Union are bigger towns and have all the necessary services such as banks, gas stations, hotels, laundry, etc.

El Salvador definitely had the least number of international tourists and also some of the friendliest people.