El Salvador - Scaling a Rabbit

December 12-13

Hello everyone!

We’re heading into the El Salvador endgame. With the decision made that we will be leaving the country in June 2026, my mind has sharpened into making sure that I use the next six months to continue to enjoy and explore the ‘Land of Volcanoes’.

View of Cerro Eramon

View of 5 de Noviembre Reservoir

I’ve made a list of places I want to visit - or in some cases, revisit - before heading for pastures new. Many of those have recently become more accessible as my ankle has continued to heal. One of those places, and the focus of this blog, is the ‘Mountain of the Rabbits’: Cerro Eramón. 

The peak is 937m high

I’d call it a hill rather than a mountain. It’s found in the northern department of Chalatenango. One of the larger ‘states’ in the country, it hosts a wide variety of wonders, such as El Salvador’s highest mountain and largest lake.

Up Cerro El Pital, El Salvador's highest peak

Maxi and Mini enjoying Lake Suchitlan

Eramón is in the eastern part of Chalatenango, making it a relatively long drive. On a whim, I had signed up for a hike up the big hill to take in the sunrise at the top. 

Spoiler alert: I made it

Many tour companies offer trips to Eramon,
but usually Saturday-Sunday

This involved driving down to central San Salvador for an 11:30pm start. On a Friday night, having had the usual hectic build-up-to-Christmas week at work. A group of 5 of us - the others being total strangers to me - hopped on a minibus to head northeast, picking up three more people on the way.

Looks very different at 11pm at night...

It was a lot quicker than this on the way

We were headed to the brilliantly-named village of Nombre de Jesus: the Name of Jesus. From here, at about 2am, we hopped in the back of a pick-up truck, which would take us up some steep ‘roads’ - let’s just call it off-roading - to the starting point: a football pitch.

Jesus' town is in the Christmas spirit

The ride made reminded me I don't have the most maximus of glutteuses

When communicating with this company, they had suggested that people bring lots of clothes due to the cold. As we were ascending, and it is December, I had followed their advice. My hat, gloves and gilet never saw the light…or night. The fleece didn’t last long, either. Surprisingly mild, with thin clouds often separated enough to showcase a dazzling array of stars twinkling high in the sky.

What was needed was a head torch - I had visited the
recently-opened Decathlon the day before to buy one

My star pictures are always rubbish but there are
two white lights (out of 100s) if you look closely

It wasn’t an overly technical hike, with the main hold-ups being waiting for others in the group to catch up. We meandered to the ‘top’ of the hill, still blanketed in darkness, at a little before 4am.

It's not designated as a national park

Towns, not stars

From here, our guide said that another 2 kilometre hike would take us to the best spot for sunrise. This was a bit steeper and slightly more precarious, particularly the first section when descending before rising again onto the crag.

Making our way to the Peñon or crag -
essentially, the sticky-out bit just below the peak

The view accompanying an Oasis song

We arrived a bit before 5am, allowing me to have a little bit of shuteye under the stars before waking to see the sky start to change.

This was at 05:45 - sunrise was officially about 06:08

Hello Honduras!

It was a beautiful, tranquil moment. Aside from the muppet who decided to blare ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ by Oasis at 5:30am, just as a yellow strip was beginning to form on the horizon. Thankfully, he soon put his phone away, leaving about 20 people on the small strip of land to hear only whispers and the wind.

The most popular photo spot

The colours change drastically when zoomed in

To the northeast, you have distant mountains in Honduras. To the southeast you can see Charapastique, also known as San Miguel volcano. To the south, a small lake and the Rio Lempa. Behind the mountains to the southwest would be San Salvador - I think we were able to see its lights in the dark. To the west is Cerro Eramón. Almost 360 degrees of powerful, imposing nature.

Honduras in the distance

Hiking San Miguel is on the list, but the Friday
trip didn't have enough people this time

Golden hour light made Eramon look pretty special

After spending some time admiring the view in daylight, our group trudged down. I was running on fumes at this point, a lack of decent sleep throughout the week being exacerbated by hiking through the night. A couple of early slight slips reminded me that my ankle needs me to go a bit slower on these sections. Going slowly allowed us to see some parakeets, at least.

Can you spot the parakeet?

That football pitch is where we started - what a view behind it!

As our bus got stuck in a turgid traffic jam due to a car accident, it took 4 hours to return to the capital: a 113 km drive. This allowed me to pinch a bit more sleep, as well as be thankful that I went to the bathroom in Nombre de Jesus. It also allowed me to picture a lovely sunrise once more. Cerro Eramon is a lovely spot. It’s not one visited by masses of people, and I have preferred sunrise points in the country. Nonetheless, I’m glad I dragged my weary body up and down Rabbit Hill to take in another hidden gem from El Salvador.

Lovely sunrise

Looking slightly tired with that view!

Love you all,

Matt

Argentina - Steak with wine, you’ll be fine

October 26-31

Hello everyone!

Argentina’s reputation for its food and drink is strong. You won’t go hungry here…unless you’re a vegan, maybe…

Meat. So. Much. Meat.

Argentina's beer game: quite strong

Mafalda drinking mate. I don't need to drink it ever again.

Dulce de Leche: food of the Gods

The country is renowned for steak. Quite interesting that cows haven’t been in this part of the world for that long, then! They were introduced by the Spanish when they arrived to this part of the continent in 1536.

As you'll see later, most of the cow is up for grabs

Not a cow from 1536 - this sculpture is outside a theatre

Of course, there are cows in other parts of the world. So why is Argentinian steak so revered globally? It may be to do with the land. The Pampas Plan is a fertile grassland found in central Argentina, as well as Uruguay and the southern part of Brazil. The Pampas are seen as ideal for raising cattle.

Consistent rain throughout the year
makes Pampas good for agriculture

Beef being cooked on the asado

The Pampas also evoke thoughts in Argentina about the people who lived there in the past: the Gaucho. Originally deriving from an indigenous language meaning ‘lazy person’, the term soon came to represent the cowboy spirit.

What was described by our guide as a 'big
fabric diaper' is called a chirripa

Not necessarily a Gaucho, but there are a few
statues of folk on horses in the capital

We spent a day at a ranch outside Buenos Aires to learn more about Gaucho culture. We were told about the tools they used, the struggles they have had and the way they have been portrayed in modern culture.

The balls are heavy, and designed to be thrown
around the legs of an animal to ensnare it

Like cowboys, Gauchos often duelled: winning
meant getting a coin to add to your belt

The 300 hectare area has many owners and many animals, including horses. Whilst not riding in the style of a Gaucho, we took the opportunity to trot around some of the grounds on horseback. My horse was keen to get going before everyone else was ready!

My horse eventually settled for being second in line, right behind the guide

Dad's horse was also erratic, stopping at one point to eat leaves

Gauchos looked after livestock. That livestock was then cooked and eaten in the form of asado: Argentine barbecue. Whether one cow produces this much barbecue is questionable…

A long charcoal grill!

Here there are chorizo sausages, innards and morcilla: 
blood sausage, which is like British black pudding

With new technology allowing refrigeration over long distances, Argentine beef started to be exported to other countries. It is the 4th largest producer of beef in the world. The stuff they keep in the country isn’t too bad, either…

Bife de Chorizo at Cafe de Los Angelitos

Filet mignon at the gaucho farm

My favourite place was where we ate on our first night together in Buenos Aires: a relatively small spot with a local feel called Santos Manjares. Most Argentines actually eat their steaks well done, but you can order redder by asking for ‘jugoso’. Perfection on a plate, this.

It is a short walk east from the huge Avenida 9 de julio

Steak is relatively cheap: this was less than $20

Argentina actually ranks highly for a lot of agricultural exports, not just beef: the most soy, the third-most corn, the sixth-most wheat globally. We were told that its lack of a secondary industry is what explains its relatively poor economy. 

A field of soy, most of which goes to China

For those who need a cheaper eat, a choripan is a short of hot dog

Empanadas are always available and very tasty

I didn’t eat any soy or corn, and probably a tiny amount of wheat. I did have more of another thing that Argentina exports in vast quantities: red wine. 

Enjoying a Pinot Noir in a field of grapes

That is quality Malbec being sold for
less than $3 a bottle in a supermarket

Wine from Argentina is usually associated with the city of Mendoza, further to the west. The reason there haven’t been wines from Buenos Aires is because it was illegal. In 1934, a law was passed prohibiting wine being made in certain provinces, including Buenos Aires, so that business could be decentralised. This vineyard opened around a decade ago, with its first wines being bottled in 2021.

The distance between them is linked to humidity

The vineyard also grows white wine: Chardonnay is popular here

This vineyard is small, bottling 20,000 wines last year in comparison with the millions bottled annually from larger Mendoza vineyards. It was a beautiful setting for quaffing malbec.

The grapes are grown on the bottom two levels of the
plant, with the third level being leaves for shade

This was the warmest day of our trip, being over 20'C

Wine isn’t the only drink in Argentina, of course. There are many beers, and a growing cocktail scene. We found a secret bar in the basement of a flower shop. With the volume of the music downstairs, I’m surprised it was ‘secret’.

What seems like an innocent flower shop...

...then has a fridge door...

...leading downstairs to the bar!

The main drink here is actually something non-alcoholic: mate. It is a herbal infusion drunk which originated in the northeast of the country from a bush that grew in the area. It apparently gives an energy boost, is drunk by people of all ages, and is regularly topped up with hot water. It also tastes like grass. Not a fan.

The cup is traditionally made from a gourd

The cherva is pushed to the side, with hot water added
from a flask to the other side of the cup

The straw has a filter so you don't
drink this green stuff, called cherva

Those of you who know me well will be aware that I have a very sweet tooth. Argentinians seem to enjoy dulce de leche, which is a slightly runnier version of caramel. When put between two biscuits, and the combo smothered in chocolate, you get something called an alfajor. Scrumptious.

Originally from Spain, they have been
popular here since the mid-19th century

Argentines consume more than 1 billion alfajores each year

This shop, outside of the city, has won awards for its alfajores

Even thinking that I have a separate dessert stomach, it was difficult to have room for delights such as alfajores after having so much sumptuous steak. I’m writing this a week after leaving Argentina, and I think I have just about digested all of the cow that I have eaten over the past seven days. How gauchos weren’t obese is beyond me…

Enjoying our asado

Maybe the poncho is to hide the meat belly?

Cheers Argentina!

Love you all,

Matt