The Travelling Teacher: El Salvador

Hello everyone!

This is part four - the final edition - of our A-Z list of El Salvador. Here you can find part one, part two and part three. You can be reminded of editions from places as diverse as Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Malawi here. Remember these are some personal and light-hearted perspectives on life in Central America’s smallest country. The only thing you are allowed to be offended by is the quality of the writing!

At El Trifino, the border point of
El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras

Palomas - pigeons - flying around as we're
taking a class photo downtown

Part 4: T-Z

T is for…tobillo

Honourable mentions: Tecla, trafico, torogoz, tortuga, tumulo, tremolo, Tamanique

Tobillo is the Spanish word for ankle. I ever-so-slightly broke mine in 2025, and damaged the ligaments around it. I alluded to that earlier (see E).

Some would argue I shouldn't have run another 15 km
on what turned out to be a broken ankle...

Rolling around on my toy during initial recovery

So this is more about healthcare in El Salvador. Admittedly, most of my needs were dental (see D), but we did get to know a few elements of healthcare - and its associated bureaucracy - whilst living here.

Paperwork - always a chore.

This is a pharmacy. That is beer.

Both Hannah and I have had medical needs here, Hannah’s main one being a knee surgery. This took us on the fun journey of medical insurance. We had three different insurances with three different organisations, and knowing what to us at which moment was never truly clear.

Mini helping with recovery

Diagnostico Hospital - got to
know that place too well...

Sorting the surgery on insurance also meant navigating pre-requisite forms, which resulted in tense moments in the days before the operation when the insurance company and doctor weren’t seeming to be communicating with each other and it transpired that a key piece of paperwork was missing. This lapse from the doctor would have cost us almost $20,000.

The one missing piece of paper (I've blurred
the details, it didn't look this weird!)

The joys of WhatsApp - I was
running whilst sorting this out
(my phone has switched it to UK time)

Medical treatment is good here. Surgery was a success and it is significantly cheaper than the US, for example. Physiotherapy - we both used a man called Raul, who would enjoy using strange contraptions on ankles, knees and shoulders - is decent and reasonable.

This delightful splodge was from the Dominican
Republic, and was sorted in El Salvador

I also had a bone density check here -
my bones are normal

As we were leaving, President Bukele (see B) was inaugurating a new, state-of-the-art hospital. It remains to be seen whether this is truly accessible for all people in the country, or whether you need multiple, confusing insurance cards in order to reap the benefits.

Getting platelet treatment

The fancy machine that tested my bone density

U is for…utualito

Honourable mentions: Uber, urbano

This word was given to me in the airport by a colleague. It’s a way of saying ‘now now’. The problem is that nothing actually happens ‘utualito’ in El Salvador.

If only...

That is a worker fast asleep in our spare room

This could be aimed at many people or institutions. Insurance companies and doctors not doing things in advance (see T). Our landlord, who was great in an emergency (see J) but never got round to painting walls, removing wires or adding trees (all promised) in four years. Then had the temerity to try to put the rent up to $1600 a month in a country whose average monthly wage is around $500.

Our back door was never fixed - we managed to
make it work, but had occasional lapses (I'm locked out of the
house here, and had to contort my arm through the window)

It could be aimed at school (see A), but the issue here would actually be the opposite: things did happen utualito, but often with very little advance notice. A very recent example is that teachers are granted an exit interview to share thoughts with members of administration and the school board before moving on. I was sent their list of prospective questions less than 2 hours before my interview. On a teaching day. This may have been the first thing I mentioned.

Permissions and money for school trips often came
after the deadline 'because that's how it's done here',
making the point of having a deadline...pointless...

School field and running track - took a long time
to sort, and was regularly delayed

It definitely could apply to construction, particularly of certain roads (see W) that have seemingly been ‘under construction’ for at least the four years of us living in El Salvador, and seem nowhere near being completed. Definitely not ‘utualito’.

Stock photo of people sorting roads in El Salvador. Or maybe
not El Salvador, as they look like they are making progress...

Some construction is happening much faster - the new
national stadium seems to have popped up out of nowhere

In Malawi, things taking a while would often be accompanied by saying “T.I.A.”: This Is Africa. I feel T.I.E.S. (This is El Salvador), T.I.C.A. (This is Central America) or T.I.L.A. (This is Latin America) could easily be applied to some aspects of life here. Definitely not always ‘utualito’, but something that you often just get used to.

The delightful first mechanic, Erik. More slippery
than an eel covered with coconut oil.

Christmas decorations often stayed up into February

V is for…volcanes

Honorable mentions: viaje

Had to be, really. It sells itself as the Land of Volcanoes, after all. How many there are depends on your source. Wikipedia says 22, NASA says 20, other sources range from 6 to 170.

Boqueron - Santa Tecla's volcano

Izalco - the most 'volcano-looking' of the volcanoes

Volcanoes dominate the landmass. They’ve made crater lakes, such as Coatepeque (see C) and Ilopango.

Coatepeque

Ilopango

Their characteristics mean that many of the country’s numerous beaches are ‘black’.

Sunset at Acajutla, in the west of the country

One of the beaches at El Zonte

They are great for climbing and even running up and along (Santa Ana and Boqueron), camping atop (Conchagua, see C), or staring at in wonder whilst your car has broken down (San Miguel, see F).

Running up Santa Ana Volcano in the Ultravolcanes 2025 race

On Conchagua Volcano, enjoying the sunrise

On a morning run with San Miguel Volcano looming

They have fascinating backstories (Izalco). You can slide down them (Boqueron). You can go in them and climb a baby volcano inside a volcano (Boqueron).

On the crater rim of a steaming Izalco, which used to be
known as the Lighthouse of the Pacific as it would erupt so often

The Rainbow Slide down Boqueron:
note that rainbow colour...

Inside Boqueron

Santa Ana is the most visited - too visited, by too many people. We would always take a private guide, Delmy, to beat the crowds and for me to practise my Spanish (see H). But it seems to be the day trip to do, particularly from the surfing spots. I hope they monitor and regulate this in the future. Or have more people selling chocobananas at the top…

Our final time going up the 'normal' route, in May 2026

Dad and Mum scaling Santa Ana

The traffic jam, caused by the public groups that come up later in the day.
There's only one route up and down on the most popular way.

W is for…Waze

Honourable mentions: Wi-Fi, Walmart

Waze is an app that helps you navigate traffic. It is beyond necessary in certain parts of El Salvador. This is partly because of the quality of the roads (see U), and partly because of the crazy volume of traffic.

This long line of traffic? 5:58am. It was genuinely
faster for me to cycle to school than drive,
because of this and the one-way systems.

An alternative bus

Traffic is insane, even after the sun has gone down

This is quite possibly the biggest complaint that many have about this country. At first I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the roads - Malawi rarely had more than one lane in each direction, after all. However, holes in this viewpoint soon emerged. Literally, as we swerved to avoid manholes that had had their covers removed for no apparent reason.

This overpass was completed whilst we lived here

The mayor of our department posted this just over a week ago, suggesting
they want to fix the problem as it is costing a lot of money to taxpayers

Driving is not helped by: drivers who wouldn’t get near to passing a test in other countries; an increasing number of motorbike drivers who all feel that the white lines separating lanes are in fact a lane; an at times baffling one-way system in place in many places in the city; and a chaotic and frankly shoddy, polluting public transport system. Their drivers are arguably the worst of all.

Other driving issues can be funny: cows crossing!

Not a fan of the buses

That is almost 50 minutes for almost
5 kilometres. After the dentist. Delightful.

The nadir of traffic is the Los Chorros strip that takes you from Santa Tecla towards popular places like Lake Coatepeque, the Ruta de las Flores, the country’s second city of Santa Ana, and the volcano of the same name. It is hell unless driven on a Sunday. Some people use it to commute to school. I would either move, or quit. I wouldn’t be able to cope.

This was also our slipway onto Los Chorros...

Accidents are common on Los Chorros

It’s a minor miracle that we had no accidents when driving. Others have not been so lucky. It seems that people who are so sweet and lovely (see P) transform into F1 maniacs when behind the wheel.

Improving the roads...at an inopportune time. This
was on our way to an overnight camping trip.

This incident went viral at the start of
the 2026 men's football World Cup

X is for…Xolotl

Honourable mentions: xahcalmōyōtl

Neither of these are Spanish words. The pick here refers to a mythological figure for the Nahua, a group of people who lived here long before any European arrival.

This is not Xolotl, but this is a prehispanic statue

Memorial to the massacre that killed about 1,000 people in 1981

It’s been enjoyable and interesting to learn about the people and life before the Spanish invasion. Elements of the influences of groups such as the Maya and Pipil are still visible today.

The pose is not influenced by indigenous people -
I don't know what I am doing there

Depiction of life here before the Spanish,
found in MUNA, the main historical museum

Holding an interest in history, I probably should have gone to see more of the pre-Hispanic sites in the country. The two I saw - Joy de Ceren and Cihuatán - were intriguing and wildly different.

Joya de Ceren, the 'Pompeii of the Americas'

Cihuatan, a much more common style of ruin

Obviously the impact of the Spanish arrival was devastating - often terminal - for most indigenous groups, though the Maya were long gone by the sixteenth century. It has resulted in beautiful architecture, if nothing else.

Artwork at MUNA

El Salvador's National Palace

More recent history is also tragic, in the form of the Civil War and gang takeover. The former is most evocative in the northeast of the country, where the El Mozote massacre happened. Seeing the seemingly never-ending list of names of missing in Parque Cuscatlan in El Salvador is also sobering.

Going into guerrilla tunnels in Perquin

A lot of names. A lot of missing.

Most countries have dark periods of history. I feel that El Salvador is coming through the other side, with the caveat of how the gang problem has been dealt with (see B). But for a small country, a lot has happened in this area. Removing words that start with X is one of them.

Hopefully this era is now firmly in the past

Dressing up 'Salvador Style' for Independence
Day celebrations in school

Y is for…yaquear

Honourable mentions: yucca

This isn’t a Spanish word, either. Not one you’d find in the dictionary, at least. I’ve found out that it is Reggaeton slang for ‘dancing in your own style’. But it gives me a chance to talk about Reggaeton, and therefore music.

Not much ukulele, this time - here I am playing
drums to help with an IPC Entry Point

I’ve tried to get into Spanish language music. I think Bad Bunny is alright. But I like to listen to it on my own terms, and not have it blared at me from every other shop, market or bus.

Bad Bunny in his super Super Bowl show

Buses pollute music as well as gas

Nightlife, live music and dancing until dawn have not really been my thing for the last 10+ years. Other people will have far better ideas and thoughts about clubs and bars. The one bit of live music I went to see was an ABBA tribute band, and Hannah also went to see Ricky Martin. Yes, that Ricky Martin. Livin’ La Vida Loca and all that.

Republik Bar was the place for tribute acts

Hannah knew 2 songs

As the country’s reputation and safety grows, more international acts will come. Shakira came in February. I didn’t go as I couldn’t justify spending just under $100 on a ticket to essentially write a blog about seeing a famous singer, when so many people here worship her.

Shakira did a Central American 'residency' here in 2026

Indoctrination into loud music is young, here: this is a
Grade 5 party that they have for finishing primary school

Arguably preferable to the dum, dum-dum-dum, dum noise of every reggaeton song, mind. In small doses, fine. When it’s hard to escape from, it becomes annoying. Definitely showing my age, here!

Music not playing loudly in the pub, for a change

On a boat, so away from music, in Suchitoto

Z is for…zapote

Honourable mentions: zipline, Zacatillo

One thing that has surprised me is the new foods that I have discovered in El Salvador. I’d never heard of guayaba (different to a guava), ayote, chayote, jocote or zapote before. The latter has orange flesh around a shiny, dark stone, and can taste like a fig. Great when ripe, horrendous if it’s turned.

Elote loco: crazy corn!

Zapotes at Santa Tecla's central market

Many of these would be found at our weekend market put on by the Ministry of Agriculture (see M), though other new flavours such as alguashte (ground pumpkin seeds that can be eaten with fruit) can be found elsewhere.

Pan de Muerto - always looked forward to this in October and November

Not everything new is nice - I'm not a fan of micheladas, particularly
ones topped with prawns so that the fishy juice drops into the beer.

New tastes have not been restricted to fresh produce. I relished any opportunity to have sopa de tortilla, and enjoyed stuffing myself with chicharron. I didn’t enjoy tamales as much, possibly scarred by my first experience of them when I only learnt after finishing that you’re not supposed to eat the banana leaf that is wrapped around them.

This is actually sopa de gallina (chicken soup),
which we had after scaling El Trifino in Montecristo.
Out of shot is a massive piece of chicken.

Fried pork belly or rind: tasty, but so dry!

Of course, I cannot mention new food without giving a shoutout to the humble pupusa. The joke here is that you can keep any Salvadorean onside by saying how much you like pupusas. You’ll probably be asked if you’re here long enough.

Frijol y queso (beans and cheese) is the standard - this
was before starting a volcano hike up Picacho

This is how pupusas are made

They’re good, particularly after a run (see Q) and when you need some sustenance. They are not the best thing you will ever eat in your life, but they’re good.