El Salvador - The Lighthouse of the Pacific

 May 10

Hello everyone!

May 10th is Dia De La Madre in El Salvador: Mother’s Day. It’s a national holiday here, meaning a day off work to spend time with those who are mothers. Or do something that your mother may not approve…

Before hiking Volcan de Izalco

Just inside the edge of the crater of Izalco

That behind us is Volcan de Izalco. It is El Salvador’s youngest volcano. It is said to be one of the more difficult volcano hikes in the country. Having only scaled two volcanoes (Boqueron and Santa Ana) in Central America’s smallest country, I wasn’t really sure what that meant. Particularly in comparison to the beasts in countries to the north and south…

Izalco is the cone-shaped volcano on the left 

A pretty view of Izalco framed by foliage from Cerro Verde

Not to say that there was a lack of respect for the Izalco volcano. When viewed from nearby Santa Ana and Cerro Verde volcanoes, it looks…steep.

Cerro Verde is on the left, Izalco on the right

From the starting point of the Izalco hike,
you're actually at a similar height to its peak

By some judges, it’s also the most active volcano in Central America. It’s erupted more than 50 times since 1770. On average, that’s once every five years. It erupted so much that it was given the nickname of ‘the Lighthouse of the Pacific’. This is because the ships were guided by the constant eruptions and lava flows from its top.

Apparently the steam is from previous rainwater
touching the rocks, rather than an imminent eruption

Pretty wildlife, such as this Spiny Liazrd, can be found in the area

It hasn’t erupted since 1966, however, and climbing to its peak is permitted. Knowing that the volcano was exposed to the elements, a group of us wanted to set off early to beat the sun. This involved meeting our guide at the petrol station for nearby Cerro Verde National Park, from where we would start our adventure.

The park has a coffee shop and overrated restaurant called Casa 1800

A slight misunderstanding meant that our guide was left stranded at the petrol station for the turning to head towards Cerro Verde National Park. Quite a long way from where we were when we realised this: in Cerro Verde National Park….

We had actually driven past that petrol station but
hadn't realized that this place, 30 minutes away from Cerro
Verde, was what he meant when he said 'Cerro Verde'

After managing to find a guide to take us before the public tour at 10:45am, we left at around 8:30am to head…down. Strange scenario this, one in which you have to hike down hundreds of metres from the Cerro Verde volcano before starting to scale Izalco. Very green, owing to the fact that it is dormant and hasn’t erupted in hundreds of years. 

Almost all of the first section was steps like these

There is a hotel higher up on Cerro Verde. Apparently it was built
so that visitors could stay and watch Izalco erupting. It
was finished soon after 1966: Izalco's last eruption... 

At its base, the volcano seems a bit more imposing. Our guide informed us that the streak down its centre which looks like a path is in fact incredibly dangerous, and that we had to zigzag along the side of this. 

Our guide said the word 'toboggan' when referring
to that streak. Not sure I'd strap in for that...

The start of the hike up to the top

In spite of the threats of a 45° incline, the walk up was reasonably easy to do, with lots of big rocks to ramble on. These rocks started to feel warm - and then hot - to the touch as we got closer to the top, which was a slightly surreal experience. The steam emanating from vents near the top and the lack of sunshine added to the atmosphere.

Its name in Nahuatl means 'place of the black sands'

Vegetation is understandably sparse on the volcano

A little over half an hour after starting from its base, we reached the peak of Izalco: 1950 metres above sea level. Unlike other volcanoes I’ve scaled, you can circumnavigate the top of Izalco. That means you have a 360 degree view: ranging from Cerro Verde and Santa Ana volcanoes to the north, to the…well, you should be able to see the sea. You can also see the lava field from the last eruption, in 1966.

The Pacific Ocean would be visible on a clear day

The 1966 eruption destroyed coffee fields but didn't,
to our guide's knowledge, result in mass loss of life 

Arguably the most fascinating view is the crater. A surprisingly shallow crater, which probably doesn’t descend further than 10 metres from the edge. Walking through the steam had the feel of being in a sauna. Whilst doing this, you can see how steep some of the sides of Izalco are. 

The crater is about 250 metres in diameter

Walking around the edge of the crater

The whole hike took a little under 4 hours at a pretty leisurely pace. It was nice to conquer a volcano which has a reputation of being a challenging climb. A very enjoyable Mother’s Day morning.

Going down was slow but not too slippery

Enjoying the views and a water break!

A more enjoyable volcano than other recent ones we have scaled

A 6km jaunt in total

Love you all,

Matt

El Salvador and Guatemala - Con Mis Padres

 March 20-31

Hello everyone!

Wherever I move, I know I’ll be lucky enough to have some brave visitors who will try just about anything I ask them to do. Meet the parents!

Proud parents atop Santa Ana volcano

Enjoying a craft beer in Antigua Guatemala

They’ve come to Korea, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Malawi. They weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to visit Central America for the first time.

Eating delicious food in Seoul in 2010

Zooming down Astana's Ishim river in 2012

Walking around wintry Prague in 2014

On safari in Liwonde NP in 2017

Normally I write about new places or experiences. However, I decided to ease my parents into Latin America with some of the highlights I’ve had so far. This blog is therefore slightly different - it recaps places I’ve been before (with links to those blogs if you want to learn more about them), but explains how the experience was slightly different.

Overlooking Antigua Guatemala in 2024!

I did also have some downtime - I'm also on holiday!

Stop 1: Santa Tecla (previous blog for Ecoparque) 

It’s always interesting getting fresh perspectives on life in El Salvador. I tend to forget that the buses have spikes sticking out of their rims, or that driving 5 kilometres shouldn’t take up to an hour. It’s nice to be reminded that some of these elements are…unusual.

The 'Cultural Palace' in Santa Tecla - I'm yet to visit, and we didn't go in this time either

Walking the dogs in Parque Bicentenario

One thing that is particularly unusual at the moment is the weather, specifically the heat and humidity. We are building up to rainy season, so this is when the climate can become a little bit uncomfortable. 

6am sunrise view in school - my parents spent time meeting my class
and debating whether Ronaldo is better than Messi. Because that's important.

More dog walking, though Mini is a big
fan of being dragged along grass

Though higher up than nextdoor San Salvador, Santa Tecla is not immune from the heat. You would think that an area of greenery, such as the nearby Ecoparque on the slope of the volcano, would bring a bit of relief from the heat. It didn’t, and was probably not the time to forget the route to the viewing points…

We fatefully went for slope rather than steps

We eventually considered it good volcano training!

The main difference to normal life was trying new restaurants, such as El Xolo. This is a more high-end establishment which prizes itself on using Mayan history to infuse its cuisine. The portion sizes suggest to me that Mayans must have often been hungry.

Something to do with tiger milk, this one

The cocktails were tremendous

Stop 2: Antigua Guatemala (previous blogs for Antigua in 2023 and 2024)

Of all the places in the Central American countries under the C-4 travel agreement, Antigua Guatemala is possibly the most popular city to visit. It has just about everything a tourist would want.

Fruit smoothis at Caoba Farm, possibly my favourite eating spot in Antigua

Carpets, called alfombras, were created on Palm Sunday

The first time I came here was in April 2023. It was in Semana Santa: Holy Week. It can seem like the whole of Central America descends on Antigua at this time to watch the parades. I decided I wouldn’t come again during Holy Week. That lasted…one year.

One of many processions - more will
happen as Easter Sunday approaches

We calculated over 100 people were carrying this float

In reality, I’m always happy to pop up north to this colonial gem. It has many excellent places to eat, photogenic streets and a backdrop of green hills and imposing volcanoes.

The famous Santa Catalina arch, with
Volcan de Agua appearing under it

A short walk up to the cross gives you a spectacular city view

One new place we went to was a ‘speakeasy’ cocktail bar called ULEW, which is hidden within another bar. You enter through a British telephone box. There is no menu. Instead, a waiter comes over and asks you a few questions. What eventually arrives, in a unique glass on a unique coaster, is delightful.

Like being in a TARDIS!

At about $10 each for a custom-made, personalised
drink, we thought this was actually quite good value

We also tried this fun ice-cream shop...

Stop 3: Ruta de las Flores (previous blogs for Atacó and Apaneca)

Upon returning to El Salvador, we stayed overnight in the pretty town of Ataco. Unlike previous visits in October 2022 and May 2023, we hadn’t been here during Semana Santa. The quality of the carpets was a bit different. Arguably more creative, as they were using recycled bottle tops and lollipops in their alfombras.

The real heroes are the people who drank the
beer to provide the bottle tops, of course

The parades trample over the carpets as a way of showing sacrifice

In the morning we headed to the next town on the Ruta de las Flores, Apaneca, to do some ziplining. I did this on my own in October 2022. It’s always nice to share the experience with other people, particularly my mum, who couldn’t stop grinning throughout.

The longest wire is over 400 metres long

One also descended by over 100 metres,
meaning you can go pretty fast!

Taking a hand off always runs the risk of you
spinning and looking like an idiot. I didn't, luckily.

Stop 4: Lago de Coatepeque (previous blog)

We then had a couple of more relaxing days in Santa Tecla, which we used as a base for small trips to places like La Libertad’s fish market.

The pier is closed so the best place to buy is in the market

A scary pufferfish!

We explored the beach areas on Maundy Thursday. I’m not sure whether this was a public holiday in El Salvador, but it seemed like everybody had vacated the big city and poured down to the coast. We found a place with a lovely lunch (I had been there three weeks prior for breakfast and had waited forever for anything to come to the table), a strange perk being that you can drink beer out of a horn.

Shrimp cocktail with a view

Horny?

The Easter weekend was being spent at one of my favourite spots in El Salvador: Lake Coatepeque. It looked as stunning as ever from a distance, though a bit green upon closer inspection…

Mini was desperate to inspect the water...

By Sunday morning it looked like this, covered with algae.
The oil slicks from jetskis wouldn't help, either.

The water away from the shore seemed cleaner, which is where we took our inflatable kayak and paddleboard. Our dogs, complete with their striking lifejackets, enjoy trying to eat the waves (and the paddle) when on the latter.

The dogs are on the board here

My Sunday morning paddle took me 3 kilometres
around part of the lake, which itself is much bigger

Swim ready!

The main reason for coming here, however, looms large over the lake. The country’s highest volcano, Santa Ana. I hiked it in September 2022 and was looking forward to doing so again. My parents were feeling a combination of anticipation and trepidation. They’d been in training by walking in the UK, but nothing can compare to scaling Santa Ana. If nothing else, there is nowhere this high in the UK!

The sign near the top - it mostly tells you that it's dangerous!

All smiles at the start of the hike

We started early to beat the heat and the crowds. With only a couple of stops and very little complaint, we made it to the summit in a little over 2 hours. I was immensely proud, and they deserved the incredible views of the crater and lake (not to mention the ice-creams!) from the top. 

Izalco is the volcano in the background

The top has a sulphuric lake in the crater

The clouds parted enough to see the lake in all its glory

Going down…less enjoyable. A couple of slips, a traffic jam and an increasingly hot day were factors. I do also think it is harder coming down some volcanoes and mountains than going up them. What heartened my parents was the number of times a Salvadorean offered to help them. 

A bottleneck meant we didn't move for 10 minutes

Still all smiles at the bottom, if a little bit dustier!

It was a lovely ten days in which my parents sampled lots of different food, met dozens of people and had a wonderful first experience of Central America. On top of that, they conquered a volcano! 

Steak at Casa Escobar in Antigua, a lovely treat

Admiring the view of Cerro Verde and
Izalco on the Volcan de Santa Ana hike

Seeing black sand at Puerto de La Libertad

Ziplining in Apaneca

Love you all,

Matt