El Salvador - Yodelling in Salvadorean Switzerland

June 20

Hello everyone!

The first weekend of the school summer holidays is here. For me, it’s also the final weekend of my time living in El Salvador. A time to tie up loose ends, get ready for the final departure…or go on an almost 20km long hike…

Suiza...in El Salvador

At the top of Santa Ana Volcano

I was invited by some friends to hike up Santa Ana Volcano. I’ve already done this a few times, and actually did it last month.

El Salvador's tallest volcano

It's normally a 4 hour total hike for Santa Ana Volcano

The difference this time was the route up the volcano. There is a common route up the southern side. At the top, you can see inside the crater, but only in a certain section. This time, however, the route would start in a different place and end on the northern side.

Elapsed time was probably in the region of 9 hours for this

That's where most people stand - I took this picture from the other side

A nice 18km walk is how it was sold to me. I therefore turned my alarm back on for a 4:50am wake up, to get to the village of Los Naranjos. I would call it sleepy, but most places in El Salvador aren’t really rocking and rolling at 7am on a Sunday.

With minimal traffic, the drive took a little over an hour

Apparently Los Naranjos is known for its flowers

Soon after, we couldn’t hear any urban sounds. Instead, we were surrounded by birdsong and the occasional swoosh of the wind through coffee plants.

Starting our nice walk

This is not the volcano. This is a different hill, or cerro.

Having accepted this invitation very much last minute, I hadn’t really looked at our route. I was this gobsmacked when we arrived at a landscape that screamed Sussex UK much more than El Salvador. Rolling green hills, little green hedges, and very much not green cows. Lots of cows.

It's what I'll possiby see next weekend!

Marching cows

Perhaps the cows are why this particular area is dubbed the ‘Switzerland of El Salvador’. Living up to the stereotype, I did a bit of yodelling as we traipsed back through this area later in the day. It may have confirmed once and for all that any singing voice I possess would be classed as ‘low’. Speaking of low, a low moment for some of our gang was walking through this muddy section…

So lush and green!

I was so glad that this fate didn't befall me

If you're able to look up whilst in Salvadorean Switzerland, you get some tremendous panoramas. Hills, volcanoes, lakes, pockets of civilisation - all from a viewpoint where silence reigns supreme.

The mounds in the distance belong to Guatemala 

It's as if the log was placed there for this very reason

At this point the walk begins to head uphill. It needed to, really - we were heading to the peak of a volcano, after all. It became steep, and slippery, quickly. 

For some reason, no one batted an eyelid at this

Towering trees

Three hours in and we were still trundling up, with no end - or sky - in sight. I was beginning to regret not really thinking about what this hike would entail. Only bringing 1 litre of water and a small hydration drink, for example. 

Trees: good for the planet, and for holding when hiking uphill

Millipede

When the crisp blue sky became visible (briefly, as there was a bit of cloud around), it was often in between phases of crouching and squat-walking through sections of wildly overgrown vines and branches. Our guide resorted to using his machete at times to get us through.

Thankfully, the 35% chance of rain happened on the
drive home, rather than the hike

Very much the road less travelled

Through we got, eventually coming to a flatter, open space. We knew we were close to the top; however, in a big difference to the ‘normal’ route up Santa Ana, there was still a lot of plant life. This is possibly due to the wind, though very much an unconfirmed theory. Either way, it gave us one final obstacle to pass before reaching the crater rim.

Doesn't seem like the top of a volcano!

A random ditch that we had to traverse

The rim itself appears quite quickly from this side. It gives a very different perspective of the turquoise pool that shimmers inside the crater. It’s hard to tell from the more popular side, for example, that there is quite a wide bank of sand about halfway up the crater.

2,381 metres above sea level

It last erupted in 2005

What is the same is that the peak of Santa Ana Volcano offers a stunning sight. Whether you prefer the pool inside the crater or staring at Guatemalan mountains in the distance, it is an overload of visual pleasure being at the top. 

Greenery on top of a volcano??

Our hiking squad

After recuperating with lunch (my lack of preparedness being highlighted by the fact that my ‘lunch’ was a protein bar and a bag of nuts), we made our way back the way we came. More wonderful views, more weary legs.

Views of northern El Salvador and Guatemala from the top

Towards the end, we had to walk through a field of cows.
One of them wasn't overly happy about that.

Hiking this route is not something that many get to do. Seeing from the ‘other’ side of the peak of Santa Ana Volcano is not something that many get to do. Though my legs are currently screaming at me as I write this, it was absolutely worth it. Packing can wait - I’m obviously not done with El Salvaor just yet.

Suiza!

The Dark Side of the Volcano

Zurich...with volcanoes...

Love you all,

Matt

Belize - The Caye to a Good Time

April 8-10

Hello everyone!

After a few days on the mainland, it was time to explore the reason Belize is such a popular tourist destination: the Cayes. 

Nurse sharks. Many nurse sharks.

Southern stingray

Belize has over 400 Cayes, pronounced keys. We'd had a sneak peek of a few of these from the air when flying in from Honduras. Though you can take a very quick flight from Belize City, most people travel to the major Cayes by boat.

We were staying quite close to the airport,
which made for a spectacular sundowner

Boats also go to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, and to Mexico

We were heading to Caye Caulker which, along with Ambergris Caye, is one of the more populated and visited islands. The beautiful boat ride, taking in turquoise waters, takes an hour.

Caye Caulker is red, Shark Ray Alley is in blue

The water was a lovely temperature

What struck us first upon arriving on Caye Caulker was the smell. And not in a good way. It stank. The sewage-like odour actually emanates from the sargassum that lines some of the shore at this time of year.

Sargassum is basically free-floating seaweed

The Blue Hole, made famous by Jacques Cousteau, is a 2 hour boat ride away 

Luckily, this didn't permeate too far into the island. It's actually two islands, separated by a small channel called The Split. This was actually created by the same hurricane that forced the country to relocate its capital city to Belmopan in 1961.

We paddleboarded across the channel to briefly see the northern section

The beach is on the right - that green tall thing in the distance is a diving dock

Strangely, that split is where the only sandy beach exists on the southern island. If you want pristine white sand, you'd go to another island. Caye Caulker trades on being a laid-back island on which you relax and lose track of time.

We did our best to follow the rules

Can't go wrong with a rum punch here

Admittedly, there are times when you shouldn't relax here. One is on its sandy streets, which are populated by one-gear bicycles and elongated golf carts. Cycling around on a low-quality bike that struggles to keep its chain in place unless you're constantly moving can move the stress needle a tad.

Our taxi!

Driving is still bad here, even in golf carts

The other activity that does that here is arguably the main reason for visiting the Cayes. Belize is home to the second largest barrier reef in the world. Within that, you find these…

There are approximately between 4,000 and
14,000 nurse sharks in Belizean waters

Nurse sharks, particularly these ones, are extremely docile. They are found in an area dubbed Shark Ray Alley. Hovering above the coral in the warm, tranquil waters, dozens of nurse sharks congregate to…well, eat. 

Nurse sharks can grow to be over 4 metres long

Nurse sharks are bottom-dwellers, meaning that
they sometimes feed on the sea floor

Not eating humans, though we are the reason for them hanging out here. Originally, local fishermen used to come to the spot to clean their catches. This filled the water with morsels that were perfect for the nurse sharks. We had gone on a snorkeling trip with an animal-friendly company that doesn't interact with marine life; other companies feed the sharks. It's a tricky one, as the sharks wouldn't be there for us to see and swim near if they weren't getting a reliable source of food. However, it does alter the ecosystem.

Nurse sharks are fully protected under Belizean law

They are named after the sound they make when sucking up food

Sharks are not the only attraction. The water was a little bit murky, and I'm not the best snorkeler, meaning the quality of the pictures is a bit distant and limited. I didn't hear too many fish names from our guide, but we did see a beautiful spotlight parrotfish and schools of Atlantic blue tang.

A collection of blue tang

These are two spotted eagle rays, beautiful creatures

This was within the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, a protected area first established almost 40 years ago. Hol Chan is Mayan for ‘little channel’, reflecting one particular zone of the reserve that has what seems to be walls of colourful coral. Sadly, it probably used to be much more colourful, and also may never be this colourful again.

The Belize Barrier Reef is the second-largest in the world

The reef hosts over 70 hard coral and 36 soft coral species 

Other stops on our snorkelling tour included a shipwreck, which I think is called Amigo’s Wreck, and a spot where we found a couple of turtles. Lovely. 

The Amigo's Wreck was sunk by a local dive operator

Belize hosts three types of sea turtle: Hawksbill, Loggerhead and Green

Manatees also come here at certain times of the year. Usually, the big sea cows start arriving in June, so our very optimistic boat drive to find some was just that. We did, however, spy some dolphins as we bobbed away from Caye Caulker. 

A school of fish in the Coral Gardens

These are likely to be Atlantic bottlenose dolphins 

The other fish you’re likely to see on Caye Caulker, and one you definitely don’t need a snorkel to find, are rays. Southern stingrays, to be precise, who congregate on the western side of the narrow island as the Sun begins to dip. One of them went right under my paddleboard. They move so serenely.

Females can be over 2 metres wide

Those rays, like the sharks seen soon after, are after a meal. They should have come ashore. The food on Caye Caulker was incredible. From cheap, calorific fryjacks to sumptuous lionfish, via a surprisingly refreshing soursop ice-cream, the island’s food scene is varied, vibrant and very good.

Fish is obviously a popular dish here

Marvellous meat at Chef Kareem's shack

Soursop ice-cream

We did occasionally have healthy food as well

Not as expensive as I feared it would be either, though you do need to remember you are on a very popular Caribbean island. Island prices are a thing with some items.

This is a soursop - it was almost $15BZD

The 1% would of course have their own boats...

I can see why Caye Caulker is popular. Laidback with lovely people, lovely food, and a beautiful place in which to recharge whilst seeing some beautiful marine life. Just as long as they’ve already had their meal…

Golf cart taxi!

Hummingbird outside a cafe

Stunning sunset

Baby shark, do-doo-do-doo-doo-doo...

Love you all,

Matt