El Salvador - A Walk in the Parque

August 5

Hello everyone!

I’ll be living in El Salvador for at least the next two years. Apparently there are some spectacular sights and experiences to be had here…with a car. Having arrived at 10pm at night, this wasn’t an option the following morning. So here’s a park close to the hotel.

Cyclists on a trail in Parque del Bicentenario

A colourful section of trail in the park

This is the Parque del Bicentenario. It translates as Bicentennial Park and is located between the cities of Santa Tecla and San Salvador. 

Internet photo of an entrance to Parque del Bicentenario

The large Ecopark is to the northeast

I’m going to be living and working in Santa Tecla. The impression I have is that it is a city in its own right but also closely connected to the country’s capital to its immediate east. 

Part of the campus where I'll be working

Bananas growing in the park -
not ready to eat, unfortunately

Back to the park. I had no idea why it had this name, mainly because I know very little about El Salvador. I did know that it, along with most places around here, was part of the Spanish Empire a few hundred years ago. I discovered that in 1811 there was the first significant revolt against Spanish rule in the region. It happened in San Salvador, with many unhappy with the lack of liberation after revolutions in America and France. Their feelings were exacerbated by the appointment of an unpopular man, Antonio Basilio Gutiérrez y Ulloa, as governor.

I wonder whether it was really this smiley...

From what I’ve read, it seems that the initial revolt withered due to a lack of broader support. Nonetheless, this event, known as the First Shout of Independence, is still an important part of the country’s history. It is celebrated every November 5th, and was memorialised 200 years later with the creation of…you guessed it…Parque del Bicentenario! 

17,500 trees were planted between 2011 and 2017

The aim is to recover the forest area to a
size similar to which existed before
coffee cultivation took over

My body felt like I could have slept for 200 years after the marathon effort of getting here from the UK. My body clock, however, had different ideas. There’s a seven hour time difference. My body clock telling me that I was being lazy as it was past midday therefore got me up just after 5am. Better to explore than twiddle my thumbs, I thought.

The entrance is only a kilometre from the hotel

I really want to treat El Salvador as its own experience. However, there are times, particularly at the start of any new adventure, when your mind is drawn to previous experiences. I seem to be comparing things to Malawi a lot, which must be mildly irritating to the new friends I’ve made who haven’t been there. One example here is the picture below. San Salvador has many good roads with multiple lanes! One in Lilongwe can only dream. I also took this photo because it possibly shows the standard of driving. Car crash at 6am. Reporter on the other side of the vehicles, talking into a camera. Standard Friday morning?

The white truck kept edging closer as the yellow lorry
was trying to tow the car, leading to a bit of a stare-off

The park itself isn’t enormous - I know there is at least one more in the city that is larger - but it houses a lot of variety. It has picnic areas, trails and an adventure playground for kids. There is also plenty of shade which seems to be needed even at 6am. It feels a bit sticky but not overly humid.

It's surrounded by native trees - most
invasive species have been removed

Banana leaves and (I think) bougainvillea

There is a perimeter route but the real fun comes from running through the midsection of the park. It feels very natural, with verdant green trees and bushes spreading themselves across parts of the earthen pathways. The tracks are pretty well signposted, though many of the maps placed at intersections seem to have ripped.

An intact map showing the different trails

There are some trails which seem to extend outside of the park. I may have accidentally taken one on my first day, heading west and possibly outside of the park boundaries. An elderly man with a rather large machete was sitting at an intersection. He got up, rotten teeth exposed, and pulled out a book which looked like tickets. I had a suspicion, since confirmed, that I didn’t have to pay to use the park. I had enough Spanish up my sleeve to talk my way out of the situation and get him to point an alternative route back to the park. He wasn’t threatening, and I think the tickets were connected to parking, which you do have to pay for.

Not sure whether this is lack of maintenance
or the result of a previous storm

Steps in the eastern section of the park - because being
over 900 metres above sea level isn't high enough

Parque del Bicentenario is said to be home to more than 420 species of fauna and more than 500 specimens of wild flora. The flowers are vibrantly beautiful. I’ve seen a couple of different bird species and a couple of unknown animals which look like massive hamsters. Plenty more to find in here, too. My buddies said you can find armadillos in the park, and I read that it’s a common stopping point for parakeets that migrate to different points in San Salvador and La Libertad. I’ll keep my eyes open!

Being rainy season, colours and flowers are in full bloom

Well, that’s when I’m not looking at the floor. It is the wet season and the park’s trails can get quite muddy…

I almost slipped and faceplanted in this section

According to my research, this is the first protected natural area that is located in the metropolitan area of San Salvador. It’s really nice to have a place in which to escape the noise, traffic and general hubbub of city life. I came three times in my first week, and will be here many times in the future. Not a bad ‘First Shout’ for a place to explore in El Salvador…

Running through a damp, verdant Parque del Bicentenario

Some very heavy-set eyes, there

Love you all,

Matt