El Salvador - Looking for Lakes and Lagoons

October 21-22

Hello everyone!

El Salvador is known as the Land of Volcanoes. It could also justify being called the Area of Agua.

Laguna de Jocotal

Laguna de Apastepeque

This week of holiday was an opportunity for us to explore El Salvador’s many lakes and lagoons, inflatable kayak and paddleboard on standby for some splashing about. Many of these are located in the east of the country, which is why we decided to base ourselves on the edge of El Salvador’s third largest city of San Miguel.

The dogs both enjoy life in the water

Red is San Miguel, purple is San Vicente volcano, orange is
Laguna de Apastepeque and blue is Laguna de Jocotal.

Our drive from Santa Tecla took us the northern route on the Pan-American highway. Driving this way after seeing Puerta del Diablo allowed us to take a brief stop to admire the San Vicente volcano.

Though not too long, doing the journey in a
car without A/C led to a lot of tiredness

At 2,182 metres above sea level, San Vicente is
the second highest volcano in the country

Further on from this towering volcano was Laguna de Apastepeque, a small lake about 70 km west of San Miguel. Set in a volcanic crater, the shimmering water looked perfect for a paddle. We decided we could stop there on the way back later in the week. 

The name Apastepeque in the indigenous
Nahuatl language means 'Hill of the Alabaster'

The following day, we ventured south from San Miguel to a place called Laguna de Jocotal. An hour’s drive from the big city, and significantly nearer the coast, is El Salvador’s first internationally-recognised wetland.

The lagoon has an area of 4,500 hectares - about the same
number of football stadiums all put next to each other

A cow cooling off in the water

Upon arriving, we couldn’t actually see any water. Plenty of tall reeds are flourishing, blocking any view of the lagoon. Some old men were meandering their rickety, wooden fishing boats away from the shore. The scene was reminiscent of being in the Okavango Delta. 

These boats are sitting close to water - water that you can't see

Paddling fishermen manoeuvring towards the centre of the lagoon

A recent count found that around 260 fishermen from various communities work in the El Jocotal lagoon. It’s known for its biodiversity, particularly the number and variety of birds which use it either as a home or a stop on a migratory route. 

This map shows examples of migration routes which pass through Jocotal

Unidentified bird

The water is connected to the enormous San Miguel volcano which looms to the north. The lagoon was formed through the capture of rainwater in the volcanic rock. 

A view from the east - San Miguel would be on the
right if you had a wider viewpoint

Many empty boats sit along the eastern shoreline

Wanting to kayak and paddle - and having seen on a website that you could do that - we spent time wandering around the edge looking for a route in. After asking, we were told that there was a ‘swimming area’...behind a gate. Eventually we were able to get through the gate to find a pool the size of a small hotel swimming pool. Not ideal for kayaking.

In theory, that canal in the distance would have taken us into the lagoon

After doing a lap of the pool, the dogs went in for a swim

One other reason for not using an inflatable kayak or paddleboard with two dogs on board can also be found on that same website. Not just birds to be found here, with apparently both alligators and crocodiles present! I’m not convinced they have both, but probably not worth the risk. 

It's particularly green as we're at the end of the wet season

A few minutes before, that cow had been sat under
the tarp, almost as if it was the one serving food

I’d like to come back and do a boat ride in a sturdier vessel in the future so that I can more fully appreciate the lagoon and its wildlife. It’s a relatively unknown but pretty spot, just the kind of hidden Salvadorean gem we’re looking for on this trip.

The Okavango of El Salvador...in a way...

Longing to jump into Apastepeque

Already excited for their next wet adventure

Love you all,

Matt

El Salvador - The Door of the Devil

October 21

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since the last blog from El Salvador, even having been back in the country for 10 weeks. You might be wondering about the current mood with the blog title. Not to worry, it’s just the place where people used to think that the devil escaped from a fight…

A view through the Devil's Door

Part of Puerta del Diablo, on the edge of San Salvador

I could have written blogs on some of the places we have ventured to since I returned in August. Punta Mango was as wonderful and beautiful as ever, with the major difference being the quality of the road leading to our secret spot improving as part of a major construction drive for a new ‘Surf City’.

Happiness

Spectacular colours at all times of the day

The cooking of different people is always a Mango highlight

I could have written about a weekend away to the southwestern shores of Barrio de Santiago. Again, I’ve been before, with the difference being that we stayed for a weekend rather than dashing down and back in a day. A spectacular sunset was one of the highlights of a wonderful weekend.

Sunset walk

Happiness, shortly curtailed by dogs barking at lifeguards

The sunset spot was only accessible with a monster 4x4 or a boat

One of the best sunsets I've seen in my life, this

I could have written about less entertaining aspects, such as our up-to-then reliable second car Suzuki having a catastrophic failure resulting in it needing an engine change (which still hasn’t happened as yet). The irony of our first car, which has had significant issues but has been fixed up to sell, being used elsewhere wasn’t lost on us.

Griding to a halt on the slip road of the city's main bypass...at night...

With the insurance, you get one free tow per year

Ultimately, work life has dominated and reduced the chance of spending time writing about the life and times in Central America’s smallest country. New school year, new grade, new role: a lot going on which has led to little time to breathe.

The smiles hide the fact that this was taken
towards the end of a 13-hour work day...

Relaxing as a team

10 consecutive weeks - without a long weekend this year as Independence Day was on a Sunday and the holiday wasn’t rolled over - have nonetheless been ticked off and given us the reward of a two-week break. Hannah and I have decided to stay in El Salvador to have a cheaper break whilst travelling with our dogs. Oh, and the aforementioned first car, which we call Frijoles. Beans. Possibly because we need some magic beans to keep funding our car mishaps…

Humans: slightly apprehensive

Dogs: excited

Our first stop was the location suggested in the first paragraph: Puerta del Diablo, or ‘Devil’s Door’. It’s in the greater San Salvador area, but has always seemed a long way away from our house as we know how heavy traffic almost always is in between. 

Maybe they ran out of money after the P?

Never underestimate how long a 20 km drive can be in Central America

Arriving after the morning rush on a Monday turns out to be a good time to visit. A small, paved plaza has been built in front of the ‘door’.

El Chulon, the large crag on the right of the Puerta del Diablo

The view through the middle

In reality, it’s two steep, sharp crags which rise high less than 50 metres apart, with the gap in the middle offering a stunning view over the southern part of the San Salvador department. The Pacific Ocean wasn’t quite visible; I wonder whether you can see the sea on a clearer day.

A glass viewing platform extends out for a better view -
the dogs weren't convinced of its safety!

The town of Panchimalco sits in the valley

The well-organised signs (surprisingly also in English, quite rare for this country) offer lots of information, including the legend which provides the name of Puerta del Diablo. Apparently the owners of the area during the colonial period, the Renderos’, had a daughter who was being courted by…the devil. Naturally, the family didn’t like this, so they tried to hunt down the devil. After having been cornered by the clan, the devil escaped through the gap in the middle of the two peaks. Hence ‘devil’s door’.

The cave hidden under El Chulo

On a clearer day, you may get a glimpse of the ocean

For those of a less religious leaning, the formation of the rocks and the gap has been attributed to ‘cataclysmic meteorological events’ (code: massive storms) which formed the rocks in the 18th century. Later landslides helped to separate the outcrops. Having recently been ranked in the top 100 places of global geological interest by the International Union of Geological Sciences, I’m more inclined to believe the science over the devil.

Viewing platforms give you a slightly better view

That is the highest point on the right of the complex

Climbing the three ‘peaks’ at the site is a popular activity. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible with dogs. Not wanting to leave Mini and Maxi in a hot car, I instead opted to climb the small El Chulito crag to get a higher view of the vista.

El Chulito crag, as seen from the path to the cave

I imagine the stunning view doesn't change too much from the other crags!

The other part I visited was the cave. I haven’t managed to find any information or legends about it. My main observation here was the amount of graffiti present on the walls.

The cave at Puerta del Diablo

A lot of love messages

There are more spectacular places in El Salvador, but I was pleasantly surprised by Puerta del Diablo. Maybe the devil should have appreciated the view rather than jumping through to the underworld…

View from the 'Devil's Door'

View from the top of El Chulito

The view looking back towards San Salvador volcano

Love you all,

Matt