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