El Salvador

Visited: 2013, 2015, March 2022

Duration of visit: 15 days

Capital city: San Salvador

Population: 6.7 million (2022)

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes

• Wind of changes, blowing by young president Nayib Bukele.
• Climbing Santa Ana volcano – the highest volcano in El Salvador.
• San Salvador – vibrant capital with the highest murder rate in Central America has been slowly stabilizing and using ideal climate to attract more visitors.
• Oscar Arnulfo Romero – an archbishop who sacrificed his life as a peacemaker standing up to injustice and violence against Salvadorian people.
• Tasting local food – from pupusas to mariscadas and tropical fruits.
• Surf City – El Tunco – attractive combination of delightful waves, hotels, restaurants and bars that attract surfers from all over the world.
• Friendly and humble people.

El Salvador is one of the few countries that I first visited for business and later for pleasure. While working for a Slovenian printing company, we were trying to win a project with Salvadorian General Directorate of Migration and Immigration. I usually settled down in a luxury hotel in Zona Rosa (San Salvador) for a few days, attended some meetings and tender opening, consistently lacked price competitiveness.

The smallest country in Central America, with 21,000 km² is also the most densely populated in the whole America with a population of about 6.5 million people; it is also the only country in Central America without a Caribbean coastline.

Eternal beautiful weather, green areas around the city and extremely hospitable people provoked sympathy for the country that has been constantly hit by tragedy, wars, conflicts and insecurity for decades.

Long civil war from 1979 to 1992 was fought between the military-led junta government and left-wing groups under the umbrella of FMLN. The insecurity of El Salvador continued with the presence of international organizations of criminal gangs whose activities include: rape, drug trafficking, extortion, arms smuggling, kidnapping, robbery and contract killings, among others. The most powerful crime gangs present not only in El Salvador, but along the whole Central American region and the USA, are La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18.

After visiting the capital San Salvador on various occasions, finally in 2022 I did a short backpacking tour around El Salvador, the last Central American country to discover in a proper way. Due to instability and insecurity in the last decades, plus Covid-19’s recent impact, El Salvador is not a very touristic country in 2022. The neighboring destinations are either better promoted, safer or more appealing for foreign visitors.

However, this might change in the near future. There are three main reasons why El Salvador has gained popularity or international attention recently:

• President Nayib Bukele, one of the youngest and most charismatic politicians in the region, who started to implement drastical changes impacting the security and tourist infrastructure.
• Introduction of bitcoin as the parallel currency to US$.
• Surf destination of Central America with renaming El Tunco to Surf City.

El Salvador is a small country, with logistics easy to organize and short distances to travel around. I visited some of the most beautiful, typical and special places in the country, using all types of transportation and tasting a variety of food that is not meat (because I don’t eat meat).

The city of San Salvador is a mixture of neighborhoods, modern shopping centers, fast food and international restaurants, pupuserías, markets and suburbs. It is definitely not one of the most beautiful capitals of the world, therefore I did not spend too much time there. I actually visited different parts of the city, while working.

The central area has been renovated, improved and more secure than in the past. If it was too dangerous to walk around the city center a decade ago, now there are even some bars and night clubs operating late.

Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo consists of a statue of Jesus Christ standing on top of a global sphere of planet Earth. It is a symbol that identifies and represents both, El Salvador and Salvadorans throughout the world. The location is not far from Zona Rosa, the modern part of the city with American influence, hotels, fast food and international cuisine restaurants, clubs, bars and cafes.

In this area the feeling is very different than in poor suburbs, where noise, congestion and high density make life unbearable. High safety is guaranteed with fully armed, private security guards in front of every business. I am usually rather scared than feeling safe, when a observe a lot of arms on the streets, but In El Salvador this is the only way to keep the order.

The current Palacio Nacional replaced the old building originating from 1870, which was destroyed by fire on 19^th December 1889. The building contains four main rooms and 101 secondary rooms; each of the four main rooms has a distinctive color: red, yellow, pink and blue. They are used by different government representatives, also the president.

In front of it stands the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador. Its importance in the history of El Salvador is unique; 44 people were killed during a stampede after members of security forces fired on mourners on Romero’s funeral. In its crypt lays the body of Saint Oscar Romero.

The square in front of the cathedral was the site of rapturous celebrations after the signing of the peace agreement that ended the Salvadoran Civil War in 1992. The church was twice visited by Pope John Paul II, who said that the cathedral was “intimately allied with the joys and hopes of the Salvadoran people.”

Iglesia del Rosario has a modern architectural design that broke with the usual canons of religious construction in the city, the Latin and Greek cross type, but it seems abandoned and closed for public.

Plaza Libertad represents the beginning of capitalist expansion in the mid-16^th century and is consecrated as a national icon of great importance. On a normal day it is a place to enjoy an ice cream, cold drink, a snack or just rest in a shadow while observing idle locals. However, la Plaza comes to life during festivities and celebrations, beside holding historical importance as a place where the independence process of Central America started.

Oscar Arnulfo Romero was the Archbishop of San Salvador from 1977 until he was assassinated in 1980. As archbishop, Romero spoke out against social injustice and violence amid the escalating conflict between the military government and left-wing insurgents that led to the Salvadoran Civil War.

A month before Romero was assassinated, he wrote to President Jimmy Carter urging the US to stop backing the Salvadoran government and supplying it with arms and military advisers. On the day before his assassination, he urged soldiers and police not to follow orders to kill civilians and stop the repression.

On 24^th March 1980, Romero delivered a sermon at a small chapel at Hospital de la Divina Providencia, when a gunman shot him death.

The funeral mass at Metropolitan Cathedral was attended by more than 250,000 mourners from all over the world. Romero’s funeral is considered the largest demonstration in Salvadoran history, one of the biggest in the history of Latin America.

During the ceremony, smoke bombs exploded near the cathedral, many people were killed by gunfire in the stampede of people running away from the explosions and gunfire. Romero was declared a martyr by Pope Francis and beatified on 23^rd May 2015.

Oscar Arnulfo Romero was one of the most remarkable figures of 20^th century, who sacrificed his life as a peacemaker standing up to injustice and violence against Salvadorian people. He is an inspirational figure to hundreds of millions of Catholics around the world and his portraits are present all-around Salvador, not only in churches.

Los Planes de Renderos is an urban center located 10 kilometers from the capital, at approximately 1,000 meters above sea level. It is characterized by much cooler climates than those of the city and with beautiful view over San Salvador.

The main reason for coming there was to taste the most delicious pupusas in the country. The whole area was full of restaurants, food stalls, shops and bars. It was already dark, when my friend Carlos took me to one of his favorite restaurants, where pupusas are practically the only dish on the menu.

Pupusas are small, round corncakes, similar to a flatbread or pancake, that are made with corn or rice and usually filled with cheese and beans or meat.

They’re cooked on a hot griddle and often served with red sauce and pickled cabbage slaw.

They come of different sizes and additional fillings: shrimps, meet, chicken and a small, unopened flower called loroco. Pupusas are the most famous gourmet delight of El Salvador. Additionally, delicious soups, empanadas, yuca frita, tamales, elote (corn), mariscada (seafood soup), chorizos and tropical fruits, are completing the list of must try dishes.

I travelled around the country in small and large buses, Uber, private cars, Indian made small taxis and in trunks of pick-ups, holding myself accompanied by many local passengers. The last one being the less comfortable, but the most exciting, offering the best view and chances to interact with Salvadorians. They always took care of me, talked with me and assure to feel comfortable. Prices are extremely low; I have never been overcharged.

One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to Cerro Verde National Park, where I climbed Santa Ana volcano. My experiences with volcanos in the past were not very good: bad weather, wrong timing, dangerous landslides and armed attack on our group in Guatemala. As a consequence, my expectations before the climb were low.

After spending a night in a simple lodge in the base of the volcano, there were 80+ people gathered at the starting point at 9:00am next morning. I paid 3.00US$ to a guide and additional 6.00US$ for park entry. A group of mostly unfit and loud locals quickly stretched to small batches that were defined by physical capacity. I stayed in the fastest group and struggled with my knees in the first part, through 500 stairs leading down to the valley, where the entrance to the park was.

The second part of the hike was uphill on clearly a marked path, where every step provided a better view to the nearby Izalco volcano, which was appearing on a perfect day with sunny weather. El Faro del Pacífico (The Lighthouse of the Pacific) earned its name due to constant eruptions between 1770 (when it formed) and 1958. Izalco volcano is completely black without vegetation, rounded up in a perfect cone. At 1,950 meters above sea level is much lower than Santa Ana (2,381m).

After 2 hours I reached the top of Santa Ana volcano.

Wind gusts can be extremely strong, but the sunny and warm weather offered a fantastic view over the valley to Lake Coatepeque and into the volcanic crater, containing a small lake of turquoise water. During the last eruption, in October 2005, the volcano forced many people to flee their villages.

Half an hour on the top passed quickly, as well as a downhill return to the bases, which was much easier and quicker (1,5 hours).

Joya de Cerén is the only archeological site that I visited in El Salvador. After exploring the grand majority of Pre-Columbian sites in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, it is hard to find similar archeological sites, which would match the glory and architecture wonder of those divine places.

Joya de Cerén is known for the excellent preservation of a Classic period settlement that was rapidly buried by the ashfall of a volcano eruption around AD 600. The site was remarkably well preserved due to the low temperature of ash and very fast ashfall, a few meters thick layer having blanketed the town in the space of a few hours.

It had been covered for centuries and it is particularly significant in the study of everyday life of ancient Maya agricultural communities. Houses, where regular people lived, were never discovered in other Mayan cities in Central America.

Therefore, this unique area was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993. Different structures show life of ordinary people: houses, bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, community houses, spas, etc. Guava, agave, cacao, and manioc were some of the major crops grown during that period.

I paid a visit to a barber in Suchitoto. Beside haircut and good conversation, I also got local, cheap vodka to taste and cheer with my barber to the future of the country that desperately needs change.

“Bukele is the best president. I have never received anything from ex-presidents, but he gave us rice, beans tuna and even money.”, were compelling reasons why Nayib Bukele is the best president.

Suchikito area is known for waterfalls and lake Suchitlán – an artificial lake closed by a hydroelectric dam in 1976. The waterfalls were water-less, since I visited the area at the end of dry season. Dark, basalt columns that form a steep wall, down which a large amount of water falls during the rainy season, were still impressive.

The area was quiet and tranquil, with pleasant view over a vast lake. I relaxed in a wooden chair, perfectly placed in a shadow, while observing the splendor of the largest body of fresh water in the country. It seems more remote and less visited than Lake Coatepeque, where a lot of water activities are going on, especially over the weekends.

In September 2021 El Salvador became the first country in the world which made bitcoin the country’s official currency, beside American dollar.

I visited a stand of Chivo, a digital crypto wallet that lets people and businesses send and receive bitcoin. There are over 200 Chivo-branded ATM machines around the country and in the USA. The solution is available as an app on Apple and Android phones designed to offer a few perks only to Salvadorans.

In addition to getting a free amount of 30.00US$ in Bitcoin when signing up, Chivo users pay no commission for remittances to other users of the app, currency conversions or taking physical cash out of the Chivo ATMs around the country. The government preloaded 30,00US$ of bitcoins onto Salvadorans’ accounts, which they can easily access by downloading Chivo app.

The main reasons to implement bitcoin is to provide people easier access to financial services and reduce remittance costs for Salvadorans abroad. It is hard to evaluate if the benefits are really surpassing all risks and international isolation from credit markets that the country has been facing recently.

It is extremely easy and accessible to buy, transfer, change or pay with bitcoins, using Chivo app, but I don’t think there are enough active users in El Salvador six months after the implementation. The time will show the real consequences of bitcoin experimentation.

My last stop in El Salvador was the new named Surf City – attractive combination of delightful waves, hotels, restaurants and bars that attract surfers from all over the world.

Well, not only surfers. A bohemian village called El Tunco, that thanks to excellent surfing condition and proximity to the capital, has been chosen as the new number one tourist destination; not only in the country, but also wider, especially among backpacking community. The feeling of liberty, freedom, easy-going atmosphere and accessibility is a hidden gem that will probably turn around this place, when the word spreads out.

The crowd has been a pleasant mix of Salvadorians and international visitors. Music, food, bars and sleeping facilities have been adjusting quickly to growing demand. The concept is not new and it has proved a success in the region. I was still on time to enjoy it at a reasonable scale, before it turns into a hot destination, with high prices, exclusive offers and limited access to low-budget visitors.

During my 2022 visit, talking to drivers, taxi drivers, waiters, vendors, guides or people on the streets, I received only support, greetings and help. I noticed hope in people’s words. The country has progressed, it is much more tranquil and positive than during my previous visits seven years ago.

There are places around the world that have natural beauty, landmarks or friendly people. El Salvador has it all! It seems that after a long time, there is expectation and support from the vast majority of population that the young president Nayib Bukele with his team can make changes to move the country forward.

Good luck El Salvador!