El Salvador: 23. - 26.12.2009

El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America was originally not on our route, but that is how quick things can change. We have been exited, what to expect, since only 1992 a 12 year long civil war found an end.

Also here we crossed the border in a bit more than an hour and have been on the way to the Routa de las Flores in direction of Parque National Los Volcanos, were we wanted to climb the active Volcano Izalco. The night we spent just below the Crater of the Volcano Santa Ana on a meadow with cows, before we went in the early morning towards the park entrance. To our disappointment we were told that we only could hike with a police escort, and that would only leave at 11. So it meant to wait, we enjoyed it until clouds moved up and covered the whole mountain in fog, what meant that short before the departure time the hike was canceled. So we left without being on the Volcano for the search of a nice place to stay for Christmas Eve, what we found with the help from locals.

While we were talking to “Park rangers” at the entrance to the viewpoint of the Volcano San Salvador about camping for the night, a young women approached us and offered to camp on her property. Without much to think about it, we agreed and followed her, just to figure that she didn’t take Nisto up in her calculation. But she came up with a new idea, just a little further up at the edge of the crater are some TV Masts, we should just go there for the night. It might not have been the coziest place we ever had on Christmas, but with a glass of red wine and a game of Carcassonne we spent a great evening.

The next morning we went to San Salvador to check our e-mails. What we read didn’t really match our expectations. According to the agency the last ship to leave for Buenos Aires in January was due to leave the 12th, and nothing like before that there would leave one every week which would have been the 20th. That meant we had to be in Panama City by the 8th, to organize all the paper work. With two crying eyes we decided to continue to the border. Since we had no clue how the road conditions where further south and we at least wanted to see some of Costa Rica’s treasures that we have long longed for. That is why we had to turn our back to the lovely and helpful people of El Salvador. We would have liked to see more of this beautiful country, to talk more to the friendly people and to hear about their past on first hand and not just from someone who studied the civil war that lasted for so long.

Already on the 26th we crossed the border to Honduras in a record breaking time of about 2 hours (compared to other travelers it really is!) What we experienced in the two days in that country you’ll find in the Honduras Report.

With love

Sonja and Markus

Here it goes to the pictures…