Santa Ana Volcano

I wasn't sure if I'd like El Salvador since the general feeling is that it's 'dangerous' and I knew it was less touristy than most other Central American countries so I hadn't planned how long to stay. Since I was enjoying it so much I decided to head to a town called Santa Ana to climb a volcano. 

In other countries they'd hit you up $30USD to get driven to the volcano, have a guide in English and then return. Well not in El Salvador. The almost 1 hour bus ride cost 90 cents. I paid $2 to enter the park and $1 to the volunteer guide. Two cops also joined us as is customary here and off we went. Bargain volcano. 

Here's a picture of the tougher volcano I chose not to climb. What I've learnt about volcanoes from an experience in Greece is that they're hot, dusty and often smelly. They are far more enjoyable from afar.

When I consulted the Internet on other things to do in Santa Ana it informed me that people visit mainly to appreciate the architecture of the theatre and church. Here's a photo of the theatre for you to marvel at. And well the church was under refurbishment so I didn't even bother to take a photo. Yep, glad I didn't just come for that. 

The weird thing about Santa Ana is that it becomes a ghost town almost as soon as it gets dark. People just do not go out. All the restaurants are closed or empty and it's kinda creepy. I cooked in the hostel but they recommended to everyone to order takeaway food. Very strange place indeed! 

Anyway, I'd already spent my two minutes marvelling at the architecture so I was happy just to hit up the volcano. I got the bus out there in the morning with a group of people from the hostel, all there for the same reason. 

The walk up took maybe two hours and was fairly pleasant and shady most of the way up. The view of the neighbouring volcano was lovely too.

Once at the top the scenery changed a bit. This is what it looked like at the summit. 

And the coolest thing about this volcano was that it had a crater lake at the top. The colour was a crazy radioactive looking blue due to the sulphur content. Pretty cool hey!?

As you do in these parts of the world we bumped into a stray dog on top of the volcano obviously taking himself for a walk. And after enjoying the view and a banana we headed back down for the bus. 

Eating, Reptiles and Eating Reptiles

The food in Salvador was pleasantly surprising too. The national dish without doubt is the pupusa, they are cooking them on the streets and in pupusarias  everywhere! It's made using a corn meal dough and then filled with something. Usually a combination of beans, cheese, pork and possibly a vegetable (less likely obviously). But usually it's quite well blended (including the pork) so it's more like a paste. Anyway this is one plus the usual cabbage salad which I highly approve of.

My next trip was to another small town called Juayúa (why-you-ah) because I heard they held a food festival in the plaza every weekend! Sold. No sooner had I arrived I was consuming this skewer containing several animals. 

After lunch I saw some locals who appeared to be eating ping pong balls. Turns out they were turtle eggs and I was invited to try one. I decided to since it's unlikely I'll ever get a chance again. The guy pulled off a part of the shell, added salt, chilli and lime and then I was instructed to down it like an oyster. Ultimately it had no flavour and was like consuming a raw egg but the texture was definitely thicker. Although I'm sure it has given me magic powers, improved my fertility or cured some kind of ailment in advance. 

When I returned the next day I got the gallina en chicha which is chicken cooked in a sweet alcohol. The bowl on the left contained chicken, sausage and some vegetables cooked in the chicha. The small plate contains the obligatory double carbs plus some avocado. The meat was tasty but the sauce was just super sweet which is not my thing. 

After that I wandered around and saw some weird things. These white things are apparently fruit. The texture was similar to an apple or radish but the flavour was non-existent. Pass. 

I then got a bag of what I thought were dates. I asked the woman at the shop and she said they were seeds from a palm tree (I assumed it was dates since Spanish is just a shit language to describe things) but it turns out I was wrong. They were literally large seeds soaked in salt water so they were dark and swollen up to look like dates. Completely inedible. Will not make that mistake again.

The next day I went to visit some of the nearby towns. I stopped for lunch in Ahuachapán (yep weird names in these parts) and had a rather unremarkable chicken soup at the market, but I did get to experience this cucumber chilli concoction which was super delicious. 

Also I got to consume a fair amount of coconut in my travels and this is how they serve it here. Bagged up and ready to go. They even put the coconut meat in there for you. And yes, drinking from a bag is an art, and no, I have not yet mastered it. 

When in the plaza the first day I had noticed this guy just casually hanging in the plaza with a giant snake. Turns out he was the owner of a local reptile place. 

I decided to visit since it was just a block behind the plaza and cost $1 (they use US dollars here) and I heard you could hold a snake for another dollar so I decided to go all out. 

He also had some cool chameleons. I literally bypassed the cage thinking it was empty but thankfully the guy came and pointed them out to me.

And he also had the creepiest ugly frog I've ever seen (with the exception of the turtle frog - Google it. You'll probably gag though so be warned). This is apparently a pac-man frog. Gross.

But it wasn't all hideous creatures. Luckily for me the hostel I was staying had recently unknowingly adopted this kitten. So I spent several hours a day playing with it or watching the dog try and eat it. Quite amusing. 

So my first town was Ataco where I wondered round a bit and climbed the standard Latin American hill with a cross on it. The weather was lovely and it was a nice little town for wandering. 

Also, as all small towns in Latin America go there was a Jehovah's Witness office just in case Catholicism is no longer working out for you. 

Then in Ahuachapàn I found this amusing sign in the plaza prohibiting 'immoral acts'. 

They also had some rather fancy trees. 

And of course, several churches. But more interestingly I realised that all tourist attractions have a sign with a QR code. Pretty cool. In fact I felt like El Salvador was quite set up for tourism, but sadly lacking the tourists. Visit it people! I'm going to say it was probably my favourite Central American country.

Chicken Buses & Chickens in El Salvador

After León I went to another town in Nicaragua called Matagalpa. It's a mountain town famous for both coffee and cigars but I didn't sample the latter. My next plan was to get to El Salvador since I thought I was going to skip Honduras. There's three options in Central America; expensive comfortable tourist buses that go between capitals, even more expensive shuttles that will take you between tourist towns or the infamous chicken bus. 

I was too far away to return to the capital and too poor to afford the shuttle so it was to be a long day of travelling via chicken bus. My first bus left Matagalpa at 5.15am. I crossed the border between Nicaragua and Honduras after 3 buses at around 11.30am and then waited almost an hour on the other side for a ride to the nearest town. 

After 3 more buses I was at the border of Honduras and El Salvador. It was just after 5pm and getting dark. I crossed into Salvador and a local guy suggested I stay in the church (for free). I said I would feel guilty since I didn't believe in God. He then offered to take me (and my enormous backpack) on his motorbike to the next town. I politely declined and eventually the bus came. I arrived at the terminal at 7pm and grabbed a room at the closest hotel for the night. 

Next morning I grabbed a nicer express bus to the capital San Salvador. The Salvadorians are known for being extremely friendly and I do agree. A kid got on the bus selling bags of white liquid  (drinks come in bags here) and when I asked the guy next to me what it was he promptly bought me one. It was like drinking a rice pudding smoothie. Delicious. 

After several hours we make it to the capital and I spend ages trying to figure out where to get the bus to my next destination of Suchitoto. There's no real system and if you ask people you'll get sent all over the bus station or the town. I had five different people tell me different things. Eventually I had a shop keeper assure me that the bus would pass the road I was on but that was after arguments and discussions between several other neighbouring shop keepers. 

So I wait on the street while I'm lectured by another shop keeper about how I shouldn't travel alone. Next minute a woman and her child walk past with a box full of baby chickens for sale. She tried to sell me some but again I politely declined and just asked to take a photo.

Soon I was on the bus to Suchitoto and I purchased a bag of rambutans for the trip. I asked the girl what they're called in Spanish and she tells me 'lychees'. Haha. 

After an hour and a half I arrive in the cute little colonial town on Suchitoto. Complete with dogs and drunks on the street. 

It was quite hot so later in the afternoon I took a stroll down to the lake and on the way I saw this stencil on almost every house. 

When I got to the lake I realised they had a slight problem with the vegetation. This is where you would take a boat ride from.....if it was possible.

The next day I managed to find a good view of the lake from someone's property. I thought the view was amazing because of the weeds!

One of the main touristy things to do is to visit the nearby waterfall which has unusual rocks. I was told that I could visit with the police which sounded kinda strange and unnecessary but apparently there are occasional muggings and they like to protect their tourists since they don't have many. 

I turned up at the police station at 3pm for the tour with the tourist police (yes that is a thing in this part of the world). They asked me how many people in my group and when I just said me they looked perplexed. I said it's ok I can just go by myself (it's less than 2km from the town) but the main guy at the desk said absolutely not and that I should wait. Five minutes later I had two cops to accompany me and a chauffeur service to the falls in a police car. Here's my new buddies who kindly agreed to pose for a photo.

I mainly went for the novelty of the police escort but it actually turned out to be a pretty cool waterfall. Here's some pics...

León, Nicaragua

Next stop on the tourist trail was León, famed for having the biggest cathedral in Central America and being the grittier sister city to Granada where I'd just been staying. This is a picture of the roof which for about $3 you can walk on. Not everyday you get to do such a thing so I took the opportunity. 

From the roof you can also see the local volcanoes. Or mountains. They all look the same but I'm sure there's at least one  volcano there. 

Here's what it looks like from the ground too. Mid-restoration.

Oh and oh course there's rules. Shoes off, don't ring the bell and no standing on the domes. After leaving, my feet plus anything that accidentally touched the paint was covered in white dust. 

Here's some more snaps from my wanderings around the city. 

This was my beef soup I had for lunch which came with a wooden paddle for a spoon and all of a sudden I found myself in tortilla land. From here until Mexico I'd say. Good riddance arepas you cold horrible inedible corn things. Welcome tortillas, thank you for at least being served warm.

Here's a shot from the main plaza. I missed something about a local legend involving a giant woman, but here she is. Yes I agree, she looks more like a cross dressing man. Further research tells me there's also some other characters in the tale and they dance. The woman represents the Spanish apparently and a short man with a large head represents the locals. Shame I didn't manage to catch a show.

The next day I visited the museum of the Nicaraguan revolution but I will admit I'm none the wiser really and my brain hurt just looking at the Wikipedia article on Nicaraguan history (please don't judge me, I hate history). There's a lot of photos and you get given a guided tour by some old boy who was part of the history. My guide was even able to point out his 20 year old self in some of the archival photos. Good experience if you like history and your Spanish is up to scratch. I failed.