This is a story-style travel blog featuring my adventure through Central America in the fall of 2023. I did a 17-day tour called Central American Journey, from the company Intrepid. We visited Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. You can read the blog in order, or about whichever destination intrigues you! Within my stories, I’ll offer some recommendations and some tips and tricks for a smooth journey. When I travel, I mostly do group tours and the reasons are:
* As a solo woman traveler, it is much safer especially if traveling long distances or to countries that can be dangerous in some parts
*The itineraries are amazing and usually include all of the things you’d want to see and do…and if not, there is free time to do as you wish;
*You don’t have to worry about booking transport, finding hotels, etc. Sometimes that can contribute to the adventure, but it’s also nice to sit back and relax and let your tour leader be in charge
* And finally…the new people you meet on your tour become your family, and I’ve made lifelong friends in these journeys. For myself, this has equal importance with exploring new countries.
After successfully crossing the protest blockage in Guatemala, we make our way to the El Salvador border. It takes a bit longer because Canadians and Americans have to pay a fee to enter. None of the Europeans have to. Thanks, El Sal!
We make a stop at a large truck stop type store and Bill grabs a case of beer for us to enjoy on the ride to Suchitoto. We have a chat, and play some games to pass the time. In the early evening we arrive into town.
El Salvador, the Land of Volcanoes, is the smallest country in Central America. It is mountainous, with volcanic activity and frequent earthquakes. It has a history of political and economical instability, and fought a major civil war from 1979-1992. It is a relatively poor country, with most of its residents living in the countryside.
Fun Fact: the official currency was the Colon until 2001 when it was replaced by the US dollar. This was mainly to help stabilize the economy.
Suchitoto is a small town that was once the first capital of the country in 1528. It has become a popular tourist destination due to its preserved colonial architecture and cobblestone roads. It’s nestled in the mountains and dense jungle, and overlooks Lake Suchitlan, a large man made lake. Historically Suchitoto was a focal point during the Salvadoran civil war. I won’t get into details about that here, but it was a dark time for the people of El Salvador, resulting in over 75,000 deaths over these 12 years. The town has become now become a centre for arts and culture, and you can’t deny the beauty and charm represented here.
We check-in to Jardin de las Marias hotel.
https://hoteljardindelasmarias.wordpress.com/
It’s a short walk into the town square, so a perfect location. The rooms are nice, and there is a garden area and pool for hanging out.
And the cutest resident kitty, whom I will befriend over the next couple of days.
We walk into the center of town to have dinner at a place called La Lupita del Portal. https://www.instagram.com/lalupitadelportal/?hl=en
We sit outside on the patio; there’s not much going on tonight as this is a fairly quiet town but it’s awesome to sit out and enjoy the atmosphere. I’m anxious to try some Salvadorean food but nothing on the menu is jumping out at me except pizza. But it’s a good choice; I have a margarita pizza and it’s delicious. While we are eating, I notice a young boy of maybe 3 or 4 sitting with his parents and he’s totally staring at me. He goes over to a potted plant and pulls out some leaves and brings it over to me like a bouquet of flowers. It was sooo cute. Except when his mom decides that he should bring all the girls these bouquets, and that poor plant almost gets demolished. Also, when one of our girls declines a bouquet, the mom gets angry and looks like she wants a confrontation. Luckily, Marvin has a few words with her and she settles down. After dinner, we head back to the hotel since there’s not much else to do.
This morning there is an optional tour to hike the cinquera forest and I’m still not up for any more hikes. Haha. This national park was a former base for guerilla bands during the civil war. It is now a conservation region, and this tour will take you past some of the shelters that still exist, and most of the guides are former guerillas who can tell a few tales from that time. While it sounds sooo interesting, I just don’t want to take the chance today. Instead, myself, Poline, Ivonne and Manuel spend the morning exploring the town. We go for breakfast at a hotel called Los Almendros de San Lorenzo.
The restaurant is in a gorgeous courtyard and I have a typical Salvadorean breakfast – egg omelet, beans, plantains, cheese, fruit bowl and fresh fruit juice. After we’re fueled up, I want to find this museum I’ve heard about that features a collection of plates. As we wander in to the main square, a man approaches us and tells us to come to his museum! Ha! I tell him we were looking for him, and he brings us over to the Thousand Plates and More Museum. We meet his wife, and she guides us through their small museum that is full of all kinds of plates from all over the world.
They also have collectors plates ranging from Elvis, Princess Diana, Wizard of Oz, and so much more. It’s impossible to really see every item in that room. Here are some highlights :
You can tell they are so proud of their collection, and they love meeting all of us new friends from around the world. After, we do a bit of souvenir shopping and head back to the hotel to meet Marvin. We drive up to the Los Tercios waterfall to meet up with the rest of the group that did the hike. We’re early, so we have a chance to relax, have a chat and enjoy the views of Lake Suchitlan.
When everyone arrives, we hike down to the main part of the waterfall. My shoes are a bit slippery and I don’t trust them on the rocks so I don’t go all the way down.
Back into town for a guided tour with Pepe, a local business owner and expert of Suchitoto. The most impressive structure in Parque Centrale is the beautiful Iglesia Santa Lucia.
It is a brilliant white color, and inside it has a dark feel with its rich wood interior and many religious figure statues.
Next stop is the famous indigo shop, Arte Anil, where they sell all kinds of clothing and accessories dyed with indigo. You can do a workshop here and learn about the importance of indigo in El Salvador. We have a quick explanation from the indigo expert; I consider making a purchase but I just can’t decide what will be useful to me so I end up with nothing. But definitely go visit this shop if you find yourself in Suchitoto.
PRO TIP: some cool and authentic things to buy when in El Salvador are – local coffee, regional pottery/ceramics, anything dyed with indigo, colofrully paitned art, and..Cihuatan rum- I bought a couple of different flavors and they were both amazing. Drink it straight with no mix, at room temperature to savor the flavor. Or on ice with a slice of lime. My favorite one is the Indigo. So smooth!
Pepe takes us over to the market, to see where the locals shop for food and to one of the buildings that houses the tortilla shops. The people here eat tortillas every day, so this is big business. One lady gives us a demo on how she makes them.
Ou final stop is Pepe’s place – a petit hotel, cafĂ© and souvenir shop all in one – Casa de la Abuela.
We had been there earlier for some shopping so it is nice to go back knowing it’s his place! They have their own specialty arabica coffee, and Pepe makes me a cold espresso with orange flavor in it: it’s not like anything I’ve had before and I absolutely love it. I recommend going to visit him and his family business if you ever find yourself in Suchitoto.
On the way back to the hotel, I stop at this food stand in the main square and grab a bag of fried cassava chips. They’re flavored with a bit of hot sauce and lime juice. Perfect snack!
Tonight, we are having dinner at the home of a local woman named Sandra. A cool aspect to going on an Intrepid tour is they try to immerse you directly with the local culture. Sometimes you’ll even stay overnight at a family’s house! In El Salvador, the most popular thing to eat for dinner are pupusas, and we are at Sandra’s house tonight to learn how to make them.
PRO TIP: pupusas are the main staple here in El Salvador, but some other awesome foods to try are the many varieties of soup (if you’re brave, try the tripe or cow’s foot), fried fish, grilled meat, plantains, fried cassava, tamales, anything with loroco flower.
We gather inside to the open-air kitchen area, and everyone needs to wash up and dig in to make dinner.
She has all of the ingredients out on the table, and we can choose what we want to put into our pupusas.
First, you take the dough (made from cornmeal or rice flour) and make a little pocket to fit the fillings. I choose cheese, loroco flower, refried beans and greens. Then you seal the pockets and slap it back and forth between your hands to get it to the perfect round shape. Now it’s ready to cook on the grill, on one side and then flipped over to the other.
To go with the pupusas, we have a Salvadoran style coleslaw and tamarind juice.
We sit at a large table in the living room, enjoying and being thankful for the shared experience of making and eating this yummy food.
We walk back to the hotel and it’s another early night. This is so different for me because back home I never go to bed this early! Tonight, Ivonne and I have a kind of girls night and we stay up late talking and getting ready to leave Suchitoto tomorrow…….
Everywhere On Earth With Erin 