Pupusas and Pain in El Salvador
I will never tire of these Pacific sunsets
When we set off from the U.K. 8 months ago, we weren’t sure if we would visit Honduras. We really wanted to, but the situation on the ground was quite volatile and we decided to… defer the decision.
So as we entered Central America I was quizzing every person we met if they’d travelled in the country, and there were two common themes from those who said yes. Some had opted to visit on a long and expensive two-day trip from Guatemala to the famous Mayan site at Copan. Everyone else travelled by air to Utila, one of the Bay Islands, comparatively safe for tourists and excellent for divers and those seeking diving certification.
It didn’t take us long to work out that neither of those options really worked for us, and so by the time we got to Leon, Nicaragua, it was decided we would leave a gap in our map of Central America travels and head straight on to El Salvador.
From Leon this was no easy journey, as we would either have to travel by boat around Honduras or transit through. We opted to transit through - mostly because it was cheaper, but also so we could at least touch ground in the country and vow to come back. Which is exactly what we did, eating an ice cream at a service station in Choluteca.
We got the passport stamps, the photo and had a meal there… it pretty much counts as a country visited, right?!
Not only did we cross two borders into and out of Honduras, we travelled straight across El Salvador to the western beaches around La Libertad, stopping in El Tunco. What a journey to welcome us to El Salvador!
Surf City Setback
El Tunco is a small place, massively geared towards tourism. In all honestly, we didn’t love it. It is a surfer’s paradise, so if you are there to catch some waves I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun.
We had intended to take a surf lesson, but at $30 for a lesson I decided to bow out: we are at the stage of our trip where we have to be careful how we spend. Sure, it would have been nice to do a lesson, but I wasn’t desperate to do it and I’d much rather have that $30 available for an experience more aligned with my interests.
Graeme was more keen, but unfortunately was suffering with both an earache and toothache as we rolled into the country, so a day in the water didn’t seem too wise.
It’s not only that, though. There wasn’t much local focus to El Tunco - everything was very American-ised. We spent two days in town but felt like we were in a bubble, unable to get a feel for what the real El Salvador was like.
But there was one major positive to come from those two days… we discovered pupusas. And we could not get enough!
In Praise of Pupusas
Pupusas are small flatbreads stuffed with different fillings - cheese, beans and cheese, jalapeño and cheese, shredded chicken and cheese - you get the idea, there’s loads of cheese! And they are served with a delicious pickled cabbage and jalapeño coleslaw. Costing $1 each, three Pupusas were more than enough to make a meal. Later on in the trip, once we had made our way to Juayua, we even found a giant pupusa with every filling on the menu mixed together, for only $4… it’s safe to say it was a revaluation for both our stomachs and our wallets.
Exploring the Ruta de las Flores
It was about this time that we started to worry about Graeme’s tooth - the pain was getting worse, and we were about to head off into the highlands of the country. After a quick text exchange with a wonderful friend of mine who is an excellent dentist, we had some tips on how to manage the pain and advice on when to seek out professional help - thankyou, Diane!
The next morning we were up before the sun and standing on the side of the highway, waiting for a bus we weren’t sure existed… it’s crazy how that’s become the norm for us! But luckily a bus going in the direction we wanted did show up, and we were ushered on for our first El Salvadorean chicken bus experience. It went surprisingly smoothly!
We rode the bus from El Tunco to Sonsonate terminal, where we changed for a bus to our destination in Juayua, on El Salvador’s famous Ruta de las Flores.
As the name gives away, the Ruta de las Flores is a string of villages known for their vibrant floral displays. Stretching 22 miles through the country’s highlands, it winds past lush coffee plantations, cloud forests, and colonial architecture.
We spent the next five days riding the 249 bus up and down the route, visiting different villages. Some are bigger than others but they are all charming, cobblestone places, with bright street art and beautiful churches.
We wondered the markets of Atacao, sipped on coffees in Apaneca and, one of the days, we hiked from Salcoatitan back to Juayua via gorgeous forest and a stunning natural swimming pool. Before setting off, we had an amazing breakfast thanks to the friendliest local man - who offered to help us find the café we were looking for on Google maps… before mentioning that he ran his own café, right where we were standing, and he would open it up if we wanted to come in. Of course we accepted, and he told us all about his grandmothers recipes whilst serving us a traditional breakfast.
So, this here is a Quesadilla - the El Salvadorian kind! We were a little confused when he said he would bring us quesadillas and turned up with a cake… for breakfast. It is a cross between bread and cake, with a cheesy flavour and topped with seeds. Perfect with a coffee!
Friendly people is one of the main things we will remember from El Salvador. Everyone wanted to speak with us! From the man who opened his café early to a woman who stopped at our table as we drank a coffee and told us about her life. Kids leaning out of car windows to wave and ask where we are from. Everyone was so happy to chat, forgave our fumbling Spanish and were grateful that we were visiting their country. It’s one of the most welcoming places we have ever visited.
Dental Dilemmas
After a few days in Juayua we stopped at what had become our regular coffee shop for an outstanding coffee (the usual order, a flat white for Graeme and a cortado for me), but had to have a sombre conversation - it was time to change our plans. Whilst Graeme’s tooth had been slowly improving, it was still proving painful after a week, and we knew we had to get it seen to.
After some research and asking around, we found our options for seeing a dentist were slim: travel back on ourselves to San Salvador to see what we could find (distinct lack of internet information available about dentists in El Salvador), or skip forward to Guatemala to see a well-reviewed, English speaking dentist, who we could book online with ahead of travelling.
At the end of the day it was an easy decision - we needed the guarantee of an appointment and health always has to come first! We couldn’t book an appointment until the following Monday, so we decided to stay in Juayua for something we had been looking forward to: the weekend food festival.
Food, Glorious Food!
By far our highlight of our time on the Ruta de las Flores was the food, particularly the Saturday food festival in Juayua. Stalls line up around the main square selling plates so big that one was more than enough for the two of us! As we walked around trying to decide, stall holders would give us the juiciest morsels of meat on cocktail sticks to try and lure us in. Most stalls had a similar offering, so in the end we sat down with one of the ladies who gave us a free taste and devoured a mixed grill of meats with Mexican-inspired flavours. It was all washed down with rum and pineapple - served in a pineapple! It’s a gimmick, sure, but we loved it!
After thoroughly stuffing ourselves, it was with heavy hearts but full stomachs that we cancelled our hostel in Santa Ana and plotted the epic route to the border.
On our last night, we watched the sky turn pink behind Santa Ana volcano, knowing that the view from our hostel in Juayua was the closest we would get to the volcanoes in northern El Salvador.
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