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San Salvador
17th May 2011
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America. We began in La Palma [1] just over the border from Honduras. This friendly colourful village has brightly painted murals on almost every wall, inspired by painter Fernando Llort.
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Moving on to the capital San Salvador [2], dominated by Volcán San Salvador, we spent a pleasant evening, sharing a traditional meal with the Massi family, relatives of our friends Gloria and Alfredo. Pupusas, cooked rounds of cornmeal dough stuffed with a variety of fillings and eaten with cabbage salad are the national dish. The family history began in Italy. Two brothers came to El Salvador in 1923. One, Enriquo, created the country´s military flying school but later tragically died in an aeroplane accident. The other, Alfredo, was a pioneer film maker and produced most of the Salvadorian films of the 1930´s, mainly documentaries.
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Staying in Hotel Posada del Rey Primero in San Salvador was more like staying with relatives. The staff are super friendly and the hotel, an old house, has little secluded areas to sit – all tastefully and brightly decorated.
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Suchitoto [3], a colonial town on Lake Suchitlán north of San Salvador is known as “The Cultural Capital of El Salvador”. Founded by the Spanish in 1528 it was briefly the capital in the 16th century. For lunch, we enjoyed the best ever freshly made papusas from a stall in the market.
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Mayas, Volcanoes and Surf
20th May 2011
El Salvador has some modest but impressive Mayan sites. The Mayan village at Joya de Cerén [4], often called the “Pompeii of Central America”, was buried under ash from a volcanic eruption some 1400 years ago and remains well preserved. It is the only Mayan site where the everyday life of ordinary people can be seen. A plate found there shows finger marks and traces of food from an unfinished meal. Nearby San Andrés [5] was an ancient ceremonial centre and Tazumal [6], built around 500BC remained occupied until the Spanish arrived. At both sites, partially restored pyramids stand.
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In Parque Nacionál Cerro Verde [7] we took a pleasant walk around the crater rim at 2000 metres. Volcán Izalco and Volcán Santa Anna were occasionally visible through the swirling mist. Local families were enjoying their Sunday off. Below lies the picturesque crater lake, Lago Coatepeque.
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Finishing off with a couple of days at Playa El Tunco [8], a pleasant little surfers community on the Pacific coast we watched both local and gringos ride some big waves. Five kilometres east at Puerto La Libertad fisherman wait for a break in the surf, then race their boats in to be quickly winched up onto the end of wharf before the next wave crashes in.
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We enjoyed our time in El Salvador and the Salvadoreños were some of the most friendly people we have met. Crossing the border into Guatemala at La Hachadura [9] we headed onto Antigua.
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