The Travel Chica

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Off the Gringo Trail in El Salvador

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When I was preparing for my trip, I read that El Salvador is not visited as often by tourists compared to other Central American countries.  I’m not completely sure why that is.  Perhaps it is because of a perceived dangerousness, although I don’t see how it is any more dangerous than traveling in Guatemala or Honduras or Nicaragua.  Perhaps it is simply because the government/ businesses do not put much money into advertising El Salvador as a travel destination.  What I do know is that I really enjoyed the 19 days I spent in El Salvador, a week at a surfing spot, Playa El Tunco, and almost 2 weeks in the mountains in Juayua on what is called Ruta de Las Flores.  The people were incredibly friendly.  The food was fantastic.  Travel and living expenses were very affordable.  When in Juayúa and the surrounding towns, I felt the safest I’ve felt on this entire trip.  And I liked not running into gringos all over the place.

El Salvador 197In Playa El Tunco, there are certainly tourists who come for the surfing, but the majority of the people that fill the place up at holidays and on the weekends are from San Salvador or other areas of El Salvador.  The great thing about El Salvador is that it is such a small country, it’s very easy to get to the beach or the mountains or the bigger cities within a few hours drive or even on a cheap bus.  It can be a weekend trip or just a day trip.  Of course you meet travelers/ foreigners when you stay at hostels, but it seems to be a slightly different type of traveler you meet in El Salvador.  There were the two gringos driving from California to Costa Rica to start their own hostel/ adventure travel center in a remote area of Costa Rica that has yet to be consumed by the US dollar and tourism.  There were the Mexicans and the Frenchman who cooked delicious fish dinners (4 of us consumed 4 pounds of fish with rice and vegetables one night) and tried to teach me to surf.  Although it was a failure – I am not a surfer chick – they did their best.

El Salvador 096I was lucky enough to get to spend time with two families and their friends celebrating the New Year at a beach house in a private community just 5 minutes from Playa El Tunco.  It felt great to be around close-knit family and friends enjoying the holiday together before heading back to work and the start of the school year.  I was amazed by how welcoming they were, including me in their conversations (the best Spanish practice I’d had in weeks), feeding me delicious home-cooked meals (my introduction to Gallina India soup), and even inviting me into their homes both at the beach and in the suburbs of San Salvador.  During this trip, I’ve certainly experienced the kindness of strangers, whether it was helping to ensure I got on the correct bus, making sure I knew which areas of town were not safe for me to visit, buying me a good meal and a beer they knew wasn’t in my budget, or giving me a ride into the city to avoid taking chicken buses.  But to feel completely accepted within the personal space of a family is really special.  It allowed me to see a side of life in El Salvador I never could have known on my own.

In Juayúa, the hospitality was just unbelievable.  My new favorite greeting is, “Que le vaya bien.” Loosely translated it’s a way of saying, “Go well/ be well.”  I was used to everyone in Latin America always greeting people they walk past with, “Buenos dias,” and “Buenas tardes.”  Two words; easy to say.  But now this was a whole new phrase used just as commonly to greet everyone you walked past.  Sometimes the older people in the town would go all out and give you, “Buenas tardes.  Que le vaya bien.”  I loved it and quickly adapted to the custom.

I also became acquainted with an older woman (probably in her 60s) named Cedia who did not speak any English but was perfectly happy to have simple conversations with me in Spanish (about 50% of which I understood).   She invited me into her humble home (really just a room) and served me instant coffee and sweets sent to her by her daughters who live in the “big city” San Salvador.  She was so kind.  She would even walk me back to my hostel after our visits.

Salcoatitan 069Juayúa is such a small town.  I can imagine that most people would get bored there after a few days and move on (as most people in my hostel did).  But I enjoyed the slowness of the town. The hospitality of the people and the beauty of the whole area helped make it a great experience for me.  I happened to visit Juayúa during their two-week festival celebrating the saint Cristo Negro.  Even such a small town had activities planned every day, whether it was a piñata for the kids or the much bigger blow-out on the weekends with a full carnival and multi-stage concerts.  It was interesting to see such a small town throw such a big party for two whole weeks.

Juayua 024Then there is of course what makes Juayúa an attraction for all Salvadorans every weekend: the fería gastronómica.  About 5 or so years ago, the business-minded people in town got together to figure out a way to bring tourism to Juayúa.  They figured that since they had a lot of people in town that could cook really good food, a food festival might be a way to boost money coming into the community.  They organized the first one, and it did pretty well.  So a few months later they had another.  And it just continued to grow.  Now there is a fería gastronómica every weekend that attracts thousands of people from all over El Salvador and also international travelers.  Those are some savvy business people.

My experience in El Salvador was wonderful, and I encourage others traveling through Central America to not skip this tiny, welcoming country on the Pacific coast.  Check out my El Salvador Travel Tips page for more specifics on where to stay, what to do, and how to do it on a budget.

Click here to see pictures of El Salvador, including Playa El Tunco, Juayúa and nearby towns on Ruta de Las Flores (lots of pics of the food), and my hike through Bosque El Imposible.

Comments

  6. I feel the same way- I used to be sooo good at my spanish and now it’s like I struggle for the words. Good luck- sounds awesome!

    • I hope you are enjoying it and Juayua as much as I did. And if you seen the owner Cesar, tell him the Gringa he dropped off in San Salvador made it safely to Honduras and is very appreciative of the ride :-)

    • Fortunately, I went to El Salvador before experiencing Honduras. From what I heard, San Salvador and La Libertad are really the only dangerous cities.

      I agree that after Honduras, I was more than ready to get back to Nicaragua :-)
      The Travel Chica recently posted..Tango Is Not for Me

  9. Wow, I really miss pupusas! And that weekend food fair was amazing. The only negative was the hours as it was difficult to get in two meals as they pack up early. I also loved Anáhuac, one of the nices hostels I stayed in throughout Central America. I stayed in La Guitarra in El Tunco and it was great, and though a bit more pricey, keep in mind that if you stay longer they keep dropping the price (drops after 4 days, then again after 11 I think and they have a good monthly rate too). I made a friend in Mexico and we met up again in El Tunco and we were going to move on to Nicaragua together but she decided to stay and ended up staying an entire year! I also really enjoyed the lovely little town of Suchitoto and the national park tour from Tacuba. The whole ruta de las flores was great really. Definitely, thinking back, I realize I loved El Salvador.
    Jeff recently posted..Finding Books on the Road

  10. I think this is the first pro-El Salvador post I’ve read. Thanks so much! My neighbor in Costa Rica was from there and always told me to stay away… And I think it was Federico who ran into trouble there. Loved reading this!

    • I think it is a wonderful country, and more travelers should go there. I did meet locals who felt it was dangerous to travel in El Salvador too, but I think that depends on their personal experiences, as well as whether or not they have traveled in other parts of Central America.
      The Travel Chica recently posted..Tango Is Not for Me

  12. When I went from Guatemala to Roatan in Honduras, we had to fly through San Salvador. We tried to make it work where we could stop over for a couple days, but flight schedules there are just so erratic! Thanks for giving us a taste of what it’s like there.
    Camels & Chocolate recently posted..Santa Fe to Memphis

  13. Wow! I just finished 3 weeks in El Salvador (El Tunco and Ruta de Las Flores) and reading your post was exactly like reading my future post entries!

    I had the same experiences in El Salvador especially with the friendliness of the people. It was incredible!

    Glad you shared the same experience from this welcoming country :-)
    LAbackpackerChick recently posted..(un)Surfing La Libertad

  14. Hola Stephanie, I was born and raised in El Salvador and I live in NYC. I just came across your blog. Very interesting.

    I went back to El Salvador in September 21012 after 15 years. I am heading back tomorrow. I had forgotten how nice it was. I have traveled the world and sadly, I didn’t want to go back until I felt ready. I was amazed with the changes and the people. I guess I forgot how nice us Salvadorians are. hehe. I was so impressed, I decided to go back for New Year’s Eve.

    Anyway, great blog.

  15. Excelente mi querida gringa; espero invitarte a comer pupusas a los planes de rendero la proxima vez que vengas a el salvador

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