March 20th 2024 – San Miguel, El Salvador

Make a note: “Ruta de Las Flores”.
It’s a scenic route that runs between Ahuachapan and Nahuizalco in western El Salvador. A ribbon of smooth twisty tarmac winds its way through the mountains surrounded by coffee plantations and wildflowers. It’s the backbone of an area with much to offer.

3 days in Concepción de Ataco allowed us to get a feel for El Salvador – the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It’s only half the size of Denmark but with the same number of people. It was very different from Guatemala. Things moved at a slower pace. People were more smiling, attentive and polite. It reflected on the traffic culture. Even the chicken buses drove cautiously and gave room.
We enjoyed the change.

One evening while I was sitting outside our room the ground started to shake. It was my first earthquake and it took me a second to realize what was going on. It lasted maybe a minute or so. Later Jose, the owner of the Motel, told me that earthquakes are very common and happen several times each month.

In another conversation Jose told me how the gang crackdown 2 years earlier had lifted a yoke from the shoulders of the population. Before the crackdown all business owners in Ataco had to pay protection money to the local gangs. Since then the gang members have either gone to ground, fled the country or are among the 75.000 who have been arrested on suspicion of gang affiliations.
It might explain why the Salvadorians in general seemed so engaging and positive.

A conversation with another local confirmed Jose’s story, but added a fly to the ointment. Apparently there is still widespread corruption in President Nayib Bukele’s government, but the population tolerates it because he has succeeded in significantly reducing crime rates.

Eventually we relocated to Juayua further along Ruta de las flores.
Instead of going directly we did a loop past Sonzacate to pick up some cash. None of the ATMs in Ataco had accepted our Revolut Mastercard – only our Wise Visa card. The currency in El Salvador is US$. We wanted to take advantage of that and stock up on our cash supply. A stash of US$ might come in handy later on this trip. Following advice from a security guard at a bank we located a drive-in ATM that allowed us to utilize our selection of credit cards. With money in hand we fled back into the mountains and cooler temperatures.

Juayua is probably the most touristy town on Ruta de Las Flores. Not only foreign but also domestic tourists flock to the charming little mountain town. One of the big draws is “La Feria Gastronomica” – the weekly food festival that takes place during the weekends.

We had decided to stay at Hostal Doña Mercedes. It was the only place in town we could find that provided secure parking on the premises. Katrine had called them in advance to book a room for 3 nights. Unfortunately they only had an available room for one night. We would have to make do with that.
Just as we were checking in they received a cancellation. As a result we could now stay for as long as we wanted – and we got upgraded to their best room without additional charge.

The sisters Jeaneth and Lorena who owned Hostal Doña Mercedes ran a tight ship. The place had a dorm, a couple of simple rooms with shared bathroom and 2 nicer en suite rooms. The place was packed. Most of the guests were women between 20 and 40. Some appeared to be high maintenance. Jeaneth especially, left no room for demanding behavior. It was a pleasure to observe. Katrine and I immediately gelled with both the sisters and their staff. 

What had attracted us to Juayua was the hike “La Ruta de las Siete Cascadas”. We followed recommendations and signed up for a guided tour.
A truck picked us up at our hostal one morning and dropped us off at the trailhead just outside of town. Our guide was a local woman full of spirit and very knowledgeable about the flora. Less than an hour down the trail we reached the first river. From there the hike transformed into something akin to canyoning. At one point we had to ascend a 55 meters high waterfall. The rushing water made climbing the rocks interesting. From the top of the waterfalls we hiked to Chorros de la Calera – 3 connecting pools with waterfalls. It was possible to partly navigate an aqueduct through the mountain between two of the pools by clawing our way along the rough-hewn sides. The long tunnel was less than 2 meters high with about 30 cm of air above the rushing water. It was not for the claustrophobic inclined!

Back at the trailhead, after 4 hours of fun, our ride back to town waited to pick us up. The 39 year old truck only made it a few hundred meters before it threw a wheel. Another truck soon showed up to take over.

Sunday morning we took the bikes for a loop around the Santa Ana Volcano. Standing at 2,381 meters it’s the highest of the small country’s more than 100 volcanoes. We stopped by the town Santa Ana en route.
The scenery as we rode through the jungle covered mountains was stunning. A light cloud cover kept the temperatures in check. Hundreds of riders were having fun on the immaculate twisty roads. To me riding doesn’t get much better than this!
The price for the cloud cover was that we only caught a few elusive glimpses of the volcano.

Katrine and I are from The Cold North. We don’t tolerate heat very well – especially not Katrine.
Even before we set out on this journey we considered that the temperatures, as we approach the equator, most likely would become a challenge. As a pleasant surprise we have been able to travel in comfortable temperatures by staying at altitude up until now.
That was about to change.
Our next destination in El Salvador was San Miguel. We had been warned about high temperatures in that part of the country.

We left Juayua in the morning and descended the mountains towards Santa Ana where we picked up the Panamericana southbound.
Traffic was moderate and we made good progress. Heat soon became an issue – especially on the few occasions where we had to slow down. We were both soaked in sweat when we arrived in San Miguel.
We had been farsighted enough to book a room with AC. It was a lifesaver!

It turns out that we have arrived in San Miguel during a heat wave with record breaking temperatures. No surprise that we are struggling – even the locals suffer.

One morning  we braved the heat at sunup and went for a stroll around San Miguel. The town was interesting and not touristy at all. The locals we talked to confirmed that foreigners were a rare sight. Like everywhere else we have visited in El Salvador the place had a pleasant vibe to it.
We only lasted a couple of hours before we succumbed to the heat and returned to the shelter of our cool room. 

At the moment the journey has turned into a game of survival. Any plans we had for exploring eastern El Salvador have been canceled. Instead we have spent the last couple of days acclimatizing to the heat while preparing our escape. As part of the acclimatization I visited the local gym yesterday. It was insane with 43℃ (110℉), high humidity and no AC. Katrine declined to join me and did some yoga in our pleasantly cool room instead. I don’t blame her.