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Cerro Verde

It was magnificent weather when we drove to Cerro Verde for the day. We set off early, still the massive roadworks near Sonate held us up. They look to be rebuilding a huge portion of the road and it appears to be an enormous job entailing countless workers and tons of heavy equipment.

Lake Coatepeque

Our first stop along the way was an overlook that was above Lake Coatepeque. The view was stunning! 

Lake Coatepeque is a large crater lake surrounded by wooded hills in western El Salvador. The nearby El Congo is its gateway village. In the lake’s southwest corner is Teopán Island, once a sacred site for the ancient Maya. 

Onwards uphill we drove, finally arriving at the final turn, only to find a road blocked by visitor buses and school busses. Luckily the buses soon squeezed past and we were able to drive into the Cero Verde Parque. 

Cerro Verde National, Park Parque Nacional Los Volcanoes

Also known as Cerro Verde National Park, is a large national park. The park includes three volcanoes: Santa Anna, Izalco and Cerro Verde.

The view looking across to the volcanos was amazing!

One of the best views I have ever had of volcanos and the surrounding countryside.

In fact you could see all the way across to the Pacific Ocean. You could spend hours just gazing out. Enjoying the view.

Off we ventured around the various pathways through the gardens. The main attraction of this park is Cerro Verde itself. This is known as a”cloud or mist hill”.

Along the way, we found interpretive trails from where we could see the biodiversity of flora and fauna that is found in the area.

John really would have liked to do a hike, but no one is allowed to just hike. You must be in an organized group with a qualified guide or stick to the trails. 

We headed to Cassa 1800 the park’s hotel and restaurant which looks out over the volcano Izalco and on the other side over Lake Coatepeque from further above. 

We could look out at the volcano Izalco from a different angle. Once again the views were totally captivating, just stunning! 

Having lunch in the Cassa 1800 Restaurant we were seated where we could look right out at the Izalco Volcano. Sure enough we saw vapor/steam clouds billowing from the volcanoes inside crater. Yes, it is still very active. 

Izalco aka Ilamatepec

is an active stratovolcano, located at the side of the Santa Ana volcano aka Ilamatepec.

 Izalco erupted almost continuously from 1770, (when it formed), to 1958 and then had a further eruption in 1966. This volcano earned it the nickname of “Lighthouse of the Pacific” as ships would use its glow for navigation. During one eruption in 1926, the village of Matazano was buried and 56 people were killed. Today, Izalco experiences only fumarolic activity in the form of rainwater seeping into the volcano and contacting hot rocks, rather than steam emissions from underground gases.

Lunch was wonderful, and as we ate we watched the afternoon clouds moving in and gathering around Izalco. An absolutely breathtaking place to visit. 

Herradura food festival

Friends from the anchorage mentioned to John about a food festival at Herradura. This festival was in the colourful town just 3 miles up river. So off we went in the dinghy to have a look and enjoy lunch.

The plaza on the waterside where it was taking place was full of folks mainly sitting and eating. Our friends were seated at the main area and we joined them.

Our lunch was our regular favorite, the whole fried fish. There were ladies carrying baskets full of snacks, nuts, sweetened coconut and other candied fruits on their heads. We did purchase several to take back with us. 

Pupusas 

After eating we walked around some and decided to purchase a few pupusas for dinner. They happened to be shrimp.

Now pupusas are the national dish of El Salvador. They are basically a thick tortilla stuffed with meat, beans and cheese and grilled over high heat with very little fat. Both John and I haven’t been overly impressed with them. The ones we had for dinner were stuffed with small shrimp. However the shrimp still had their shells still on. Plus there was cheese and vegetable matter in them too. No, not impressive at all.

Beaches, boat prep, and more

Our beach walks continued with the occurrence of low tides. We both absolutely loved those beach walks.

The birds, crabs, shells, flotsam,

reflections

and sand patterns were always impressive. 

John made sure everything was ready for our passage to Mexico. He was up the mast, checking sails and rigging, testing this and that, changing oil, and all those important maintenance chores.

We went out to anchor at the end of October, so it wasn’t as convenient to go for our walks, but for me it was a relief to be away from the mosquitoes. At anchor in the middle of the river meant far fewer bugs and lots more breeze.

I was busy repairing canvases, making new fender covers, getting rid of anything we didn’t need and more. The time flew by. 

 As it happened the International Bill fishing completion was starting and the marina wanted all of the possible slips for the big fishing boats.

It was a week long event with lots of food drinks and prizes for all who attended. John went in one evening and met up with the other fellow cruisers.

Driving around San Vicente 

Our final tour that we took ourselves on was to drive to the middle area of El Salvador near the San Vicente volcano, also known as Chichontepec or Las Chiches.

This was the volcano that we could see in the distance from the boat. It is the second highest volcano in El Salvador. In the indigenous language Nanhaut, Chichontepec means the mountain of the two breasts, because its double summit resembles a woman’s bosom. Each summit has a crater.

San Vincente town

Our first stop was the town of San Vincente. There we hoped to walk around to see the Torre Vicentina, placed in the centre of San Vicente, it is one best known symbols of the city. However we found that the town center is under restoration and mostly fenced off.

We did walk around the main square, called the Antonio José Cañas Park and we were able to look inside San Vicente Cathedral. Plus we saw Tempisque tree, which is where the city was founded by 50 Spanish families in 1635.

Off we went to drive to some of the nearby towns and villages that are famous for their candy making. The famous local sweets are made from fruits such as sweet potato, coconut, tamarind, nance, cashew, plus others.

We found several lovely villages and drove by wonderful scenery. The San Vicente volcano in the background was magnificent. On its side we could see a thermal plant surrounded by farmers crops. 

We stopped and purchased some of the sweets made locally. There were dozens to choose from.

Lastly, we stopped to purchase some locally grown fruits. It was a very pleasant day out.

Meeting Friends at Beto’s

Our friends Wayne and Liz were in El Salvador to visit Liz’s Mom for her 90th Birthday. They suggested that we all meet at Beto’s for lunch. Bento’s is located just past Libertad aka Surf City on the cliff side over looking the Pacific.

It was wonderful meeting up, catching up and having lunch together.

The scenery was stunning, Liz’s Mom was so young for 90 years of age. She told me that she keeps active, walks everyday and enjoys life. 

The food was excellent! And so much choice, plus it was presented like a piece of art.

Goodbye El Salvador

On Friday the 15th November John checked out at 9:00am as instructed. By 1:00pm we were met by the pilot boat and Bill. Next we headed out to the bar. 

And it was a rough but safe crossing that took a lot of engine power to plough into the surf over the bar. The shallowest we saw was 7 foot under the keel, so more or less 13feet. 

Behind us the weather was worsening, black clouds, wind picking up and sea conditions were rough along with a conflicting swell and waves. Consequently, the rest of the afternoon and evening were ugly! We had seas smashing onto the deck and hard top of Aeeshah. Never had we ever had such rough conditions. Sea water literally smashed into the forward cockpit cover, poured under and down below. 

The rain hammered down, we heard thunder, saw flashes but could tell it was a few miles off. It was simply awful but we had no choice but to continue.

 I had to just suck it up and we toughed it out. I managed to hold out till 9:00pm and then I was finished, just feeling dreadful. Poor John had to be on watch all night till just after 5am when I could function again. The conditions improved through the night and by day it was back to calmer seas, not much wind, as usual in along this coast, overcast skies which kept us cooler than usual. 

We have a rain gauge and when John checked it we had caught 2 inches of rain from the down pours. And Bill sent a message that back at his place, where we had left from, they caught 6 inches of rain.

I believe all of this was caused by tropical storm Sara on the Caribbean coast messing up the regular stability of the region. 

We arrived, and began the checking in process.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

“Wherever we want to go, we’ll go. That’s what a ship is, you know. It’s not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails. That’s what a ship needs. But what a ship is, what it really is, is freedom.”