Prior to my last post, I’d gotten pretty good at going with the flow and editing my entire plan to not have one at all. Guatemala was cold, I wasn’t feeling the vibe and didn’t feel like myself, so I hopped on a bus and then into a Subaru, knowing I was heading to El Salvador with no planning, no where to sleep, only knowing I needed to go to a beach pronto. I made a few vague places I would possibly like to visit, but I am using this week in El Salvador to relax, catch up on work and have a holiday to get away from my holiday.
Sunday
I arrived in El Tunco, one of the main beach areas in El Salvador. When I went to the ATM to get out US dollars to use, my money didn’t quite feel like Monopoly money anymore. The country is fairly expensive but I am trying to budget around $30 a day, including accommodation which is around $15. I had been in El Tunco for around two hours, this gave me enough time to find a hostel, Papaya Lodge for $12 a night (the main backpacker and surfer spot) and walk around the town at least 3 times. This is by far the smallest beach town I have ever been to, it is perfect for a reset, a relax and some surf. The people are friendly and doesn’t feel although this country has the highest murder rate in the world, in fact, it is peaceful and slow here. El Salvador is extremely hot (but not many bugs!!!), and the beach is around a 2 minute walk from my hostel. So far I like the vibe, it is very tranquil with not much going on. For now El Tunco seems to have everything I need!
Monday
I love the vibe of this place, it feels like a fresh country full of backpackers, surfers and skateboarders. A group of around 10 of us walked to watch the sunset where everything including drinks and food cost $1.39, called Sunset Plaza. We then went back to the hostel, played some chill games and then I ate my first pupusa, an El Salvadorian favourite, and it tastes unreal. Made of corn, filled with a topping of your choice, sweet or savoury and its only around $1 for two. El Salvadorian food is by far my favourite in Central America so far! So they main part of my budget right now only consists of food, accommodation and if I want to hire a surfboard. Most people stay in El Tunco and because things are near to each other, it is easy to hitchhike or catch a local bus to near towns or waterfalls. So I believe this will be my base for the week and I will often take some day trips to near places.
Tuesday
This place is perfect for a reset and productivity. I woke up, did yoga and some work and then Cam (mullet man) and I went shopping as we decided to cook together. I was so surprised at the price, we paid $7 all together for around 5 meals. Considering I try to travel on a budget I hate cooking in hostels, so when I buddy up with someone to cook I am much more motivated to eat healthy and spend less money on going out for food. This week I will try and eat breakfast and lunch at the hostel as this country is the cheapest place I have ever found groceries, and then I can treat myself to a nice dinner and won’t feel bad about spending the money. This day I went to El Tunco beach and caught up on much needed work and rest.
Wednesday
Today some friends and I headed to Tamanique Waterfalls, we took a local chicken bus to Tamanique town for 50 cents, hiked a bit and got to the waterfalls. We were the only ones there and it was at 11.30am, it was so beautiful with perfect lagoon pools to jump and slide into. Entry cost $2.50, so a full day out cost around $5 as we got tortas from the street food stand in Tamanique. What I love about El Salvador is you can take trips all over the country from 25 cents, unlike most places in Central America where it can cost around $40 from city to city. I then headed back to El Tunco to watch the sunset and cooked food with some friends. Because many of my friends are on the same route as me heading down south, I keep bumping into people I met on my travels. This is the perfect place to chat and breathe in the perfect beach sunsets.
Thursday
Today I headed to El Zonte (Bitcoin Beach), Cam and I waited on the main road for around 5 minutes and managed to hitchhike in a minibus to the beach. We walked around the town which consisted of about 10 businesses and had the beach a further walk to the right, entirely to ourselves. There was rocks and caves and the warmest ocean I had swam in the pacific side. We then drank beer in a local hotel Esencia Nativa and then watched the sunset. We headed back, of course by hitchhike and ate pizza and then frozen yoghurt from Moo. It was another great day in El Salvador, yet again defying any expectation’s I once had.
Friday
This was my last day at the beach so I relaxed and sorted the rest of my route for the weekend. I ate a salad in Dale Restaurant and then the weekends are known for partying as locals from San Salvador escape to the beach. Some friends and I drank beer watching the sunset and then went to bars along the beach front, the town is usually so quiet so it was nice to see it with locals giving it a different atmosphere and partying in the evenings.
Saturday
Transport in El Salvador is the cheapest in every country I have been to so far. I travelled from El Tunco to San Salavador (the capital), to Santa Ana for $7. It would have been $3 less but I had to get a taxi in San Salvador because I missed the correct bus station. I was being cautioned so much about travelling by local bus alone with all of my belongings (wait until the end to see why) but the people are just as kind and friendly as any other country I had been. I arrived in Santa Ana, my final stop with no where to sleep and no SIM card (wouldn’t recommend). I knew things were looking dodgy when a woman asked if I was alone and laughed, I continued walking with 15 kilos on my back and then a car stopped, told me it’s muy peligroso aquí (with a lot of gang crime). So I hopped in his car which was perhaps on par with the un-safety, fortunately he took me to Hotel Brunette. And I had a lovely private room and bathroom for $20, a bit out of budget but by that point I didn’t care.
My plans had to change rapidly, my plan was to bus to Ruta Las Flores and stay in a nearby town so I could go to the food market in Juayua, but my timeframe wasn’t long enough so unfortunately I had to skip it. If I travelled with a car next time it would be much more feasible to see more of the country. I then realised Santa Ana isn’t quite the tourist destination, and entering back into Guatemala on the Sunday was proving difficult. I like to talk about things that go wrong or how I feel stressed because everyone thinks when you travel everything works out perfectly, you have freedom to go where you like, which is true. But a lot of thought and planning needs to go into travelling and when you are alone in an unknown country things can become overwhelming quickly. I’m not smiling and happy all of the time, I just try to remember that things always work it’s self out and if that plan didn’t work out for whatever reason, it’s okay because there are so many more routes to take.
Sunday
Knowing I didn’t know how to cross the boarder because no companies were operating and there was no chicken bus schedule, I didn’t know how I was going to be in Guatemala City by the evening. As I was about to get an Uber to the bus station, the driver was sending strange messages so the hotel manager helped me and got a taxi driver to take me to my route into the country above. With $30 in my purse, no bus and no hotel, I arrive in Santa Ana bus station. Fortunately the first bus I saw happened to be the one I needed to get to the boarder. After a few hours on a chicken bus with a man blaring out karaoke on his abnormally loud microphone, I made it to the land boarder crossing, Guatemala was in sight. Everything worked out as it should, of course, so maybe I didn’t need to stress so much. The locals are always friendly and helpful. I walked between lorries, went through immigration on both sides, got my stamps and checked the amount of days. I asked a motorbiker for his lighter, we shared some happy smoke and I then found a 70Q (£7) coach to take me to Guatemala City. And all is well. Now I know the system more and have done a few boarders I will try and take the cheaper and local option on more of my ventures through land!
Ok around 20 minutes after I wrote that final paragraph something terrible happened on my bus, it’s made me think that now I will not be getting local buses anymore especially alone. The gangs here aren’t a joke, the weapons aren’t a joke and I’m happy that I have travel buddies to be with now after a traumatising day. Maybe I will make a more in-depth post about city violence in the future, but for now I am trying to understand it and don’t want to deter people from travelling as these bad things are rare.
Thank you El Salvador, you were beautiful 🇸🇻
Bevs Backpacking📍 
Stay Brave and True my love all experiences grow our life and outlook x x
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