Guatemala and El Salvador

Guatemala and El Salvador 2018

This trip was down to Guatemala and El Salvador. We had a brief layover in El Salvador before heading to Guatemala first. We arrived in Guatemala City and then drove an hour to Antigua, arriving around 10pm. We got settled into our hotel with a fun surprise waiting for us (wine, chocolate, strawberries, and flowers).

Day 1: We took a shuttle to the beautiful Lake Atitlan, about 2 hours away. I was told that you could feel the presence of the Mayan's around the lake. which is one of the reasons I wanted to go.  There was a calmness in all the little towns around the water. The lake was covered in fog, so we couldn't appreciate the entirety of the beauty, but the small glimpse that we did see was still stunning. Walking around San Antonio, the Mayan culture surrounds you. The women were dressed in traditional clothing while weaving blankets, scarfs, or table clothes, and painting discs and various types of pottery. The second town of San Catalina had various colorful patterns across the buildings, in declaration of the artisan town. That night we went to Cafe Sky for a dinner of fajitas, while trying to dry off from the downpour of rain on the way there.

Pepian (national Guatemalan dish)

Day 2: We moved across Antigua to our next hotel. Today, we walked around the town of Antigua. We explored The Cerro de La Cruz (cross on the hill), the Church and Convent of las Capunchias, Arco de Santa Catalina, Nim Po't market, the Antigua Brewery Company, the Antigua Cathedral (which is apparently haunted), as well as some local traditional candy. Our dinner was at Meson Panza Verde surrounded by beautiful roses.

Day 3: A 3 hour drive took us to the border of El Salvador. Along the way to San Salvador, we traveled to the Santa Teresa hot springs, Tazumal Mayan ruins, and then had lunch at the local fast food chicken place, Pollo Campero,  The taste of El Salvador commenced the rest of the afternoon with elote loco (crazy corn), Pastelitos de carne (similar to empanadas), coffee, and pupusas. We did a small amount of driving around and sight-seeing that night, including the Monumento A La Reconciliacion, The Little Prince monument, parks, and the local farmer's market. 

 Day 4:  The morning was spent cruising on the Coatepegue lake, and the afternoon was spent exploring volcanos. We started with the Izalco volcano and an abandoned hotel, then the Santa Ana volcano which was mostly covered in fog. We tasted the ceviche and then explored a local artisan market and grabbed more local food, such as tamales, plantain chips, atole, traditional candy, and pizza made out of a VW Bug. We ended the night by indulging in a flight at the local brewery, Cadejo and then finishing up some wine on the hammock at the place we were staying.

 Day 5: The day my soul was at peace....Beach day! We were lucky enough to see some baby sea turtles released, as well as soaking in the salt, sand, and sun. Dinner that night was on the San Salvador volcano with some steaks.

Day 6:  Our last started with a water outage on the block where we were staying, so we had to fogo showers that morning before the semi-treacherous hike up to see the top of the San Salvador volcano with a large crater in the center shopped around volcano. Souvenir shopping was next at a national artisan market. We finished off by relaxing with a local cup of coffee with a view of the city below.

The trip was too short as all vacations are. I brushed up on a small amount of Spanish while here, but mostly I needed everything translated. I don't know if it's the people, atmosphere, or food, but Central America always has a special place in my heart.