Why El Salvador?

Oi! Sorry for the long blog posting absence but I just got back from my latest adventure in...El Salvador!

"El Salvador"?! you may be thinking. "Did I hear that correctly? Why, with all the news reports of gangs and violence, would you go there?" To which I would respond, go see for yourself (after you read my blog of course - need to keep the blog stats up).

Glosette Girl, Margot and I were only there for a week but what a week it was!

The Approach

Numerous government websites warn against visiting the country yet there are hundreds of personal accounts on trip advisor and other online forums that testify how amazing it is. To be honest, this confusing mix of information ultimately dictated the travel approach we finally adopted: stay at a resort and do day trips. In hindsight, we were probably a bit conservative. I never felt in danger on or off resort.* The tourist police were everywhere and, probably most importantly, my family's interests naturally kept us in safe, touristy areas (not too many gang members at the top of volcanoes or at Mayan archeological sites). Still, for someone who is interested in El Salvador but perhaps a bit intimidated from all the negative news online it's a nice way to ease into the country.

The Resort

We spent the whole week at the the Royal Decameron Salinitas, which is in Western El Salvador on the Pacific ocean.

Generally speaking, I am not an all inclusive resort type of guy. Usually, I prefer something more real. That said, having now stayed at a resort with unlimited food and alcohol I must admit it has its advantages!

It was super relaxing to let someone else take care of everything, including making all the food. The food at the Royal Decameron Salinitas "hit the spot" Margot loved the pupusas which, interestingly enough, was served only at breakfast (I grew up with eating tortillas/pupusas at dinner).

El Salvador is famous for its pupusas

The many onsite pools were heaven.

The El Salvadoran version of "dabbing"

As was the warm Pacific breeze.

A Cultural Experience

Probably 90% of the Royal Decameron Salinitas' clients are Latin American. Most of the remaining clients are French-speaking Quebecers (due to the fact that the major package tourist airline to El Salvador from Canada flies from Montreal). While some staff spoke a bit of French, English was spoken by far less people than I had expected. Intimidating? No, I loved it!  It was fun being surrounded by Latin tourists enjoying many of the same things I was enjoying (sun/sand/food/music) but doing it their own way.

We experienced the local culture in other ways too. The excursions we took gave us a sense of the history of the country. For example, we learned how important Indigo was to El Salvador's early prosperity:

The guides on our excursions were also not shy about giving us their personal views on the many problems the country is facing (crime, overpopulation, poverty, and perhaps most significantly, the machismo culture) and also its enormous potential. For example, did you know that 25% of the country is powered by geothermal energy, most of the rest is hydro power and there is even a small but growing portion of solar energy production? How, in the era of climate change, is the fact that El Salvador produces most of its energy from non-fossil fuels not touted as a success story?

Anyways, seeing and hearing all this information first hand really gave me a better understanding of the country.

Day Trips and Landscape

I would say we experienced Salvadoran culture in two ways on the trip. The first, as I mentioned already, was just being around normal people at the resort doing normal things - but with their own Salvadoran or Latin American twist. The second way was through day trips. From Mayan temples at sites like San Andres and Tazumel to the villages of the Ruta de Las Flores El Salvador packs a lot into such a small country.

Tazumel

Of course I can't forget about the volcanoes. Think Arenal in Costa Rica looks nice? Check out Izalco. Is that not the most volcano-looking-volcano you've ever seen?

This is what kids draw when they think of volcanoes

And..oh yeah.. did I mention I climbed an active volcano too (Santa Ana)? It's nothing special...other than the bubbling lake of sulphur in the middle!

OK...where is that contact lens...

Me and my bro next to the sulphur lake at the top of Santa Ana

Family 

The most important aspect of the trip for me was family. Glosette Girl, Margot and I travelled with my brother J and his wife and daughter. It took a little planning to work out the logistics but in the end it was a smooth success.

Family was important in another way too. At the end of trip we invited my grandmother, L, and aunt, M, who live in El Salvador, and my uncle T, who is often down here, to come stay with us for a few days at the resort.

The Gang!

Trust me when I say there was a plentiful supply of hugs, kisses, laughter and Spanglish!

I feel I know them (and myself) more than ever before and it was bittersweet to leave.

Hard to believe all this happened in one week. Anyways, I hope I gave you a little taste of our adventure. If someone ever asks you, "Why El Salvador?" respond to them with "WHY NOT?!"

* I was scared at one point during the trip: on the two-hour drive back from Montreal through the icy "weather bomb" we've been experiencing in Canada lately.