Ep 175 w/ Leah Arao – Discussing Our Travel Experiences in El Salvador, Why You Must Visit!

Hello and welcome to this week's episode. This is the last episode of my mini series of El Salvador and Leah from Ticket to Anywhere rejoins the podcast to talk about El Salvador as a place to travel. I traveled in November, Leah went in December. So we come together to talk about all the pros and cons of traveling to El Salvador, all the things you need to know, tips and tricks, budgets, foods, the whole lot.

and it's an hour and half of the final bit of wanderlust of El Salvador and to summarise, we both say how you've got to go and visit this country this year. Hopefully that provides a nice little summary of our times in that great country and there should be a lot of things to write down to see and do when you plan your trip. I hope you enjoy. Let's get stuck in. Do you love spontaneous adventures, travel tips and stories that will inspire you to pack up and go?

Well, welcome to the Wigging It Travel Podcast. I'm James, your host, and each week I bring you travel tales, practical advice, and interviews with travelers from around the globe. Whether you're planning a big trip or just dreaming about one, you'll find everything from hidden gems to epic fails, because travel is not perfect, and that is what makes it beautiful. So grab your backpack and let's wing it. New episodes every Monday, wherever you get your podcasts.

and on YouTube too. You can find Winging It and more fantastic travel podcasts from around the world at voyagescape.com. The link is in the show notes. Let's go and explore the world.

My cousins joined me last minute. literally told me Christmas Day. They're like, hey, we're going to fly to El Salvador with you tomorrow, like on standby.

No, it was amazing. It literally the best surprise I could ask for. they, you know, we spent probably 48 hours, a little more than that in San Salvador. And I knew they were only going to be in El Salvador in general for like six days. So I was like, let's do a day trip to Suchitoto.

Did you jump on the bus?

yeah. I gave them the full experience. I'm talking like I'm from El Salvador right now. But like, you know, chicken bus, like buying fruits, like they were all like, let's take an Uber everywhere. I was like, no, you guys, we're going to take, we're going to take the local bus. Yup. I'm like, you guys are going to love it. We're going to get like cheap fruits and peanuts and snacks.

the one dollar bus?

and it's gonna be awesome and inexpensive. And yeah, so we did like a half day trip there and then I went back a week later on my own and spent two nights.

Wow. Okay. That's great.

I went

twice, which is like unheard of, feel like.

Well,

I went to Nice as well because I had to stay. I had an extra day there because I went and booked the Civil War tour, but it gets booked out quite quickly with Daniel at the eco tours. So she told her eco tours. So when I messaged, she's like, well, I've got space in the Thursday morning. But I was like, oh, I'm leaving that morning. But I said, yes, because I want to do it. So that day was literally get up, pack breakfast, leave a bag there, do this whole tour in the morning, really hot and sway, like waterfalls.

get my bag, jump on the local bus straight away and then walk to my hotel. It was a long day. Walk to my hotel in San Salvador and stay the night and then go next morning. But yeah, think two nights is pretty good in Situ Toto. It was. I felt like.

It was like a perfect reset.

Very much like a slow, like a, just a calm two days. Which I loved and appreciate in my maturing years. I'm not that old you guys. Sometimes it just feels like.

Yes.

Well, the G Adventures tour that I joined for the Civil War tour was for the youngsters. So youngsters go there as well. Yeah, I'd literally joined a group of 20 that morning. Just hopped on. Yeah.

The G Adventures Tour?

And let me guess, but a lot of those people are in town just for the day, huh?

I think they arrived like midday the day before. yeah, not even a day. Yeah. But you know what's interesting in that tour? I was really into it because I love like the Civil War history and you get to meet a local called this guy's called Nelson and he was on the guerrilla forces fighting the government and Daniel who runs the tour, will translate. But I'm like, oh, I've got like 10 questions I want to ask him. But when I was looking around at the tour group, the youngsters are like the early 20s mostly, they just weren't that interested.

And I felt that's a bit of a shame. No. Yeah. They're like sitting there. Yeah. That's zoning out. Yeah. It's like, oh yeah. It's nice. Isn't it? Like they're kind of not really like paying attention. And I felt that was quite a shame, but I had like three questions, which I asked in broken Spanish. then, yeah, I would stay there with Dane and talk to him. But obviously after half an hour, it's time to hike up to the viewpoints and stuff. But I felt like I was just looking, scanning the areas. They weren't really invested in it as much as I was, but maybe that's because of age.

is like

I feel like you kind of get that on every tour though. Like all my favorite things a coffee tour and I don't know, can't tell you how many things I, how many times I do this in any country I go to. And then like even wine tours and people don't care. You know, it's sad. I'm like, this has caught this in the second most traded commodity in the world, coffee. And you guys are just like, tastes great. You know, I don't know. Sadly, I think those kinds of people are on every tour, but I'm glad you were engaging and asking questions. I'm sure they loved that.

Well, I was like, I need to try and ask in Spanish. know Daniel can speak really good English, the guy who runs the tour. I can get away with it. Yeah. I can just like give it a go. Yeah. Great guy. Interesting stories about the civil war. Yeah.

my god, I bet. I couldn't get onto it on time because you did send me the link and told me that he books out quickly. yeah, I kind of had a different plan for Suchitoto. I just wanted to wander around, know, see all the main sites and just take my time because I'd been go, go, go for actually almost two weeks at that point.

Yeah. Yeah. It's a great place to walk around there, isn't it? Like the cobble streets, colorful houses, the little cathedral in the square, little big cathedral and the Yeah. No traffic.

You

Did you go down, you know, I had heard that you can take, what are they called? Like a luncha, luncha boat across to like San Fernando, which is a tiny little town. But it's cool because you, the guy that drives the boat, he basically waits for the boat to fill up. So there's no schedule. And I was like, I don't know if I have time, even though I said I wanted a slow two days, I still had like a list of things I wanted to see. I'm like, I don't know if I have time to just wait around. Like what if we're waiting for an hour and a half?

I didn't really entertain the boat. Yeah. I, I, walked down there to go see the view. Yeah. And then sort of hung out at the park and the restaurant area and like read my book with the lake view in front. That's what I did.

nice. I should have gone down, but I was definitely watching it from all the viewpoints, the miradors at the top. I basically restaurant.

Yeah,

yeah, because they got every every restaurants got a view. Yes

Every, that was my goal was to be there in, have the view the entire time, basically. Anytime I wanted to look like at the lake, I'm like, I need to be like facing it. And my cousins that join me, they're like, I call them like they're my down. So was my cousin is the guy, his wife is married into our family. Basically I just call them both my cousins because it's easier. And she's married into the family now. So she's family.

But even the coolest thing, like I always say, I flew to Bali to celebrate their wedding a couple years ago and they're just down. They're like always traveling. They're like living this full life all over the world. And when it got dark, you know, it gets dark quite early. I was like, we can't really see the view anymore. Like, is it worth it sitting at a restaurant like with a view? And like, this warms my heart. My cousin was like, well, yeah, cause like, what if there's something in the dark, like some light splash? Like what if there's something cool that just like pops up and we don't want to miss it.

So we literally sat in the dark at a restaurant like facing the dark lake and I was like, this is the kind of people I love that are just like down because something might happen, you know? But most people would be like, we can't see anything. Like, what's the point of sitting here? Like, no, I want to be with the people who are like, the lake is dark, but we don't want to miss anything. So we're going to face it any way.

Yes, my god, that place. Did you try the, what was it, horchata? There was like an horchata latte there.

no, I didn't try that now. I had lunch and just normal coffee like Americano, but the views are crazy, aren't they?

I went to pretty much every single restaurant along that row. And there's a hotel at the end as well that I went to. And yeah, I kind of just broke up my day. was like, I'll have a coffee here. I'll have a lunch beer here. I'll have a mid afternoon.

It's a a dream lifestyle, it?

Okay.

I've never heard of that in a Latin country. was like, what kind of place is this?

well.

I only saw that in a TV show. I didn't realise this was real life. wow.

I

know it was like, what is this? And I went to La Posada de Suchitlan, which is like a hotel slash restaurant. And then also went to, there's like a Donde, what is it called? Donde Polo restaurant e hostel.

Go to Alejandro Cotto's house. The view at the back with the garden.

Did it!

Wow. Wait, with the snake walkway?

Yeah, so walks all the way down, right? And he gets the platform bit. Wow.

I

literally went the more, I left like mid morning on a Saturday and that was my Saturday morning plan. I was like, okay, they opened at 9.30, I'm gonna be there at like 9.30, 10 and take my time. I probably spent like an hour in there, much longer than I thought it would.

Yeah, the view's incredible, isn't it?

It was stunning. I didn't realize it went so far back.

Yeah, I didn't realize I thought, what's down there? I'll kind of look. And then it just kept going. Snakes down and then that platform. There's no one there when I was there. So I like got my camera set up. I like walking past the camera and.

I love that. That's the same. was Saturday morning and no one there yet. But I don't know if people just come later in the day, you know, because it was quite early. yeah, they charge. Alexander Kado was a, oh, is he a filmmaker, I think? Yep. Filmmaker, beautiful house on the edge of Suchitoto. And they charge an entry. Now his house is turned into a museum. They charge an entry fee. think it was a dollar for locals and three dollars for foreigners. But I was happy to pay it because it preserves.

the beautiful building, but all I could think of, you know, I'm an event manager, so all I could think of was like, think of the events you could, think of the weddings and the parties you could have.

Yeah, I know.

The wine party at the back. yeah. Yeah, that was really cool. was a highlight. I felt like Sissu Toto as a whole. There's literally no one there. That's what I felt like because I'm the only

Yeah.

100%. I feel like when I was there, I saw lot of day tours.

Yeah. No. Yeah. But I think that's why the accommodation is quite cheap. Yes. I stayed in the hotel was called Hotel eCafe iXmarti, which is next to iX Canal Cafe, has got unbelievable coffee.

Wait, I think we stayed in the same exact place.

It's on like a corner. It's got the ATMs. Yes.

the guest the corner and you want

I stay. my god, and then you, it's almost like speak easy because they block half the door with the refrigerator. my god, wait, I loved it.

Yeah.

it. probably one of my favourite, yeah, combinations on the tour actually. it was so good.

Cool, and it was so calm, cheap, calm, quiet. Yes, breakfast. Actually, if you come in as a patron, I think breakfast is two for one, which is why, mean, in our stay, breakfast is included, which I believe is about 30 USD a night. So well worth it. Also unlimited coffee, unlimited coffee, unlimited water for your whole stay. And then breakfast included. Warm water, shower, which is...

Good breakfast.

You know, hit or miss in El Salvador. Yes. AC, absolutely.

I've got $22.50 a night for me. Yeah, but that's not bad, it?

2250? Okay, maybe I was right.

No, not at all. Breakfast included? Absolutely not.

Bang in town, right in the centre.

I loved it. The ATMs were so funny. was like, this is so random, but like, cool. I'll pull money out too.

Yeah. Did you go to the cafe next door though? yeah. X canal.

Yep, I actually bought some coffee liqueur from there, two bottles. And I went there the first time with my cousins because when I went back on my own, I tried some different cafes because I like to do that.

should have bought some.

Yeah, yeah, same. That was one of my favorite coffees.

yeah, I bought a bag while I was there.

Can you buy online? Because I really want their coffee.

You should Google them in search.

I've got on Instagram so

Yeah,

absolutely. I bought some jewelry from that town too. Like the markets that line the streets. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, support all the locals throwing my money out here. Take my money.

Okay.

Yeah, great little place.

It's like a top tip of mine for our Salvadorist at Chitoto. I think people need to go.

I do, I was telling everybody about it.

Yeah. Great place.

So many people hadn't heard of it because everyone, I mean, I was staying at Hostel's for half the time, of course. So, meeting people on the gringo trail, right? And there, but they're on their like eight month journey through Central America, you know?

Signed.

Yeah, most

of them are, they? Yeah.

They are and they're like, Suchitoto, I've never heard of this place. I'm like, well, you wouldn't because you're just going to do the Sanat Volcano in El Tunco.

Yeah. It's a travesty really. Yeah. People just didn't stay that long. They just like carried on.

Yeah, no, it was such a great, I'm glad I decided to do, and go back, because I remember when I went the first time, was like, this place is lovely. But it took us, I mean, we only spent like five hours there the first time because we left so late in the afternoon. That's why I was like, you know what, I'm going to come back in a few weeks, like without my cousins and stay for a couple of nights.

Yeah, and it's easy to get to from Sansevro.

yeah.

Yep.

We should probably go back to San Salvador because you're going to arrive there, you? If you listen to this. What do you make of San Salvador as a city? I quite liked it as a capital city. Very safe, clean, done a few walking tours, lots of see and do like the palace and the library and the cathedrals and the parks. And I felt overall a really nice vibe.

Let's do it.

Good. Yeah. I felt the same. I felt I was a little spoiled because I stayed in a really nice neighborhood. Okay. Where like they had all the corporate offices and whatnot. Yeah. So my first impressions were like, wow, like, I mean, every city has its, you know, different neighborhoods, but I stayed in a really nice part of the city. And so did my cousins. We didn't stay at the same hotel because they paid like $200 a night for a hi-hat. And I'm like, I can't do that. Wow.

So, you know, we were, I was between both neighborhoods and they were both really nice. But yeah, when we did go downtown to the library and the Centro Historico, like it was super cool. Yeah. It's been enough time there to be honest.

I

Okay. I feel like did. I feel like didn't need to any longer really. But did you, I did know about this, but I didn't investigate. Did you stay in that little complex sort of like a little bit out of town? Not out of town, but out of the central part? Yeah. So to the west a little bit. it there? Yeah. I saw some cafes that were quite nice there actually. I didn't go.

It's like circular.

Yeah, it was really nice.

Hold. Is lasagna, lasagna, rosa, think?

Yes. Yeah, yeah, that's the one.

Hmm?

Yep. Like my cousin's wife works for Google. The Google office is literally in La Zoneros.

Got it.

Yeah, and it's where the Museum of Art is as well. So I stayed in a small, super cute boutique hotel there. That one, I think, was like, how long was it there? Two nights? It was like 50 US at night.

What was the price of that?

Okay, so my guest house was 33 a night. Okay. that was like a 30 minute walk from downtown. Yeah. I'm a walker. Yeah.

Did you walk? you did.

Yeah, no, that's great. Yeah, we were kind of outside. Also, this is what happens when I'm traveling with others who don't travel like me. I feel like you and I would be the same. My cousins are like very much Uber everywhere. So I feel like when I landed, I had a different experience because we Ubered everywhere. We didn't really walk many places.

Wow.

So we were a little spoiled in that sense. We didn't even take the public bus unless it went out to Suchitoto. did. Okay, and you know why I felt like I didn't spend enough time there, James, is because both days that we were there, we actually left town.

Let's go and see some other stuff. fair enough. Yeah, day trips. Okay.

Yeah!

We did. And so we'd come back at night and like try restaurants, but even the Centro Historico and the library and what was it called? The National Palace? We saw that all at night. We saw it all on our first night Friday night.

crazy

at night, isn't it? The lights and stuff, it's really nice.

yeah, and we were there during, it was like December 28th, so we were there during Christmas time. was beautiful. They had this huge concert, like everyone out in the square partying and having fun. Like I felt like if it's like that during Christmas, I'm sure it's still just as lively throughout the rest of the year.

wow. Yeah, yeah.

I was there just a month before, maybe six weeks, and it was busy. Everyone was out on the street at night, even on a Sunday night, some basketball event going on in the square. They're building an ice rink there. Did you see the ice rink? Was it working? The joke was like, how's this going to survive the 30 degree weather when it's going to be like a swimming pool in the end? You're to start swimming.

Yeah, that was... Same.

But was it working when you were there?

They're constructing it, yeah. That was the plan for Christmas.

okay, okay, yeah. No, it was definitely up and running then, and I was just like, I remember looking at it being like, I hate the cold, and I walked. Because it's so opposite, like people who live in this tropical weather, that's all they want is the cold weather and snow, and you know what I mean? And I'm just like, I like the warm weather, and I'm like, I don't wanna go ice skating.

No chance. No, that was a cool place.

yeah, and you, wait, I remember, because you and I were messaging, you had come back to San Salvador to go to the National Palace?

Nope. I came back from Sushitoto to the San Salvador to use the library for the wifi. Okay. Cause I had some YouTube and some podcast stuff to do and that was the best wifi I could find. when you go to library, they let you be like a digital nomad in there, but you just have to register your laptop and your name with some ID. Oh, okay. you can sit in there. I think they just want to make sure, I guess you don't lose anything, I guess. Like they just want to make sure you bring in something then it

comes back out and no one nicks it. I don't really know, but you just have to register your name, ID and your laptop at the front desk. And then you can sit in there for hours. Yeah. So did that for a morning before going to Elizonte.

Yeah, we ended up going to the restaurant at the top, actually.

at the rooftop.

Yeah, Basilico. That's what it's called. Basilico Italian.

Okay, I went to Morris rooftop

Wait, I had that bookmarked, but we never ended up going.

that they're kind of next to each other, think those two.

they are, but is Morris... It's not at the library, is it?

No, it's a cool crikey. Try to think what the location of square. think it's met. I think it's on the side of Metropolitan Cathedral. I think it's that side. Okay. Okay. But upstairs is like a Tapa style restaurant with karaoke or not karaoke, but some people sitting and it looks outside and look out.

Yeah. Well, okay. Yeah. We didn't get there because that night when we went down to the square, so actually we were coming from Cadejo Brewing and there's a bunch around the country. It's like the country's national craft beer. Did you hear about it while you were there? Cadejo. They have it like on tap at the airport. We came from a different Cadejo near Zona Rosa. So we had like eaten and drank and we're like, let's go down to Centro Historico and like see what's down there. And so we ran into the concert.

A little bit,

got through, went through all like the cool lighting fixtures and whatnot. And then the national palace, like we saw this huge line. I love it. We saw this huge line. like, well, let's get in the line. We don't know what it's for, but let's get it. And then we found it. was because the national palace does, they do tours like every 30 minutes. So we paid, I think it was like $5 for four dollars to get in. So it was really cool and it was beautiful.

So we spent our time doing that and then we went and grabbed a drink on Basilico, but we didn't really go through the library because it was just so packed.

Yeah. So there is, there is a time and place to go. If you want a quiet time, it's Sunday during the day. Sunday morning is quiet. Sunday morning. So yeah.

Everyone's at church. That's literally when you wait.

you timed that perfectly.

Yeah. Cause I did go another time. was like this queues again. I'm not, I'm not doing this.

Yeah,

but it is open all night.

yes, the library is. Super cool. Using it at three in the morning though.

Yeah. You can go at night if you want to.

non-school kids who try to do some work. Lots of groups of school kids go there, they? Yeah, it's a cool thing to see. It's brand new. It's got great views at the top. you go to sixth or the seventh floor, they've got some viewpoints up there.

Where else did you go in San Salvador?

I done two walking tours. So I went all around the city center. Yeah. I think it covered all the major attractions. Yeah. Yeah. And some markets actually went to the market square where previously there was gangs and now it's like a market and it's now fairly safe because it's like security guards there and stuff. So I got some history about that, which is pretty cool. And I booked two walking tours with people who are different ages because I want to get different perspectives. had Dave.

Yeah.

Who they both come into the podcast as well. So that's pretty cool. But Dave is in his mid forties to late forties. So he has a bit of history about the civil war as well. But Carlos is our age, like early to mid thirties and he just really has the gang experience. So I wanted to hear different perspectives on that. So they come to podcasts and talked for half an hour, 45 minutes.

Amazing. for a ticket to anywhere we'll drop. Drop your link to that spot. Yeah.

But if people want to know from a local perspective what to check out and how it is, it's good conversation there. And I think the walking tours are great. They're both different, but they gave you some good information and different areas of the city as well.

Yeah, well, I didn't take any walking tours. think when I'm with people, family, friends from back home, we just like, whatever comes to mind, it's such a different experience for me. Like I kind of go with what they want to do. You know I mean? I don't know. And we got out of town and we went on the, we tried to go to one of the famous rainbow slides. Have you heard of this?

Ah yeah, I didn't really entertain it but I've heard about it, yeah.

We, it was literally a five minute drive outside of town on the map. looks like it's going to take you an hour, but it's literally five minutes. And we Ubered, of course. So it is, it's very inexpensive. And that's like, was telling James wrote in my notes, I'm like, it's inexpensive to get Ubers everywhere. think our Uber outside of town to Picnic steakhouse where one of the famous rainbow slides was, was $6 there and back. yeah. So $12 US.

It is Cheats Uber.

But man, the look of disappointment when we decided to go to Picnic Steakhouse and they turned it into a winter wonderland. So the slide was white. And I'm like, I'm paying five US dollars to go down a white slide. I'm like, how's this going to look on social media? We did go down it. It just wasn't a rainbow slide. But I knew there was another one in the country. So I decided to save that for another time. But yeah, we spent half a day.

there and they had some pretty cool views of the city. And that was on our way out of town. That and Sushi Toto are pretty much the only two times we left while we were in San Salvador. But yeah, we didn't do as much walking around town as you did, unfortunately.

Mm.

Yeah, I just like to walk around and get a feel for the place, hear the sounds, see how busy it is, hear the music as well.

Actually,

And in the past like four or five years, he's really cleaned up the country, putting almost 70,000 gang members behind bars. Meaning people who fled El Salvador finally feel safe coming back to their home country, especially a lot of the Salvadorans that came to the United States and Canada. They're going back home, right? And these gang members, a lot of them are put behind bars. I mean, at the cost of what is a whole different story because I don't think they're IDing a lot of these people, which is really unfortunate.

tattoos basically.

Yep, tattoos essentially, but if you have a non-gang related tattoo, you've got in the mix, right? Exactly.

Yeah, it's a problem. You get... You get stuck.

So anyways, people think, especially San Salvador, like the streets are kind of like, uh, and you know, sometimes you just get a vibe for a place and you're like, I don't know if we should be doing this. So on our Uber on the way to downtown, it got more rambunctious, right? The streets, it was just like a lot livelier. We saw different groups of people on the crowd, but we had just come from Cadejo. Me and my cousin, we had drank a flight of beer there. And so when we got in the car to take the Uber downtown, we both...

knocked out sleeping and our windows were open open. So my cousin's wife was the only one awake. She doesn't speak a lick of Spanish. Like even her pronunciation, we're like, we'll help you, don't worry. But she was wide awake and she's looking at her husband and me being like, these two are passed out snoring. I was in the front seat, my window fully down. The Uber driver didn't care. My cousin's window fully down. My phone was in my lap.

And not that there's like a ton of petty crime, but when you're traveling, you have to think of your belongings anyway. we rode like 20, we were in traffic, so the traffic was slow and there's just tons of people moving around the car. And I was just like, my phone could have been stolen at any time. And I'm sitting here literally like snoring out the window. And my cousin wanted to, my cousin's wife wanted to slap us both and be like, wake up, like watch your belongings. And I'm like, anyone could have literally reached in and just like grabbed my purse.

Grab my phone, base more of the story. Don't be like me. Maybe if you drink a flight, try to stay awake on your Uber ride downtown or like close your windows or something. But that was a little scary because I woke up and I'm like, where are we?

But that proves how safe it is. think. I felt incredibly safe. I know obviously I am a white male who speaks English, but, and I'm at a top of privilege, but honestly, when I was walking, I made a point to walk solo through the streets. I just wanted to get a feel. If I feel a bit hairy, okay, I'll learn my lesson. I didn't feel anything at all. Like people's let leave you alone. It's clean streets. seems to be like everyone's just getting on with their day.

100%.

And when I got to the walking tours, they kind of reassured us that this is now a very safe country at the minute. Because we Kelly has in prison, yeah. 70,000 prisoners and they can't escape. Cause that have you heard about the prison? They're just like in a, in an area, nor for the country. There's a three. there's several. Yeah. And they've got like a three kilometer exclusion zone around it where you can't get internet signal. and they get.

near the airport.

very basic treatment. think the joke is they get concrete and papooses. That's what they get. so there's no chance of no trial cause he's bypassed that law. So it's like a national security thing where they just have to go straight in prison. That's it done. So actually that is another conversation. But when you speak to local people, they're like, this is great because we now feel safe for the first time in decades. And arguably, arguably one of the safest.

countries and especially Sansa would have one of the safest capital cities you might find in Central and South America, especially at night.

Yeah. That's what I've heard. Actually, this was a point I wanted to remember to bring up. So my cousins and I, didn't really ask actually. We just didn't think of it. And I think I talked to some other hostile goers about it, but we were wondering why, and we can get more into this when we get into Santa Ana. At night though, you notice there's not really like a huge night culture in a lot of parts of the country. And we were like, is that because?

And this could be traced back to like, okay, gang members more active at night, you know? So it's like, okay, most people try to be in their homes when it got dark. So you notice there's like not a ton of night culture, like bars and things that are open late. Like a lot of the bars and restaurants we went to closed at like nine or 10 p.m. I live in a suburb of Los Angeles. That's what time things close here. So I was a little surprised because I think like...

anywhere in Latin America is pretty much known for like their nighttime culture. doesn't, I'm not talking like clubs, just like a way. So I wonder if it stemmed from that, you know, people being used to, and I know times are changing because now we're almost two years past the reelection of the president and the countries felt safe for almost two years, maybe a little bit longer now, but it's like the nightlife will probably grow, probably take a while to grow.

Just out, out those. Yeah, yeah.

But when we were there, it wasn't too active in a lot of, especially the smaller towns, which I get.

Yeah. And Bukele was the mayor of San Salvador before presidency. So I think San Salvador residents probably have a bit more trust that it is safe because they probably experienced him a bit longer. Like he's cleaned up the whole city and maybe people out in the other cities and suburbs outside of that probably don't feel as convinced or safe maybe, but it might take a bit of time. I'm not sure. Yeah. But obviously El Tunco, which I think we'll come to next.

Yeah. Yeah.

does have a party scene, but that's because previously it was privately secured by security, even in the bad days. Yes, because we had someone in our tour, walking tour in Santa Ana. She lived in El Salvador for 10 years when all the gangs was happening. And she was saying basically El Tunco and El Zonte is an exclusive zone and you're secured because they have private security, but you can't really go anywhere else in the country.

Really?

okay. What a rough It's like the history of- the beach the whole time.

I know, someone's gotta do it.

Were they like paying the gangs off? I'm curious.

Yeah, I think there's agreement. Yeah. So any expats or tourists went there because it's the only place you could go to previously.

That's why El Tunco looks like the next Chengu or Cancun.

Already.

I just felt like, have you been to Bali?

Yep, unfortunately. Yeah.

I know. I just felt like I was making joke. I'm like El Tunco wants to be Changu so bad

Yeah.

It's getting there. I'm sure it'll, you know, El Tunco is known as Surf City, El Salvador for those that are just hearing the word El Tunco for the first time. I was not there. don't think James, we were not there. James was there in November. I was there December, January. It's not the season for surf. I think that's more like May, June, July. So it quiet when we were there.

Yeah, I'm an expert on that. just see a few surfers, but I thought Elzante was so quiet that there's no one on the beach. I can't really work out why.

El Zonte is, and it's different, I think it's much quieter than El Tunco too. El Tunco is kind of like, they have some loud bars and restaurants and beach clubs that I did go to.

course.

How is so El Zonte, where did you stay?

Yeah, there's two plates. There's two bits of Alzante. There's a river that goes through the middle of it. And one side is Bitcoin Beach and one side is called the Surf Beach. So if you want a bit of, I'd say action, but maybe some bars and restaurants stay on the Surf Beach side. But if you want quiet time, more expensive property, then Bitcoin Beach is the place to stay. I think the only hostel is on the Surf Beach side.

Bitcoin beach stuff.

I know. Yeah. But honestly, what a beach that is. Cause there's a, there's a cave at the end so you can walk through. So you low tide, walk down the beach and you'll see this like cave in the rock formation is incredible. And that goes through to another beach and that's really more exclusive and there's no one there. So at low tide, eight 30 in the morning, wherever it is, I walked down there and there was no one there and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

This is super cool. I'm looking at it right now.

Quaver, Alzonte. So in high tide, that gap in the rock is full of water, obviously. Wow. So you need to be careful. Don't get caught up in the high tide because you won't get out. But yeah, that's a pretty incredible thing to go and see in Alzonte. And it's a 10 minute walk from the surf beach area. You go up to the road, across the bridge of the river, then back into Bitcoin Beach. I felt Bitcoin Beach was more local, Nice. Some markets there and stuff. Yeah. Local markets. Yeah.

Yeah, that's nice.

So when you cross through the cave, was the beach on the other side private?

It almost felt private, but you are allowed to go on it. And the properties are really big, like above it. So I felt like they're like rich people's houses or really expensive Airbnb.

Yeah. I see

those in El Tunco too. If you look to like, if you're facing the water and you look to the left, massive mansions like Cliffside.

Yeah. Yeah. Left and right. I was on, yeah. Expensive place. was on Tado expensive restaurants. Yeah.

Very cool. Yeah.

Yep.

Yep. I paid, my gosh, this is going to hurt. I paid $4 for a beer, like a local national beer at a beach club in El Tunco. I was like, this hurts because anywhere else I could have gotten at least three beers for this price. But I did it for the sunset. I had a front row view. know, sunset time in these beach towns, everyone stops and just faces the sunset.

pretty incredible, it? The problem I had is I was caught up in storm Sarah. So I had torrential rain for the afternoons. So I was only out in the early morning to lunchtime and then the rain came. So on these. Yeah. Like proper rain, but you can't go out in it unless you need to see. It's a bit of a shame.

Each- when you were at the beach?

Okay, so I caught every single sunset on the beach and shared it with you, James, because I went to the... It's like never missed a sunset when I'm there. I think that's why I love traveling. It's hard because rainy season for these tropical countries and those around the equator is still kind of there in November, right?

Yeah, the biggest lesson I learned is don't risk it. Don't go November. Go, just go December. Start there or January, February, March.

December, okay, this is why, and I've stated this on our podcast so many times, this is why like traveling in January and February to the tropical countries, because it's like their dry season, quote unquote. And also everyone traveled for the holidays too, and I'm like, yeah, no, I'm missing me with that crowdedness and mess. I'll go like after New Year's or after Christmas when everyone's like going out.

Yep.

November's a risk. It'd be quieter, but you are susceptible to the rain. Yeah. I was caught up with that in Elzante and Santa Ana, actually.

It was so cute because when we're at the beach club, you know, we talk about how it's like everyone loves and turns and faces the sunset, but even the employees, like I'm like, they're sitting there taking photos and videos and like you guys act like, you know, in my head I was like, they act like they've never seen the sunset. They get this work view every day. And I just thought that was so sweet that there were still, they've seen probably a billion of these and they still are sitting there taking photos and pictures. It was really cute.

What was the vibe about Tunko? Because it's known as a bibipi place isn't it?

Yeah, it is. But yeah, it felt like it's trying to be like a Cancun or a Playa del Carmen or Cabo or a Changu. I hope it never gets as big as those places because it's quite the boardwalk is quite small. The beach clubs and like beachside bars and restaurants are pretty expensive. Like I paid four dollars US for one beer when around the country it's usually a dollar fifty. So yeah. So I thought it was cute, though. I will say.

This is the hottest tip for anyone that plans to go to El Tunco. One of my favorite meals of all time is at Captain Cook in El Tunco because it's like a cevicheria. So it's lots of raw fish, seafood, cooked seafood also. But I had fish tacos and I had poke there. I loved it so much I went twice in two days. But I am obsessed with this place. And it reminded me of one of my other favorite restaurants, Drift in El Nido in the Philippines. But it's the same like super fresh seafood.

Yeah.

But

yeah, it just felt, you know, it a lot more expensive, felt pretty commercialized and lots of foreigners, lots of tourists. But I met, you know, a lot of locals that were on a holiday. It was really cute. Yeah. Like I met one guy like in the ocean. He's like, do you need help taking photos? I was like, oh sure. And he's like, yeah, I'm from La Libertad, which is 30 minute bus ride away. He's like, oh, I'm just here with my cousin for like a little weekend trip.

some of

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So yeah, I hope they never stop. hope they never get too expensive. During surf season. Yeah. Yeah. I know I wish I went next time.

Yeah, I think I was on taste.

Oh yeah. Cause if people are listening, they can do both. You can get a bus between the two. takes what? 10 minutes to 15 minutes. don't know how far they are between the two. Um, because the bus I got from San Salvador goes past Altonco. So obviously I stayed on the bus then flagged down my stop. Um, yeah. Yeah. I think I should have, if I had better weather, I probably would have stayed an extra day and gone to Altonco, but I didn't have good weather. So I got out of there in the end. Yeah.

What a bummer.

So you do the waterfalls, the Tamanique Falls. I didn't do Tamanique Falls, but I, yeah, that would have been dangerous if you went.

I

read about it and I was like, no, not gonna do that.

Yeah. So you know, was that something that an Australian girl told me on one of the bus rides that, and this is super touristy, so I understand if people don't want to do this, but there's another Cadejo on the coast between El Tunco and El Zonte. And it's like, have you seen those swimming pools in Sydney that are kind of like built into the rock, but like on the edge? Yeah. Like the pools, whatever they're called, they have those same ones at the Cadejo on the coast.

wow.

And so I was like, wait, have to, I have to see this. So I went on a Monday afternoon, biggest hack, go on a weekday in the middle of the day when everyone's like working and it's like an off, not a high tourist season, but I was like, there was no one there. And I wanted to support the business. So I bought a snack and a flight of beer, of course, but they, you know, they have signs everywhere saying, if you want to use the pool, cause they had a swimming pool and the, the regular pools down at the bottom, like the natural pools.

So I used both, was like in an infinity pool and they say there's signs that say, you have to pay. It's like 25 US if you want to use a pool for a day. I just bought some beer and a snack and I had access to both of the pools. Nobody there, but I thought this is so cool. And it's just like built into the bottom of the bar. yeah, I the bus out there. Yeah, it's beautiful. I'll send you some photos.

Yeah. Yeah. Cause the bus goes along the coast, doesn't it? So there's actually proper bus stops on that road. There's like a little shelter that you can sit in and wait for your bus, but you just need to flag it down. But yeah, you can dot around to those little towns. I think it's like five or six along there and probably check them all out as a little trip. That'd be pretty cool.

I

met a girl that ubered from El Tunco to Cadejo, but umers not like hugely available on the coast. So no, I did she get one? Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Cause when I left, I had to go to Santa Ana next, right? And if you look at the geography, if people look at the map now, you'll see Elzante, you think, oh, you just go left and go around. Nah, not possible. Had to go back to San Salvador, get an Uber to different bus station and then go to Santa Ana. But I think there is a way, if you've got time, but I time.

There, okay, so I did the opposite route from you where I went to San Salvador and then I went to Santa Ana. That's what I did. then I went back to, you did, okay.

Yeah,

I had to go back the way I came into San Salvador and go back out to Santa Ana. But I'm thinking on the map, I think you can possibly get a shuttle that goes still along the coast away.

You can.

Yeah, but I didn't know. I can't really find good information about it, so I don't risk it.

Well, get, well, what I'm getting to is that when I was in Santa Ana and I was there for four days, so quite a long time, like four and a half days. Yeah. Yeah. geez. Just as long. Yeah. what a bummer. But in the four, the hostel I was staying at, which was Casa Coco, super, super cute. They had all this incredible information.

Five days for me.

Because of the rain. Yeah.

on their boards and in QR codes. And they had like not a direct route, but they had the exact directions on how to get from Santa Ana to El Tunco. And you did have to switch buses and switch routes in that one town that is a, Son Sonate.

Yes, yes, Suns Nats here, yeah.

So there is a way. You probably just could have backtracked, but I don't know that anyone on the coast would have that information.

No, I couldn't really find it that well. It doesn't mean that much because there's only 45 minutes to an hour to get to the bus station need to in San Salvador. And what I found really nice with the locals is you want a bus and you can't, I can't speak Spanish that well, but they're asking you where you're stopping or where you're going. So when I said Santa Ana, like, you have to get off here. So like they're flagging down the driver for me and making sure I get off at the right stop.

And there's a few of us getting off there, so it's okay in the end. But if you don't flag down that bus station, goes to the West. I can't remember what it's called, a bus station.

the one in San Salvador.

Yeah, to get the bus to...

Santa Ana.

Yeah, it's called Ocidente. Terminal buses, the Ocidente. My bus from El Tunco and Elizonte will carry on to the bus. I think it's 102 bus station. That's too far. You need to get off early. So you need to make sure you flag down your driver to drop you off at the Ocidente bus station.

Yes.

Ah, okay. Interesting. I Ubered straight from El Tunco to the airport. So, oh no, I took a, sorry, I took a ride through my hotel. So I didn't have to go back through San Salvador from El Tunco. I just went straight. I didn't realize like how close it was to the airport. It was like 30 minutes.

Yeah, fair.

Yeah. Yeah.

Actually, my cousins did that. They wanted to see the beach, so they left early New Year's Day. They were flying out basically like 3 a.m. on January 2nd, right? So in middle of the night. But I was like, well, I'm staying in here in Santa Ana until January 2nd. And they're like, okay, we're gonna leave you early on January 1st, and we're gonna just go do like a day trip to the beach and bring all our like.

Why not? Yes.

Yeah, and they're like, yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, those that don't know everywhere in El Salvador or a lot of the great and popular places to go to are within like a two, two and a half hour drive from each other. Small country.

country in it yeah yeah it's

a nice to travel actually and they're they're rebuilding the roads you'll see a lot of road works especially down from San Salvador to the coast I think that kind of building like a super road I imagine someone's building the train a train line as well from the coast via the airport and up to Bitcoin City someone told me it's a new city they're gonna build

What in the world is Bitcoin City? Cut.

Where is... Stop it.

That's what someone told me. think, I don't know, but apparently it's going be a high speed train that does those three because they're quite popular, right? The capital city airport and the coastal area, El Tunco. 100%. It goes to fourth place north, think to Bitcoin city, wherever that is.

Where is it?

Well,

apparently, Bukele said he literally was on TV and said, I want El Salvador to be like Singapore. Yes. And I was like, whoa, that's everyone's got a way to go to be like Singapore. I've never been. I've just heard many great things about Singapore. Yeah. I mean, and they have the best airport literally in the world. Yeah, yeah. Those are some big ambitions, starting with Bitcoin City itself.

It was great,

Bye!

Queen City high speed rail. It's going for it.

I definitely saw all the road works.

But the road between San Salvador and Santa Ana, one dollar that bus and it's a proper coach bus. That was a nice little ride because it's quite nice and comfortable and quite quick.

Yes.

I remember you sent me the photo of it.

Big rep bus, two-by.

And surprise, surprise, I ended up, we ended up taking a driver because I was still with my cousin. I didn't get to experience the bus. Let's get into Santa Ana.

Alright.

Yeah.

I'll start with mine very quickly. Yeah. Because of the rain, I had to extend my stay because I want to see the Santa Ana volcano and it worked out well because of the rain is going to be closed and it was closed the first two days and I was in Santa Ana. So I ended up staying four nights, five days. think it was maybe five nights. I can't remember. Five nights. And I stayed at Altia hostel and they very kindly let me book an extension to my trip outside of booking.com. Thank you very much.

which was a bit cheaper. And ALTEA. Very cheap. $13 a night, private room and bathroom. Amazing. No aircon, which was tough on some nights. effectively my first day, I booked a walk and talk with Fatima. I didn't have an umbrella. I was like, I won't need it. Went out, got absolutely soaked.

Yeah. What's the hostile? I'm so sorry. I'd see a thing.

all day and it didn't dry off until like five days later. make sure you have an umbrella if you go in the rainy season. my god. a tour, like all the tour in the city. It's great. But even though it's too much for her. So we went to like a cafe called Caddack, which is really nice cafe. Yes. And we bunked for two hours. We had to knock. Yeah. Knock on the door. Yeah. It's great. Isn't Do you what's unfortunate? I was begging for aircon all the time because it's so hot. But the time I didn't want aircon,

was that day because I was soaking wet. So what was the dry off? So we went in there and it's cold. like, I'm now shivering wet, cold in Cadet Cafe, but hey, great coffee. No doubt. Yeah, I should have bought a bag. Yeah.

I bought a bag from there.

Wait, sorry, James, two seconds, hold your thought. I need to plug my computer in.

at Cafe. It's one of my favorites. Speakeasy vibe. Great coffee though. so good.

Totally.

Did you work from there? Do some podcasting stuff?

No, but the next day was a sort of wing it day because I planned to go to volcano, but it's closed. So me and a couple of guys from the walking tour, we sort of wondered what to do in Santa Ana because it's quite a small place. So we found this abandoned art school and went and asked the guard if we can go in and he's like, yeah, 20 minutes, but hurry up.

I have a story about that. Also, I love that you were like, we didn't know what to do in Ana. I didn't have enough days there.

Wow. Okay.

Do you want to

into the art school? was it?

So if you go on Google and put in the old art school, Santa Ana El Salvador, you're going to see this derelict place and there's conflicting information online. Some people say you need a ticket. Some people say you can't go in there. But this day we've winged it and we went to this art school and it's cordoned off by these cordons. So you can't go in, but there's a guard out there. do you know what? Our friend who lives in El Tunco, who's with us, she speaks great Spanish. She's going to ask him if he can go in.

And he's quite nice guy and we like shook his hand. He's like, yeah, you can go in. You're not supposed to, but I'll give you 20 minutes. It's dangerous. There's like bits falling off. Just be careful. And we walked around and there's no one in there. And it's this eerie, weird place. like bits of columns everywhere, bits of brick. And it's like the vegetation's overgrowing, taken over. An eerie place, but awesome. Like it's very rare you get to see a place like that.

I'm really jealous because I saved the art school for my last morning in Santa Ana before I jutted off to Ruta de los Flores. And I went up to the guards speaking my Spanish because for those that don't know, I speak decent Spanish. I studied it at university. But he literally told me, no, you need permission and a sign form from the government. And this was all in Spanish. And I was like, from where? And he's like, the central plaza, go get it. And I'm like,

So it's literally like a TSA agent. get to decide your fate for the day. He wasn't rude, but he straight up rejected me. And I'm so mad because the information I read online was totally like, yeah, super easy. You just get a ticket. And I'm like, bro, why are you rejecting me?

wow, sorry to hear about that.

Probably

thought I was, I don't know, my Spanish was alright. Maybe he thought I was a local trying to get in and...

Do you know what think actually? I actually don't think it is that. I think it's because it's raining, right? And there wasn't many people about. Because it's like this storm Sarah is about. think they just put on a guard who is like, just got the short straw that day. He's got to sit there and there's nothing's going to happen because there's no one about. And then he's rocked up. He's like, yeah, why not? He's quite old and quite nice, you know. A bit of luck.

It nicer to you foreigners.

Okay.

Yeah, probably. Cause I had to approach four guards having their lunch and they were like straight up no. Okay. Yeah. Nope. Get permission. And I was like, so I took some photos right outside on the sidewalk, but that's about it.

I'll send you the photos and the videos.

What a bummer. Yeah, I know. James will be the stand-in. Photos for it. I really wanted to do it.

Yeah, but there is a flip side to this. I then tried to climb the Santa Ana volcano for two days and the first day what happened was that the old art school day we got told it was closed by the hostel like, okay. The next day, like, yeah, it should be open. So great. I booked a tour with my friend's hostel, $20, transport there and back and they got there and it was closed the gate and the driver was shocked. He was like,

What's going on here? So he's on the call on his phone, making a few calls. He's like, yeah, it's closed. The ministry didn't send out a notice. I'm really sorry. So we're like, what's plan B? He's like, I don't know. So we sat there in the minivan, like deciding what to do. And we're like, can we go to like maybe Tassumel? Like the Lion Ruins? Yeah. Quite close. He's like, yeah, okay. But he said to us quite interestingly, just don't tell the guy who arranged the tour. It couldn't really work out why.

So we had this like little shared secret that we couldn't tell the guy owned a hostel, what we did. So we went to Tasumal, which is great. Mine ruins, $5 entry. Pretty incredible. Probably an hour, hour and two max, maybe two hours. Really hot day. I had a bit of food poisoning the night before. I was kind of relieved I wasn't climbing up a volcano. And then we went to Ataco on the route to the Flores for like an afternoon. It was raining. So like it was okay, but...

people was getting fed up with the rain. So then that happened. Next day, the volcano trail was open. So we got there, same tour, same guy, Tony and the driver. And we started hiking up as a group and we got to the point. I don't know where this point is on your trail, cause I know you, did it, but there's a point where we all congregated and the police guy went, no, you can't go any further. we're like,

Was it where the tower was that you can climb up to the tower like a 20? it wasn't as far as that. Okay. the bathrooms, the bathrooms with the office, the main office. I don't think there was much between the bathrooms and the tower.

It wasn't as far as that.

no, it's pasta.

Yeah, it just felt like an area of the trail where they just congregated on rocks. Basically the police guy said, you can't get any further. And he said, it's too windy. It's too dangerous. We're like, okay, we'll wait half an hour. Nothing happened. And everyone started going back down. But people got a bit annoyed because they all have walkie talkies, the guides, the police. And we're like, why can't you just tell us down at the office that we're not going to go and see the volcano? Why make us walk all the way up? So there were some unhappy people. Dude.

That was a pretty devastating occurrence, but the only saving grace on that to finish on that little story is I saw on TikTok a recommendation for a cafe called Crater Restaurant and Lake. No, Crater Restaurant, I think it's called. Or Crater Lake restaurant, can't remember what it's called. I'll put it on Google notes, whatever. But it's about a five minute drive from the gates of that national park. So I said to Tony, the driver said, Hey, look, we're a bit upset. Can we go to this place? I think it's got good views.

He's like, yeah, yeah. I said, I'll buy you a coffee. He's like, yeah, don't worry about it. We can, we can, we can go. I was like, Went to this place, create a restaurant and you sort of go to the back of the cafe and you walk through to the front and it's got unbelievable views of the lake. Clear blue sky. Like this was incredible. I couldn't believe what I seeing. And I saw it on TikTok and I was like, hoping it'd be good. And it was amazing. So we sat there.

when you lit it up there.

No, no wind. Clear blue bit of wind. Not as bad, but clear blue sky. But I Tony the coffee, the dry vey is really appreciative. And we just sat there and I couldn't believe the views. It's on my thumbnail roaming on one of my videos. It's me sat on the edge of this little platform looking out.

And for those that, mean, if you're catching the timeline of how James and I, like the different times that we traveled, he went in November, I went in December, January, and I was literally following, like I had your account on notify me when you post because I was like, follow every single bookmark, every single place you talked about, wrote down every single, everywhere you went, because I was like, tell me the name of your hostel, tell me how much you paid for it.

He can vouch for that. He's like, Leo was hitting me up all the time. I'm like, where'd you stay? How'd you take the bus? I was like, like hanging onto his every post and every word because I knew I was gonna do pretty much the same trip in six weeks or so.

That was your view at the top because obviously when I heard that you doing it, was obviously a little bit gutted. I wasn't too upset because I think I got away with it on my trip as a whole, even in Guatemala and Mexico. I had really good weather and I saw the active volcano in Acatarengo. So I feel like only one thing I didn't get to do and that was the Santa Ana volcano. So I wasn't too upset. I got pretty lucky, but how was the view at

So I will say everywhere you just said you had rain and wind and couldn't go I went and had sunny days and zero wind and zero rain I'm not even kidding all the names that you just dropped him like yeah, I went there. It was beautiful I went there. It was perfect. So I feel really bad and I understand now how you're like you just pushed a trip to January next because And I'm telling you all December 30th

24 was probably the most perfect weather El Salvador has ever seen because we went up without hesitation. There was zero wind. The sky was clear. It was beautiful. We made it up and back without any trouble. The ground wasn't wet at all. We got up early enough to the Santa Ana volcano, is called Yamatepec. That's the indigenous name for it.

without any trouble. had the best guides. It was about $6 entrance. And I will say, I am not the fittest person on the planet. So for me, it was a bit of a struggle, but luckily my cousin is also quite the slow hiker. His wife blew past us like all the time. She basically was trying to bridge the gap between our tour group and us. So she'd always stay, I don't know, like 20 meters ahead or so, so that she could keep eyes on both of us, but.

My cousin and I were slow AF, which I didn't mind because the guide stayed with us the whole time, which was so sweet. Going up and down, what is it, like 2,000 meters, I'd say, I think the elevation. I don't think it's very high. It's like 2,000 meters, something like that.

The guide that we had ranked it 4 out of 10 for difficulty.

Exactly. Four out 10 out of difficulty, right? Everyone can finish this in like three hours, you guys. Like I'm telling you, a three hours round trip. took me about four and a little bit of time because I have knee problems and coming down is the hardest part. So there were some parts and it was so rocky in some areas that I had to like, I was basically like crawling versus like stepping down, but it just took us a little longer.

Very glad the ground wasn't wet though, because it would have been a lot more dangerous. But the views of the top, absolutely worth it. We got two popsicles at the top to reward ourselves for making it up. And I felt so bad because when I had remembered that you didn't climb it, it's not hard, y'all. But I was just like, damn, we went up without any issue.

I know the funniest thing I can remember going up, there's a guide and the couple coming down and this guy was local. And one of the groups stopped and said, Hey, what's, you know, what's it like up there? Cause we're like in amongst the cloud at this point. And he's like, he said, mate, I've climbed this nearly 400 times. I guarantee you, you're not seeing anything up there. And we're like, Oh, do we carry on? Yeah. It might change the wind might change, but no, here's right.

Yeah, no, was really cool. And on that journey, you can also see another volcano on the way, Izalco, a much smaller, smaller, cute volcano. looks literally like a little hill, but it's a volcano. Yeah, it's covered in lush greenery. But I was just like, when we turned around, was like, wait, that's another volcano? So, know, land of the volcanoes, as they say.

Okay.

Yeah, that's what they call the country.

I had purchased new hiking shoes a couple months prior and so they were definitely broken in on that hike. No, actually, and also no knee pain nor soreness. I was like a young spring chicken the next day. I'm serious. I was like, wait, how do I not feel sore right now? I will say in my maturing age, as I mentioned before, I did stretch a lot, right?

Any questions?

fair fair

I think it's because I didn't want any chance of like injury or soreness. So I actually woke up a little early and like did some stretching.

Yeah, fair enough. It's key. did that. I did that in the Hagen, Guatemala. Really? Yeah.

Yeah, I guess as a comparison that volcano hike is five hours uphill constantly, no respite.

That's

to like base camp, isn't it?

Yeah, 3,700 meters up, I think it is.

You're

like fighting mud, aren't you? Like drag-

volcanic ash yeah yeah so Santa Ana seems pretty easy compared to that yeah but depends what you like yeah

See

Exactly. No, I thought it was a great way to spend the morning. Like I felt accomplished and the views were beautiful. And I did not take that day for granted because when I tell you, I met so many travelers the next week who literally also couldn't climb Yamatepec Santa Ana volcano because of wind as well. I hearing for like another week. For another week after I climbed it, people were like, no, I couldn't go. couldn't go. was closed. It was closed. There was an earthquake while I was there.

in the middle of January, some of the rocks fell, closed the volcano again. And I was like, dude, I got lucky, really lucky.

Very lucky. I met people who were biking through on motorbikes and stuff and they went back to try and do the whole hike again and got told no. So not only did they come the time I met them and then tried for two days, they went elsewhere to somewhere else in El Salvador, drove back to Santa Ana to try and do the hike again and got told no. So my part of the year, which was like middle of November, was just not a good time to attempt it.

What a bummer, dude.

But our group was so despondent, but the view of the Coatepeque Lake from the Cafe Crater restaurant was a highlight and was like, okay, well, at least we've got something out of this day.

Yeah. So after we did a day tour, our day tour, think was 23 US per person. yeah, we did, I'm not including the $6 entry for the volcano. Same. But we did, yeah, we did the volcano and then we went down to the lake afterwards. But because it took us so long at the volcano, we basically only had like dinner time at the lake. After the volcano, we actually ate at a local spot on the side of the road. when we got to we went, yeah, we went and found a bar.

at the lake and then my cousins jumped on a jet ski, which was really cool because they were doing it as the sun was setting. I didn't want to ride a jet ski alone, so I didn't go. I was like, let me just like chill and relax here. And I got some great photos of them. that was, we spent maybe like an hour, hour and a half at Lago Coatepeque. That's the lake.

Same as us. Got some lunch.

It's super cute. Yeah, it was really cool. Actually, did you try? Was it?

too windy for us though.

So we didn't sit outside, we sat indoors. Yeah, too windy.

Did you try, so on that side of the road, lunch after the volcano, it was more of like a pre-dinner because it was so late in the day. That's where everyone in my group, I'm pescatarian so I don't have it, but they had the sopa de gallina. Did you try that while you were there? The famous soup? You didn't. You probably did.

Hang on.

Yes, I did in Sushitoto in a restaurant down by the lake. I some soup. Yeah.

I was gonna say is like super famous. Like that's what everyone's like, it's our national soup. I did try the broth. I did think it was delicious. I'm sure the meat was even more delicious, but I don't eat it.

Yes.

Yeah. Actually, we didn't talk about food. Papooses. Ooh. What's your... Well... I loved them. I had a lot of them. What's your opinion?

I love them and I had many, but when I say I was sick for the first like four or five days, I was definitely sick because I think it's just like my body is getting more lactose intolerant

Yeah.

Yeah. When I eat papooses, I got some straight away in the hostel that I arrived into because I arrived late. So they cooked them up and reheated them. I know, but do want to funny that someone commented, I think the other day on my YouTube channel that they're apologizing on behalf of all Salvadorans for those papooses because it looks so bad. I was like, well, it's mean. I didn't know any different. So for me, they tasted all right. But actually compared to other papooses, they were the worst.

That's so nice!

That is so me.

they were. yeah, I mean, you were, you're fresh in the new country.

Yeah, I didn't know at the time.

No,

you had to.

I love them, but my poor body was so sick for the first four or five days. So I think it's just me becoming more lactose intolerant. And you know what's sad? It's only me with certain cheeses. It's not with like whole milk. It's not with ice cream. It's not with any other dairy. It's just certain soft cheeses.

interesting. I got sick of hot dogs twice.

What

other food did you love or did you try?

Mexican food had some of that because apparently it's the second biggest cuisine after their own food. It is. Yeah. I had some. know why? No idea why.

Okay, can I tell you a little really quick story? Do you know how... God, I hope you Do you know how like the gangs started in El Salvador? Like MS-13?

Well, okay. I actually asked the civil war guy, Nelson, one of my questions was, does he believe that the gang warfare problems after the civil war was born out of the civil war? Because yes, they came to an agreement to finish the civil war, but both sides were not particularly happy with it. And he said, yes, he said that was a direct result of the end of the civil war going into a new type of phase. So was specifically not MS-13, but like

The gangs, I think, put it born out of that.

Okay, interesting. I had heard from another Latino, granted he was not Salvadorian, he was from Ecuador, but he's Ecuadorian-American. And he had said that MS-13 started in LA, and when they started deporting people in the late 90s from the US, those who already started the gang culture in LA because they were trying to find community, they brought the culture back with them to the home country.

the gang culture back with them. Yeah. And I was like, I didn't fact check him to be honest. was just like, that kind of makes sense. But it was crazy. And so I'm wondering, the reason I asked that is because I'm wondering if it was the same with Mexican food. You know, people from El Salvador and people from Mexico, there's a lot, there's huge communities of that here in Los Angeles. And you know, they were mixing and enjoying each other's culture. But I wonder if they also brought back

That not make sense. Yeah.

The Mexican food to El Salvador.

Yeah, yeah, can't be ruled out. Yeah.

Now I literally ask people, I would ask locals, why is there so much Mexican food here? They don't know. The locals I ask, they don't know.

It's a great option to have if you're fed up with papooses.

I went to quite a few delicious taco places while I was there. One particular in Santa Ana, yeah, it was kind of a gringo taco place, but it was, oh my God, it was so good. Oh, interesting. Worth every penny.

you

got a papoussaria recommendation in Santa Ana. Papoussaria cloudia, cooked to order. That was recommendation from the walking tour. So I know they probably give their friends recommendations, but it looked really good and it was amazing. Tasted great. Super cheap.

Okay.

We went to, me and my cousin and his wife, went to Triangulito Park. Did you hear about that? There's a bunch of restaurants on the side. I thought it was food street vendors, but it's not, it's restaurants. And there, in one of the restaurants there, we had the cheapest pupusas that we saw in the country for 60 cents. two thirds of a US dollar.

No.

one.

So that would be my recommendation is to go get the most inexpensive pupusas in the country for 60 cents near Trencolito Park in Santa Ana.

Okay, another recommendation for El Salvador is Poto Compero. Yes. They love that stuff over there. Fried chicken. had that a few times. yeah, I went there quite a few times. Yeah. Fried chicken for lunch.

Yeah!

Everywhere, all the billboards, the billboards everywhere.

slightly expensive for local cuisine, not for Western. Not for Western prices. Was it $8.50 for like a big plate of fried chicken and chips and stuff?

To feed a family or one per- I have sticker shock when you said that. I was like, no way.

No one person.

$8.50 US. Are you shocked?

Quite expensive for, well, for, for south. Yeah. For local.

Yeah, that's pen on card.

Yeah. I was like, wow, I think you can get meals for, you know, full meal. mean, pupusas, you can get them for like a dollar, a dollar, a dollar fifty. Two or three of those meal under five dollars, you know, like a complete meal that will fill you up. So eight fifty is quite.

So Santa Anna for me was like breakfast at the hostel, pod o' comparo for lunch, cheap pupusas in dinner. Cause pupusas don't come out at lunch apparently as a rule. Right. They don't. So you need to come up with something different.

figured out the hard way in Suchitoto because we went to a papusaria at like 4.45, realizing that they didn't really open until 5.30. So we were like standing around and watching them like set the restaurant up and we didn't realize that they weren't open yet. They didn't say that because they were like still taking our orders, setting up the table. And then after 15 minutes, we're like, I don't think they were open, you guys. think we're first in line here. So...

Papoosas in El Salvador, definitely a nighttime and a dinner thing.

Yeah, also breakfast apparently is louder breakfast as well.

Okay, so just not at the middle of the day. Go find something else for lunch because you can't eat a pupusa.

Not lunch.

Do also

find your locals love pizza? They do. Always carrying pizza boxes about?

They

do. Do you see the Little Caesars in the square in Santa Ana? Everyone was always carrying boxes from there.

boxes yeah

I actually went to a pizza place in the square in Santa Ana. was actually really good. It was the one on the rooftop.

Alright, okay.

But I went there January 1st, like at nighttime. So it was like my little happy new year treat to myself. It's a famous one that they have all over the country, but Ruta de los Flores. I mean, this can actually, it's kind of a good segue because apparently for as small as El Salvador is, there's different cuisines in different parts of the country. So things that were famous in my first stop in Ruta de los Flores. So a lot of people will road trip it and they'll do it in a day.

What I did, which I was actually really proud of and I could have probably done it for longer if I did, I actually stayed for like two to three nights in a few different cities on Ruedel, Suarez. So the first stop I stayed at was a taco, which is known as like Concepcion. Yep, exactly. So when you were like, oh, it was really shit and rainy there. I was like, I had stunning weather in a taco. Bad James. know it's like, damn, I had really good weather for like the

So which ones do you stay at?

yeah, that's what I went for.

Right,

two and a half days that I was there.

No, just rain and really good coffee actually. Loads of coffee options in their taco and we walked around the streets. Quite nice.

100%. Okay, so the best coffee, and I put this in our notes that I sent to James prior to us turning on record for this episode, everyone. The best cup of drip coffee I've ever had in my life, I had in a taco at a cafe that I had breakfast at is called El Cafe de Artista. It was literally just a drip coffee. And I was like, why did they added nothing? Yes, they added nothing to it. And I was like, why is this so good?

But if you'll go, just ask for a regular cup of coffee. And I was like, this is so delicious.

There's loads of options there, isn't there, in the town? I saw lots of fat macs sitting outside.

while you were there. Axel is like, it's very trendy and it was really, really good. But it's definitely like, I don't want to say like, I don't know. It's just like the popular place to go in town, but they have a massive menu and it's like coffee shop, roastery and a restaurant, but they're really cool. Friends of options for a tiny town.

Yeah. We found a,

we found a lunch place. I can't pronounce it very well though. So I'm going to butcher this big time. it begins with X. So they've nowhere to start with this. Hockey calco restaurant. How do you pronounce X in Spanish?

Like, it's a-

Zyka-kalka. I wrote it on our notes, but one thing I found when we arrived in Ataco is we got on our minibus, got off it and we got hounded by restaurant owners to go for lunch. That's the only thing. yeah.

Okay, we're back. I

disconnected for a second again. It's me. I know, I'm so pissed. Sorry. I'm pissed. Wait, spell the name. I'm gonna look it up.

is XO, C-H-I, K-A-L-

I think it's Zocchi. Zocchi is super cute. I think I also had that bookmark, but I ended up going to Axul. I ended up going to Pupuseri Alinda, which is very popular. And by this point, I was not getting sick from the pupusas anymore. So I did not get sick from these ones, but you didn't stay overnight. So one of the coolest things in a taco is their night market near the square.

I know you would have loved it because it's like, it's this cute small town, so much culture. And from what I read online after I went, which I'm glad I didn't look at all this stuff online before I went, but you know, I had heard good things. It looked like there was enough to do and see for 48 hours, even if it was a chill 48 hours there, there was a cute little night market. was some cascadas, AKA waterfalls nearby, tons of coffee places, tons of cafes. There was a Mirador, which I went up to.

but a lot of people were saying it was like their favorite part of Ruta Delas Flores. And I didn't know this before I went there. So I'm, thank God, I was like, this is so cool that I went without even like being influenced, if that makes sense.

Yeah, heard before my trip that this might be the best place on that route. But don't forget, I had plans to go to this road, but because I to stay extra in Santa Ana, I didn't really have time. And this was only a result of the failed attempt to go up the volcano on day one. yeah. So we had to plan B. So it wasn't really the plan. But it's fine. got up

to

experience, absolutely. Better than not going, yeah. Better than not going. So we did a day of the Thermales, the Santa Teresa Thermales in Santa Ana, the hot springs. It was probably the most expensive day. Because we didn't realize it wasn't really natural hot springs. They're kind of natural, but they build around it. We paid like $10 for entry, $30 for massages, $20 for a plate of food. And it was a resort. And I was like, okay, like.

Maybe not something I would do every day, but it was great. But that was another thing that a lot of people from Ataco go do is the Santa Teresa Termalis, but we went from Santa Ana instead. So when I went to Ataco, just basically took, I actually, one of our Uber drivers, I was like, hey, can I just like pay you not off the books, but I was like, can I pay you off of Uber and give you the money directly where I knew all $40 was going to him versus to Uber? And he drove me.

The hour to a taco, I booked at a beautiful hotel slash hostel called Las Casitas where a Salvadorian American, he owns the hostel in the U.S. and during the season, he's a CPA. In the off season in the U.S., he comes to El Salvador and runs his hotel with his family. And he roasts, I know he roasts coffee. So I bought two bags from him, pound bags, five U.S. whole beans straight from the source from a local like

Roaster I'm like dude. can't get any better than this. Come on now. I should have bought more bags

Yeah, because I was planning to go to El Carmen Estate. That was another place to but I didn't have time.

You know, I went and I will say, I mean, I didn't go, I'm sorry. I didn't go because there was some conflicting sentiment about the play. Interesting. So I didn't, I know some people were saying it was a little bit of a ripoff. So I didn't go.

They are a nightmare to book with. I'm going to put this out there. I tried to book in advance and they wanted like a bank transfer to book my tour. I'm like, can't just put my name down and tell them on the day. Like, no, we have to pay some money upfront. What heck is that? Yeah, it's a bit strange.

Okay, so I'm glad I went with my gut and didn't go because I was like, listen, I can go to the 900 cafes in this town or do a coffee tour here when I knew I was going to do a coffee tour in the next town on Ruta Delos Flores. That's why I was like, I don't need to do two coffee tours. Like, let me just support all the local cafes here. Right. And after hearing that conflicting information, I was like, I don't know if I want to deal with that because I had such limited time. Right. I was like, I don't know if I want to mess around with that because one of the days in a taco,

I ended up going to Cafe Albania, which is basically like this theme park. Yes. And it has the other rainbow slide. Yes. In El Salvador. And honestly, yeah, honestly, I knew this is how I think of traveling. Sometimes I'm like, do it once, pay for it, and you never have to go again. Right. Like, and it's not like I do things for the, the gram or whatever that is. It's just that like, I want to experience it, but I don't have to go more than once if I come back to this country. Right.

Yeah, theme park, isn't it?

So I paid the 40 US dollars for the unlimited bracelet that gets you one ride on every single ride, which I didn't even do. So I did like the biking in the sky, the mazes, the surfboarding, I did the rainbow slide. And I think for locals, that price is quite high because whenever I told anyone about it, they were like, oh, you paid that? And I was like, yeah, but it was like a one-time thing for me. Like if I come back here, I won't go to Cafe Albania again.

but I thought it was kind of a fun way to spend half of a day.

Yeah, again, that's loosely on my list. Not really though.

Probably

not a priority for a lot of people, but I thought it was like, was like, this is kind of cool. Like a super fast slide, like biking in the air, surfing in the, was like, it's just kind of quirky, right? So took the local bus. was literally like a 12 minute ride from Otago and it was less than a dollar. So.

All buses are dollar.

I know. And there's, you know, the same few buses that run all up and down Ruta de las Flores. So after my two nights in a taco, which I loved, you know, went to the night market, went to Cafe Albania, went up to the viewpoint, went to support all the local cafes and eat their food and drink their coffee. I headed on down to and I still cannot pronounce this name for the life of me, Hawaii, Hawaii.

Cause it's Jade isn't it? It's Whoie. Who are you? Who? Whoish. Yeah.

Uiua, Uiua,

which is another, it's a mass, it's okay, massive in terms of like small towns. It's much bigger than Otako, but it is a pretty big town on Ruta de las Flores and a big center point. Like it's pretty much in the middle of the route. I ended up spending three nights here in a beautiful hostel that overlooked the city. You could also see there's quite a few rooftops in this small town, but you can also see the five volcano points.

from all of the rooftops, which is really sick. really sick. And I timed this out perfectly because I did do a little bit of research on Hua You before I went and they have a really cool weekend, weekend food market.

as incredible.

Yes, that's Saturday night or is it June day? Yeah, I think someone told me about this.

It's during the day, actually. So

I went to, I was in a taco from Thursday to Saturday and I was like, okay, I'll leave like midday Saturday. It was literally like 30 minutes to Huiua on the bus, nothing. And so I ended up, I got to Huiua midday Saturday, still had tons of time to enjoy the market, the weekend market. And I think the big draw of it is that they bring seafood from the coast. So there's lots of like...

platos de camarones, like pescado. They have all these seafood dishes that really aren't native to the area.

Wow. Yeah, that was on my list, that place. There's a waterfall hike near there as well, isn't there?

There

is very popular siete cascadas. Yeah. I unfortunately did not do it.

I closed when I was there. In Santa Ana, yeah.

feel so bad. feel like it was all wasted on me. When I had good weather and you could have gone, just because I have some bum knees, everybody, and like, to be honest, when I was reading Google reviews, I was really scared because they kept saying, if you have any injuries, any past injuries, if you don't think you can complete this, I do not do it because you will be stuck and stranded in the middle of nowhere. They're gonna have to like, medivac you out of the area, even with guides. So I was like, yo, I'm not taking any chances.

I think there's like seven waterfalls, but the first four are pretty easy, but then it does go up and around the back of other waterfalls or whatever, I think it can get bit hairy, apparently.

Right, right. So I unfortunately opted out just until I'm like, okay, let me be a little bit more confident. And then it ends up in these like cool, kind of like pool, more of like manmade pools. They're called Los Choros and they're kind of like bathing pools. So you kind of get two in one sites, if you will, when you do the hike. And I know everyone around me was doing it. I didn't do it while I was there. I went on a coffee tour to...

Beneficio San Pedro instead, which is like one of the main suppliers of coffee in the country. One of the biggest and most famous suppliers of coffee in the country. So that's what I did with my day while everyone was at the waterfalls, having a good time hiking, but good thing I love coffee.

I know. Yeah. I think I didn't mind because I saw the waterfall in Szechetoto on the civil water. I dipped in and chilled out there. Maybe not as good, but I saw my waterfall fix.

I'd take any waterfall, I know. And then actually one of the full days that I didn't have much to do, or no, I was going to go on a coffee tour. It was all messed up. They pushed it back an entire day. So then I had a free day and I went to one of the other cities just on a day trip on Ruta de las Flores. It's called Nahuizalco. And so it was literally like another 20 minutes south of Huayua.

by bus, the 249, the famous 249 for a dollar and the cutest little town, Zero Tourist. And I just, you know, I walked around, I bought a cute little purse there, you know, supporting, giving my money to locals. I got some dessert, I got a drink and just spent a couple hours there just hanging out. But someone was like, it's soup. One of the locals was like, you should go see it. It's nice to just like walk around. yeah, I was like, well, what else, you know, what better thing to do than see? I know. So I saw three,

Three, four cities, including Apaneca, where Cafe Albania is, four cities over almost five and a half days, Ruta de los Flores, and I did it the way I love to travel, by slow traveling versus packing it all into one day.

Yeah, that's why I wasn't too upset. I'll just go back and do that. But if I went back to El Salvador, that'd be the main thing to do for me. a volcano, course.

I think you would have loved staying in the small towns like I did. It was just so chill.

do it slowly, like dot around, maybe just get a car or a bike and just take your time. Yeah, that'd be pretty cool.

100%. It was super easy to get between all of the cute little towns too. They all have a different personality. And then after this one, sorry, did you want to say something?

Awesome. Okay.

No no no, Carol, Carol.

I was just gonna go explain my espiritu la montaña, because I pretty much did this.

Yes, that's the last thing we're to finish on, right? then I was just going to ask for some reflections as like an elevator pitch for our side.

I'll try to, I'll be as quick as I can. Okay, so after, you know, five beautiful days along Ruta del Flores, I did go back to San Salvador for one night. I checked myself into a Marriott because not gonna lie y'all, as much as I love hostels, I was just like, let me just get a night of luxury. Cause I feel like I've been not necessarily like slumming it, but I was like in hostels with so many other people and barely any hot water. I also had found out about this camping place in the South.

of El Salvador is called Espíritu de la Montaña and it was on top of an old volcano called Conchagua. And there's a tour company that can take you up there. But you do have to go five, you have to travel five hours to the south, Union, basically. And then La Union is the pickup point. And then you go an hour up the mountain, which it really isn't steep. It's like thousand meters. So La Union is also where you take the ferry to go to Nicaragua. So

All the backpackers and travelers who are transiting between the countries over land go to La Ñon. So I was like, you know what, let me take a night in San Salvador, reset, think of what I need. Now, I'm not a camper. James, you're the opposite of me. So when I heard camping, and I'm talking to the tour group on WhatsApp in Spanish, and they tell you everything you need, right? But they don't tell you, they leave out a lot of stuff, which is like, do they do this in the Philippines? Classic.

Southeast Asian, classic Latin American. They don't give you all the information. So I'm like, my God, camping, I'm not a camper, but I can rent a tent. Okay, great. But my God, I'm gonna need a sleeping bag and maybe like some type of something to lay on. And I get cold these days, I was like, it's gonna be freezing up there. I didn't know how high the elevation was. was like, I was like, it's gonna be freezing. I didn't bring any cold weather clothing. So in El Salvador or San Salvador, I was like, I think I need to buy like,

like a tarp type sheet to lay on. And I think you need to buy an extra rain jacket in case it starts like getting super windy and freezing. And so I take the five hour bus to La Añon, super easy. It's like six US dollars. Get there right on time for the pickup. Super cool. This company picks you up in this cool Jurassic Park like adventure Jeep. And you're like cobblestone driving up.

the up to the Espiritu de la Montaña up to the top of the volcano. So that's the other thing is like you don't even have to hike this thing. You can get driven up in a-

This

sounds luxury.

No, that's I'm saying. Like this is lux. You can hike. Most people literally do not hike because it takes like an hour to get up in the car. And it's actually really fun. And you have beautiful views of like the river and the Bay and Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador. And that is the allure of camping. Camping at this place for a night is that when you wake up with the sun, you look over the Bay and you see three countries, Honduras, Nicaragua.

El Salvador. So was like, I got to do this. This is super cool. And so the trip is only supposed to be for a night. So you go up there late afternoon. I was surprised. They actually gave us a tour of the campgrounds, which was really nice because I guess that's included in, in what you pay for. And we had the most amazing guide. His name is Fidel and he actually works. This was cool. He works on cruise ships in his like high season, but in the off season, he's a tour guide in El Salvador, his home country.

but he also works with a lot of Filipinos. So we like connected and his English was fantastic. He took my little DJI Osmo Pocket 2 and he, you know, took it around. So we'll probably add some footage in here cause he's like, please let me know whenever you, your podcast comes out with the El Salvador episode. was like, I will. But there's a cool museum at the top of these campgrounds that talk about the Lenka people, which are an indigenous people that, you know, a lot of the government doesn't really.

talk about, unfortunately, lot of the culture is lost, so they were trying to preserve it in this museum. just, it's been a two-dilla montagna. It was beautiful. Like, you go up there, you rent tents, you rent the mattress pad, and you can bring whatever you want to sleep on on top of that. They tell you, yeah, there's bathrooms at the top, and there's like a small store at the top, right? So I go, I bring an emergency blanket from home in California, like the Marathon blankets, because I'm like, what if I need it?

just tell you I bought stuff from literally the North Face in San Salvador, because I was like, what if I eat it? I went to Super Selecto, which is the grocery store there. I bought dinner, I bought breakfast, because they were like, you're camping. You're only going to have this small store. When I tell you, top, there's literally... Sorry. One second, James. Changing. OK. Are we back? Good.

When I tell you at the top, there is a full on restaurant and a store that has everything you could ever need and bathrooms with toilet paper. When I literally brought rolls of toilet paper because I thought they weren't going to have camping. This is not camping. It is luxury and you can rent the tent and the mattress pad from them. And I just use the emergency blanket. It wasn't even that cold. It's a thousand meters up you guys, but like being from Southern California, I'm like, I'm freezing you being in Vancouver. Like this is a light breeze free.

It was just so funny because I was incredibly, incredibly over-prepared.

How much was the experience?

The experience, I'd say total because I did rent the tent. did rent, everyone rents the tent. You don't have to, but like it gets really, really windy at night. You rent the mattress pad, the cost to go up and be on the Jeep and the entry. So all in all, was about a little under 40 US dollars for the night. Cheap. So worth it. And then you wake up, it's super. I-15, yes. I'll send you some so you can insert it if you want. But it's absolutely worth it. Absolutely stunning. I don't think.

I think I saw the photo.

think the expense was too high. And you guys, you don't even have to hike it. You don't have to bring your own toilet paper. You don't even have to bring food. They have all this stuff for you at the top. They just don't tell you that they'd.

Yeah, I think I saw that as well on TikTok.

Yeah, it was honestly a really cool experience, but like, it's not strenuous. That's the great part about it, I guess.

Amazing. That's the list.

If you're looking for adventure, maybe not, but views and just calm. That's what it is, yeah.

Peace.

Wow. Okay. don't want this when I go back.

I

think are the two places, Ruta de las Flores, like Extender Ruta de las Flores and Espíritu de la Montaña, I think those were the two new places that I did that you didn't get to due to time.

Yes, I think that is correct. I've done a little bit of Aussie Otakko, but I don't really even count that much.

you did. Let's count it.

But overall I thought as a country, I like to summarize, I thought it was incredibly safe, good for the budget, easy to go on local transport. And I felt, I don't know how to describe this. I felt like all the tours and activities are genuine. And what I mean by that is you're not getting ripped off. I think it is just that price. They're not trying to get more out of you. They haven't really learned that yet because they're quite new to accepting tourists.

Whereas like if you go to Guatemala, they know the game, they try and get you upsell and all that sort of stuff, right? So I think it's a very genuine country for travel and tourism in terms of the experience. And I would even say it's like an easy country to travel to.

price is the price. So if you want to get across town and for a local in a tuk-tuk or something similar, it costs a local $2, they're going to charge you $10. And it's like a mafia where they all agree to charge the same price and those you're negotiating. And immediately, what country did I think of that does that? Mexico. Mexico overrun by tourists in most parts, especially the coast. And I'm like, oh my God, just made all these connections in that moment. I'm like, if Guatemala is turning into Mexico.

Because tourism is so advanced now, it's been there for a long time. I'm like, that's scary. But in El Salvador, there's still negotiation. There's still, I mean, some negotiation. There's still, you know, super affordable to travel. There's no extortion of foreigners yet. But I was just like, that's kind of crazy because I didn't know Guatemala was heading that way.

yet.

Yeah, like a real life example very quickly before we finish is Ataslan Lake in Guatemala versus let's do the Lake Suchutlan in Suchutoto. You said, and it's true because I went down there, the boat in El Salvador in Suchutoto, it goes when it's full, when it's one price and you know that. Whereas on Lake Ataslan, there's a strip where you walk, which is really nice. They're the tourist boats where you get ripped off, private boats. But if you go around the other way to the other side of the lake, there's the public boat, which is not

ripoff boat, but it's not obvious, right? You can get duped if you're not too switched on. So I think there's a difference in the countries there where you just need to be aware that Guatemala is more like the game. just need to make sure, your research, ask backpackers where's the actual boat or whatever you're trying to do.

That's kind of wild. That kind of blew my mind when I heard that. I was surprised, but you know, now people are feeling much safer the past few years and more comfortable traveling El Salvador. And this is the whole reason, this goes back to the first question James and I were gonna ask each other when we started the podcast. Why did we pick El Salvador?

Yeah, it's been off limits for decades and I've heard it's safe. So I thought, well, let's go and see what it's like.

100%.

No, can I say this? A part of me feels like in this day and age, some countries, or maybe all actually, you never know how good it is until it ends. So I'm like, I want to go now just in case something bad happens. And that's not just El Salvador, that's like most countries, like, best is a great example of the minute. Yeah. But I'm like, unfortunately, let's just take advantage now and just go now where it's like seems to be up and coming. And New York Times named it in the top 40 places last year.

And I read an article when I arrived in Sansa that said it's got a massive amount of tourists coming this year, so I think it's good.

And also that. Yeah.

And that's why I wanted to get to El Salvador before that happens. Because I feel like sometimes Mexico is like that too. I'm probably in the wrong places, but I'm so happy that I went and I spent almost three weeks there and it was like, couldn't have asked for more to be honest.

Yeah, three weeks is a good time. That's an amazing time to spend in that country. I was half that. So, well, 13 days, 13 nights. Yeah.

Your trip through Central America, you, like looking back on it now, now that you're way past it, would you have structured it differently and spent more time?

No, I think it's almost perfect for the timings and where I I would have extended the trip. I know everyone would say that, but I would have probably added an extra two or three days because I didn't have enough time in Takao in Guatemala. I had one day there, but I wanted to kind of chill out, but it's too fast paced, had to fly. So I think I would have extended the trip by a few more days. I know people say that, but that's because I got halted by the rain in Santa Ana.

But I prioritise El Salvador, which is the right thing to do.

Okay, there you go. All right, so yeah, now next time you just gotta do a standalone trip to El Salvador. awesome. I have, can I do the T2A, Q2A for you? Sure. Okay, super quick, because I think we only have 40 minutes. This is a free version, right? Okay, but it didn't say five minute warning yet. We'll do this quick. All right, James.

Yes. What's next?

Think so, yeah.

You know how it is on Ticket to Anywhere podcast. We have a T2A, Q2A, and you are a victim today. So first question, do you have a ritual or routine when you land a new place or a new safety

Oh

god, a ritual routine, book a walk and tour. Because where you land is normally a capital city so I want to get to know the big city, normally.

I love that. Love that.

I haven't heard that one before, so I like that tip. Hot tip for anyone listening, what is your must-have flight essential or traveling essential when you're commuting and transiting?

the noise cancelling headphones.

Okay, there you go. Any particular brand you want to shout out? Yeah. Okay, last question. What are you besides a traveler and a podcaster? What do you like to tell people? Who are you? Who's James Hammond?

The sum that works.

I'm a bit of a previous life music graduate, so I'm a bit of a tempted musician, but failed really. But yeah, that's my degree. So I kind of, still have my roots. So that's kind of football and music, but football was more deep rooted from early childhood, but like adult change is probably music. Yeah.

That's super cool. Okay, so next trip I fully expect to see, yeah, with a guitar out in the plaza.

Yes, that has been me in the past. Plenty of times. I know it's cringe when people go to hostels, like, has he got a new guitar? Yeah, that's me.

People

love it. They say they don't, but they do.

Yeah, and it's at a certain level if you're kind of alright at guitar you can sort of learn easy songs quickly and play them in front of people in the hostel.

That is super cool. I love that.

Hell yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think we've deep dived El Salvador on real experiences a lot. It's a compliment to my series as well.

Yes.

Basically good weather and bad weather.

Yeah, in a matter of a month difference. Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it? Great country, worth visiting and get a now, I'd say before too much construction or Timmy Taurus go there.

Heh.

definitely

And

then the rate and before, mean, you could probably book it from Los Angeles. Yes. listening. Los Angeles. Five hour flight, everyone. Yeah. James flew from San Francisco. I flew from LAX, LAX to San Salvador. Five hours with Avianca.

the anchor. the way they go. And the airport is great when you land. I think it's quite new. So it's nice experience when you land. The only problem is the distance from the town.

Yep.

Wait,

I saw to end this, top this off, I saw the best TikTok about when you exit the San Salvador airport and you're like, you feel like a celebrity, because it's just everyone waiting in droves. Do you remember that?

Yeah, I arrived quite late at night and it still happened. Yeah.

Literally like hundreds of people crowded around like you're walking onto the red carpet. It's so funny.

What a place. Loved it. Gotta go back.

Awesome. Thanks, Jane.

Thanks so much Leah, it's been a great chat. Loved it. Sweet. Thanks for tuning in to the podcast episode today. If you've been inspired by today's chat and want to book some travel, if you head to the show notes, you'll see some affiliate links below which helps support this podcast. You'll find Skyscanner to book your flight. You'll find Booking.com to book that accommodation. Want to stay in a super cool hostel? You'll see Hostel World down there too. You'll find Revolut to get your travel card sorted. Click the GIGSky link to get your eSIM ready for your trip.

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