After a ridiculous trip to the airport involving a broken down car, Walter and I finally arrived in San Salvador at midnight. After a quick nap, our adventures began early with a tour of downtown San Salvador. Espiral tours showed us some of the beautiful downtown churches, squares, and some sites of gruesome civil war history.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Spirit

Our first stop was to the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Savior, home of the Archbishop of El Salvador. This church was huge and beautiful. We were told it used to have a mural around the front entrance that had made the church even more beautiful when it was built. We happened to walk in on a pilgrimage honoring the late Oscar Romero, whose assassination is seen as the spark that ignited the full on civil war. He was scheduled to be canonized as a Saint in the Catholic church so many groups of people were traveling to all the sites of importance. After the church we explored the square and interesting sites of downtown while making our way to Rosario Church.

Rosario Church

Rosario Church is an fascinating, and unique church, like one I have not seen before. The church’s shape and colored glass makes you feel like you stepped into a rainbow. The church arches over you with each step up a colored layer of glass is the primary source of lighting for the whole building. On one of the tall flat sides they used large chunks of glass placed in the concrete to create a giant eye. To the church members this is a reminder that God is always watching over you. After the church we explored another downtown square, looking at the monuments before heading to a currency museum. Though Walter and I were not crazy about the museum it was neat to see the colors and pictures that had been used on the now unused colones. Now everything is bought and sold in USD which is nice for those of us traveling from the USA. As a first time visitor, I was surprised to hear the family’s stories about how dangerous downtown was even to shop and go to church when they were younger. Current day, I never once had the feeling there was any personal risk, we even stopped by again after dark.

We ended our tour at a coffee shop where the barista explained the coffee regions and varieties of coffee grown in El Salvador.

Down in the city center there is also street markets where you can buy anything from produce, to clothing, or even cell phone chargers for phones outdated 10 years ago. There is also an indoor market selling clothes, souvenirs, and various other goods. Exploring the multitude of vendors stalls filled with fruits and vegetables was a great way to work our way around the city squares.

After the tour, we headed up the San Salvador volcano stopping at Las Brumas for lunch. The food was wonderful but the view was even better. On the outside patio, we were overlooking the entire city of San Salvador.

El Boquerón

Continuing on our way after lunch, we headed up El Boquerón park to hike the crater of San Salvador. The hike was a rather short one, but beautiful filled with butterflies, flowers, and tropical woods. You could wander for a long time on the trails enjoying the beautiful mossy steps and butterflies around you. The crater itself was quite far away and not all that exciting. Parking here was also beastly, with everyone parking along the side of the road; it turns the road into a one lane street with two-way traffic. One other thing that I saw for the first time here, but witnessed it all over El Salvador, is children and adults “helping” you park for a fee. For a dollar or two they will help you find a parking spot and watch your car.

Puerta Del Diablo

Another hike near San Salvador is the Puerta del Diablo which we squeezed in as a late afternoon hike one day. The hike is fairly short and the view is beautiful. You can see the countryside for miles and in the distance even the ocean. For those feeling a little daring, you can also take a zip line across to the actual structure that gave the devil’s door its name. Along the road up to the hike, there are lots of vendors selling souvenirs and treats. One treat we indulged in and were more than thrilled with was pupusas. For those of you who don’t know, pupusas are the national dish of El Salvador. It is not a Salvadoran meal without them. I liken them to cheese (and other fillings as requested) stuffed tortillas. We stopped at a place, decorated like the Flintstones, making pupusas and let me tell you, they were by unanimous vote the best pupusas we had in El Salvador. For just a dollar each, make sure you save some room to try pupusas while you are there. I would suggest take this hike at dinner time and reward yourself with these absolutely tasty pupusas. Walter says you should eat them daily, but I will leave that for you to decide.

The Rosario Church rainbow

One other notable location is the Parrot Park (Parque de los Pericos). A park right in the heart of San Salvador. We did not have time to rent bikes to explore the farther trails but we enjoyed those we did walk. The trails were beautiful and the guavas were ripening up so the sweet smell filled the air.  Parrot Park is a great way to enjoy a relaxing hike in nature without leaving the city.