The frequency of my trips seems to be negatively correlated with the amount of time that I spend in each place. When I began this adventure, I was apprehensive about traveling on the weekends. I was worried that I would not have enough time in each place. I started with traveling only on long holiday weekends, where I could leave the country on Thursday nights after work and return on Mondays. Soon after, I began leaving at least once a month. Then, twice a month. And recently, every weekend. Just three days ago, I returned from Bolivia – where I spent Memorial Day Weekend biking Death Road and exploring the world’s largest salt flats [see posts: Death Road: Biking the World’s Most Dangerous Road and Incredible Bolivia: Salar de Uyuni from La Paz]. I was on a high. I wanted more adventure and I had no reason to stay home. Hoping that someone would join me, I posted the idea of a “weekend bender” in El Salvador on Facebook. Not even a minute later, Maya (a classmate from college) expressed interest in joining. Needless to say, the trip was planned and booked that afternoon.

San Salvador
El Salvador – the most violent nation in the Western Hemisphere (at the time of this post). Its capital and largest city, San Salvador, a gangland. Frighteningly high homicide rates, robberies, and corruption have scared away any potential tourists. It is safe to assume that the worldwide travel warnings for El Salvador are not going away anytime soon. But, if I paid attention to every travel warning that was issued, I would not have anywhere left to go. Violence within the country is rarely targeted at foreigners. Regardless, you do not want to end up in the middle of an attack. Much of the crime is concentrated in downtown San Salvador. And, like in most places, after the sun goes down, the streets become even more dangerous. Nonetheless, with the right precautions, you can travel to El Salvador safely.

We arrived at Monsenor Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Salvador on the evening of Friday, June 2, 2017. We were staying at the Hotel Armonia Hostal located about an hour away from the airport in the outskirts of San Salvador.

The hostal offered a cheap stay in a relatively safe area. After establishing that we would probably not die leaving the gated building, we walked to the nearest restaurant for dinner. In front, armed soldiers guarded the entrance. Not intimidating at all? After being the only foreigners at the airport, and being the only visitors checking in to the hostal, we expected to be the only tourists dining at any restaurant.

Colonial Route and Volcanoes of El Salvador
The next day was our only full day in El Salvador.

Prior to arriving, I booked the “Colonial Route and Volcanoes of El Salvador, Cerro Verde and the Flowers Route” full-day tour through Viator. Being the only tourists, we secured a private car and customizable itinerary. The tour took us across the country, down Ruta de las Flores (or in English, the Flowers Route), with stops at colonial towns after visiting some of the country’s most famous volcanoes.

First stop: Los Pinos for a panoramic view of the stunning Lake Coatepeque. The beautiful, clean, and sparkling blue lake that filled an ancient crater made me feel sorry for the tourists that are bypassing El Salvador in their travels.

Continuing down the scenic highway, we made several picture stops along the way before reaching the Natural Protected Area of Cerro Verde.

This park sure was protected – armed soldiers accompany any visitors wanting to hike the eco trails.

Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, we were not able to make the hike through the park to see the views of Izalco Volcano (better known as the “Lighthouse of the Pacific”).

The rain was not about to stop anytime soon. We stopped at Casamiento for lunch to try typical Salvadoran food. Aside from pupusas, traditional cuisine includes soups and stews, along with dishes heavy on meat, rice, yucca, and plantains.

After lunch, we spent the afternoon discovering El Salvador’s charming Flowers Route – named for its abundance of flowers along the picturesque road, colorful colonial villages, coffee, cuisine, and festivals.

Along the route, we stopped for guided tours of Nahuizalco and the coffee-making center of Ataco. Both stops offered a great mix of beautiful scenery and indigenous culture.

The rain had cut our full-day trip short.

After returning to the hostal, we hopped in a taxi and headed to a recommended district packed with restaurants and bars.

Contrary to our expectations, we felt safe. Safe enough to take an unregistered taxi and walk around an unknown neighborhood at night. We had dinner, well, multiple dinners and ended our only day in this beautiful country with some drinks.

San Salvador (Continued)
Our flight back to Chicago via Houston was scheduled to depart later that morning. On the way to the airport, we asked the taxi driver to take us around San Salvador.

Outside of the city center, the rest of the country looks like any other ecotourism destination in Central America. However, the instability of the country is highlighted in downtown San Salvador. Heavily armed soldiers patrol the streets – posted in front of convenience stores, plazas, and parks.

We made one more necessary detour (to El Salvador’s most famous pupusa restaurant) before arriving at the airport. Prior to visiting El Salvador, I had never tried pupusas, nor had I ever even heard of the classic Salvadorian food. Who knew tortillas filled with cheese and whatever else can be so popular.

What I do know is: El Salvador should not be overlooked. Central America’s smallest country makes for an excellent travel destination.