The country for today is El Salvadore, the smallest of the Central American countries. According to one of our resources, El Salvadore is one of the most underrated countries with 6.4 million people that speak mainly Spanish. The capital is San Salvador, located about 2 hours drive from the port city of Acajutla, our port of call for today. El Salvador has been kept off of the tourist radar by civil war and bad press. And that has been the main reason no ship we have ever sailed on has had a stop here. From what we have read recently in the ship’s newspaper, a large number of convicted criminals have just been sentenced to long prison terms or worse, taking about 400 of them off of the streets. This is something you will not read in the promotional ads for visiting this country.
What this country does offer are world-class surfing on almost deserted dark sand beaches, as well as coffee plantations, colorful Spanish colonial towns and many national parks and volcanoes. A new breed of travelers is appearing in search of new experiences in this little-visited land.
So what is their favorite food? They are most famous for “pupusas” which is a round cornmeal dough stuffed with a combination of cheese, refried beans, wild veggies, and pork rinds. Then it is grilled. A common side dish to add to the pupusas is a mixture of pickled cabbage and veggies called curtido. We were informed later by the shuttle monitor that if the cabbage is not properly boiled, it can be lethal to non-citizens. No, not fatal, but a bad stomach reaction.
There was a total of 14 HAL tours sold here today. The most affordable excursions included indigenous handicrafts for 3 hours and $85, or a 5-hour panoramic walk in Santa Ana city for $85. Easy sightseeing was 3.75 hours for $100 and for the same price, there was a 3.5 hour stay at Serene Los Almendros Beach for $100 that included juice. There was a long 2-hour ride to the capital of San Salvadore for a total of 7 hours with lunch and on your own for $150. There were six options with tours from $120 to $135 and 3 to 7 hours to a chocolate plantation & workshop, two different volcano hikes, a ride to Joya de Ceren, Mayan and indigo traditions with sandwiches, and a Mayan cacao heritage delight with a lunch. A pupusa-making class was 4 hours and $135 with lunch and a mangrove cruise at an eco-lodge for 7 hours that included a seafood lunch and $165.
We thought yesterday’s port in Puerto Chiapas, Mexico was hot, but today it seemed even worse with what we can label as “hot fog” if there is such a thing. There was a heavy haze in the still air and what was described as broken clouds, which was more like different shades of gray. The temperature at 9am was 88 degrees with 65% humidity. Winds were 9.3 mph. This has to be one of the busiest ports on the El Salvadoran coastline. Heavily commercial, there was no terminal building, just a harbor and coastline filled with moored cargo and container vessels. The port of Acajutla did not allow pedestrian traffic, so we had to take shuttles. And since there was no town close by, we had two different shuttles to choose from. One went to a resort called Las Veraneras Hotel and Resort and then other went to a Railway Museum at Sonsonate City, of which we had no printed material.
It was going to be a short day with the all aboard time at 2:30pm. We left the ship shortly after 9:30am and were handed a card with a small stone bracelet compliments of the locals. Nice touch we thought. Then we went to the first available shuttle which went to the resort with a beach, about a 20-minute ride from the pier. We had no intentions of staying there but were just curious to check out what was here. The ride took us through the mostly industrial and commercial part of Acajutla, where big rigs were lined up on both sides of the highway to service the cargo and container ships. Definitely not a place anyone would chose to walk.
When we arrived to the resort, we found it to be totally fenced and well-guarded. When we entered through the gate, we were given bracelets to wear which gave us access to the facilities, but not any beverage or food venues. Talking to a fellow passenger, he found out that a day pass here costs $35. Maybe that included food and beverages. The resort had bungalows and perhaps a small hotel along with a huge shallow swimming pool and a good place for families. Besides red flags being flown near the beach, the tide was up and there very little beach exposed. Some of the HAL people tried walking across the slippery boulders to access more dark sand beach, but it was off of the guarded property. Some of our buddies had arrived earlier and took benches facing the surf, while some were finding tables to possibly buy lunch and beer.
With the shuttles arriving every half hour, we decided to go back to the pier and try the other bus to the Railway Museum and see where that takes us. It was way too early for lunch for us anyway. As soon as we got back to the pier, we switched shuttles and waited for 20 or more minutes before it left. There were only six of us in this bus, but they had to return every 30 minutes, so off we went. This turned out to be a good thing because we had a very nice bus monitor who spoke about his country on the 40 minute ride to Sonsonate City, about a 20 mile ride. One of the first things he did was offer us bottled water, which really surprised us. It’s not like we were on a paid tour, but just a complimentary ride.
He told us that we were the last of about 10 cruise ships that have stopped here since January. He told us that all of these shuttles came from San Salvadore with the drivers and guides at 4am this morning. It had been arranged through the Port Authorities to promote tourism here. He explained how his country has had problems over the years with civil unrest and violence, keeping many tourists away. These days he said things are safer and the country has been concentrating on improving their place in the world with exports of sugarcane, corn, coffee, and more recently, providing a call center where businesses worldwide can communicate with each other. This has been very common with countries such as India, but now we might get operators from here that, in his opinion, speak much better English.
The traffic on the four-lane highway was moving well until we went off on a ramp towards Sonsonate Centro, where traffic lights kept us about stopped for 20 minutes. At least we had a view of a couple of modified pick-up trucks one carrying a cow and the other with a group of locals standing in the back holding on for dear life. No seat belt laws here. Finally making a left turn, we were headed towards the marketplace where the Railway Museum was located. We were not prepared for what we saw since this stop was described as only a museum stop, which went virtually ignored from what we saw.
Well this had to be one of the largest and most vibrant marketplaces we have seen so far. Crowded does not come close to describing this area. Our guide said it was so busy due to the fact that tomorrow was Mother’s Day here, just like in the states. And it is a big deal with celebrations and families out and about celebrating with all of the restaurants and bars opened. Making it even more busy was the fact today was Saturday, and the people work ½ a day here, then get off for the weekend. Everyone and their brother was food and supply shopping.
The shuttle stopped across from the museum, but only two people got off. Seeing the crowd outside and spotting the line of guests waiting to board this shuttle, we decided along with the other couple, to stay onboard. We could easily get plenty of photos from the bus and not fight the crowd of shoppers. And the last shuttle to leave here was 1:30pm, and it was already after 12:30pm at this point. They took on as many of the waiting guests as they could, filling up every seat that dropped in the center of the narrow bus. Packed like sardines, our nice monitor offered the folks bottled water, which might have not been the best idea knowing we could be stuck in traffic getting back.
Taking a right turn off of the main shopping street was not the best idea, as we were jammed behind dozens of cars, trucks, and motorbikes. Our driver qjuickly made a U-turn, and found a side street that was really third-world appearing with ram shackled buildings falling apart with people actually living in them. It was a quicker way back to the highway where we made it back to the pier after 1pm.
Back at the ship, we squeezed over to the one or two tables of souvenirs being sold. Most of it was magnets, keyrings, pill boxes and t-shirts and costume jewelry, which looked like it came from Guatemala. One table had bagged coffee beans for sale. And that was it. One couple was trying to board our shuttle to go back to Sonsonate City but were informed they could not go there and be back on time. Our driver left to go back and pick up the rest of the group with an empty bus.
Back in our room, we ordered a light lunch of a BBQ pulled pork sandwich and one bowl of chili. With the exception of the resort, there was no venue for lunch in the town. We waited for the Captain to talk at 2:30pm, but as far as we know, he never came on the speakers or did not deliver his update at all. It became obvious by 3pm that we were waiting for a late tour bus, which did arrive by 3:30pm with police escorts. The lines were dropped as we sailed out of the busy harbor on our way towards our next port in Panama.
Dinnertime found some very different items on the menu. We both enjoyed the Thai beef salad with papaya and the global favorite of braised beef boneless ribs with mushy potatoes, hidden spinach, and a savory gravy. All good. We had one panna cotta in a jar and a plate of watermelon….always refreshing and light. The clocks went forward one hour tonight, with one more to go before we arrive to Ft. Lauderdale.
There was a show in the World Stage featuring a vocalist Spencer Day with jazz and pop music along with audience requests. “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” was the movie in the Wajang. We bet with all of the tours in the heat of the day, many folks called it a night especially losing that one hour on the clocks.
Really need a day at sea and more to re-charge the batteries.
Bill & Mary Ann
