Jan 12

Written by: chris
1/12/2012 

I am often asked on the Travel Show what are the hot new and up-and-coming destinations – and Central America is top of my list. It used to be that Costa Rica was the only country from the region to appear in the glossy vacation brochures. Now Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize are all making a showing. I had been to the first three, but not to the others, so this trip was to add three more countries to my experience of the region – future Travel Show material.

Decameron: Life’s a Beach

My base for exploring the region was in El Salvador at this anchor resort for Nolitours on the Pacific Coast at Salinitas in the west of the country. All-inclusive and all-embracing, you never need leave this resort to enjoy a week of R & R in the sun – but that, as we shall see, would be a crime. It’s a large resort with over 500 rooms in three storey linked blocks set in lush gardens between lagoon and ocean. The food was excellent: buffets, snack bars and five a la carte restaurants. But for me the best part about the resort was the beach.


At high tide (and the tidal range here is dramatic), there is a long beach under plenty of shady trees and thatch palapas; at low tide, the Pacific recedes to reveal a wonderland of jagged lava rock pools and marine life, plus bath-warm sheltered ocean lagoons. Another pina colada, por favor…

Volcano Hiking: Summit Smoke

That lava on the beach at the Decameron came from a trio of volcanoes to the north: Cerro Verde, Izalco and Santa Ana. Early on my second morning I set out with Jorge from Cuscatlan Tours as my guide, to hike to the top of one of these: Santa Ana Volcano, the highest active volcano in the country at a little under 8,000 feet. Entering the Cerro Verde National Park, we drove up an incredibly rough road through mountain forest to the trailhead and began the long hike upwards. As we climbed, the views over the surrounding valleys, the caldera lake of Coatepeque and the sister volcano of Izalco grew more spectacular.


We ascended through different vegetation zones, from montane forest through stunted and weird mountain flora to the almost lifeless lava and ash of the crater slopes. Smoke and clouds whirled around us and then suddenly we arrived at the summit, the clouds raced over us and the summit vista was revealed: around us were volcanoes, green valleys and misty mountains, but the real jewel was what was revealed beneath our feet, inside the volcano’s precipitous crater walls: a vivid bright green crater lake of sulphurous waters. It’s a uniquely beautiful view and well worth the hike to the heavens. Afterwards, we soaked tired limbs in the therapeutic warmth of Santa Teresa hot springs – another hint of the volcanic nature of this part of the Ring of Fire.

Maya El Salvador: Joya de Ceren & San Andres

The Maya people are endlessly fascinating. Their cities and settlements stretch back over two thousand years over much of Central America – including El Salvador on the southeastern edge of the Maya World. Here I visited two of the most significant, but very different, Mayan sites in the country. San Andres was a ceremonial centre for the surrounding fertile valley and boasts the traditional pyramids and courtyards that are so characteristic of such major sites. Peaceful, beautiful – we were almost alone at the site in contrast to the much more visited sites in Mexico’s Yucatan.


Just a few kilometers away, Joya de Ceren was just an ordinary Maya village until it was abruptly buried 1,400 years ago by its backyard volcano, creating “the Pompeii of the Americas”. Normally such humble structures would not have survived, but here you can gather a sense of what life was like for the ordinary Maya people all those centuries ago.

The People: The Maya Live!

The archaeologists working at Joya de Ceren have a unique advantage: when they make a find that is puzzling, they can go ask the direct descendants of the people who lived there – the Maya people continue to live in Central America half a millennium after the Spanish Conquistadors nearly wiped them out with disease and religion. Throughout the region I met with Maya and people with Maya heritage in the markets, the colonial towns and the countryside.


Although these Central American countries have the highest homicide rates in the world (four to five times that of Mexico for instance), I met with friendly warmth tinged with joyous sparkle from all the people I met on the trip. I was safety-conscious, but never had a moment’s concern. My advice: do not let media shock stories deter you from visiting this destination.

Markets: Colour and Craziness

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Marketplaces are the heartbeat of most cultures and this is certainly true of this region. I visited markets and street vendors in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, strolling the cobbled streets amidst brightly coloured stalls piled high with foods and crafts. From scrumptious and sweet chorros (a local donut snack), to brilliant Maya fabrics, to the plumpest radishes I have ever seen – the markets are the best places to connect with the people, take memorable photos and simply absorb the sights, sounds and smells of a very different culture.

Colonial Towns: Cathedrals and Plazas

The blend of native culture and Spanish colonial history has produced a scenic mix of country towns throughout the region. All are laid out in a common fashion: a central Plaza bordered by the church, town hall and important civic buildings and market streets radiating outwards. I explored several of these gems…Izalco, with the looming volcano of the same name towering above; Juayua set high among surrounding coffee plantations; Santa Ana, bustling market town with a strangely Italianate look; Nahuizalco, craft capital on the Route of the Flowers; and Ruinas de Copan, cobblestone backpackers haven with the best German-Honduran restaurant on the planet (Sol de Copan)!

Nature: Flora and Fauna

Coffee is king in the highlands of El Salvador and I followed the progress from berries on the bushes high on the slopes of volcanoes to locals carrying enormous bags of freshly picked berries by the roadside, to the processing plants where the berries are dried to beans and most importantly, to the cup, where the fresh tasting local brew is marvelous! Birding is big here and the brilliant macaws in Honduras were the bright spot here. And the flora in the gardens, along the Ruta de Flores and in the countryside was exotic and mesmerizing.

Guatemala: Cowboy Country

I only scratched the surface of eastern Guatemala on this trip. The countryside here is dramatic: big green mountains and rollicking rivers with winding roads occasionally interrupted by small settlements. This is Guatemala’s Cowboy Country, where cattle with improbably large horns are herded by locals with improbably large cowboy hats. The majority of the people are still pure Maya – it’s a country I have added to my ‘must return’ list.

Honduras: Copan

Honduras has one of the greatest of the Mayan sites: the jewel of Copan. This was once one of the great and powerful Maya city states. Guided by Marvin, he led me through ever-increasingly grand courtyards, up more and more imposing pyramids and filled me with stories of kingly life from thousands of years ago.


Precisely inscribed stellae (pillars) here carry the details of rulers from the mists of time and also note the precise end of the Mayan Long Count calendar: 21st December 2012. But don’t worry: Marvin is sure that this simply ends one era and launches the start of another – it’s not the end of the world, more of Y2K! It’s a magnificent tribute to people whose complex civilization could compute precise astronomic events, but had no use for the wheel or beasts of burden.

Thanks

This was a magical trip through time and space to a beautiful region that is hardly touched by mass tourism. It was made the more magical by the assistance of:

• Jorge, Julio and Claudia at Cuscatlan Tours – highly recommended for tours (follow them on facebook) 
• Marvin, the best guide at Copan
• Thomas, the best German/Honduras innkeeper anywhere
• And Susan at Transat Tours who booked our trip with Nolitours (www.nolitours.com) and with Canjet Select – the best way to travel to El Salvador!