San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, a country with a chequered past. Now, probably the safest country in Latin America.
From the airport, I took bus #138 to El Centro, 41 km for just 60 cents US, then walked to the Cumbres del Volcán hostel:
One of the things I was really up for here was to visit the railway museum. But in 2022, it was sadly closed.
I backpacked San Salvador twice. In February 2022, I flew in from Mexico City and made it to Santa Ana when I had a call from my sister to say that my father had passed. After two months in the UK, and two more in Mexico City, I headed back to pick up the trail.
From the perspective of a backpacker, El Salvador makes for a fantastic country to travel in. And having visited all the Central American countries, I’d say it’s my favourite for any backpacking adventure.
Top sights in San Salvador
El Teatro Nacional
The National Theatre was built in 1910, and is the oldest theatre in Central America:
El Palacio Nacional
The National Palace was built between 1905 and 1911, replacing the original, which was destroyed by fire in 1889:
La Catedral Metropolitana de San Salvador
This is the third Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador, after the first two were destroyed by earthquakes and thus rebuilt. It houses the tomb of Archbishop Óscar Romero, who was assassinated here in 1980 whilst celebrating Mass:
El Monumento a los Próceres
The Monument to the Heroes in the Parque Libertad, representing the ‘first cry’ of Independence in 1811, against Spanish colonisation:
La Iglesia El Rosario
The “radically beautiful” Iglesia El Rosario, a catholic church on the eastern side of the Plaza Libertad, dates from 1971. It was designed by Ruben Martinez and looks like an aircraft hangar.
Note: It is not Iglesia del Rosario as shown on Wikipedia!
El Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo
The Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo, a statue of Jesus Christ standing on top of the world. Originally built in 1942, the present one, rebuilt in 2010:
El Monumento a la Revolución
A bit further out, The Monument to the Revolution:
El Cementerio de Los Ilustres
I was backpacking the El Cementerio de Los Ilustres (The Cemetery of the Illustrious), one of the largest cemeteries in El Salvador, where the country’s elite are buried. Whilst looking for the grave of La Novia, Lidia Cristales de Lopez, first wife of Dr López, the original resident of the López Mansion, now the Hostal Cumbres del Volcán Flor Blanc, the hostel I am lodging at. I failed to find it (on my visit), but I found this:
Enrico Massi (Naples, Italy, October 29, 1897 – Soyapango, El Salvador, October 4, 1923) was an Italian aviator. He is considered a pioneer of aviation in El Salvador.
Street Life in San Salvador
The vendors from whom I buy my fruit and veg, are always happy to pose:
The melon guy:
The FAST-JUICE lady:
And simple street scenes to give you a glimpse of what San Salvador looks like:
The Le Café, where I indulged:
Block after block has been turned over to market stalls. This is where the average Salvadoran shops, it’s much cheaper than the bigger supermarkets out west, with the Iglesia el Calvario at the end:
Relaxing with a Brahva, a Brazilian American-style lager on the rooftop of the Cumbres del Volcán hostel after a hard day’s backpacking in San Salvador and then blogging on a tablet:
Yes, San Salvador rocks. It has a checkered past, and because of this, it feels more real, and that is what I love to experience.
