Post 26 - El Salvador- Surprising and Exciting Encounters
- Efrat abramson
- May 16
- 8 min read
5/15/26
On May 1, Labor Day (I did work hard that day), we left Lake Atitlan and set off for El Salvador. We stopped for one night before the border, at the home of a lovely couple, Isabel and Javier, who used to travel themselves, and now live on a large piece of land, hosting overlanders on their way north or south. When we arrived, they greeted us warmly and directed us to the back of their property, as far away from the road as possible, as there was supposed to be a big party with loud music that evening. The weather is much hotter here than in the mountains and Lake Atitlan. We are trying to adjust to the heat and humidity. I asked if we could do laundry, and Isabel happily showed me a machine that has seen better days in a small shed outside, and how to operate it. It turns out that I have to sit next to it and operate every step of the machine's operation, and in addition, its wringing mechanism doesn't work (she told me this after the machine had already started working), so I find myself wringing all the clothes by hand, on Labor Day. In the end, I came out exhausted from this operation, and since then, I've been watching all the women who do their laundry by hand in streams and lakes here and everywhere in Central America, with amazement and appreciation. We're so used to water and electricity being accessible and taken for granted, but here it's not so clear.
In the evening, we discovered that it is an agricultural fair where cattle raised in this area are on display. We went to visit, wandering among the cows and the many stands selling food, drink, and agricultural equipment. The deafening music continues to accompany us on our way back home, and I once again take out my Apple headphones, which save my ears and allow me to fall asleep in relative isolation from my surroundings.
The farm where we slept, all the dogs love Guy; he attracts them to him. And a sunrise from our favorite window in our camper.
Agricultural Fair
El Salvador
The next day, after a two-and-a-half-hour drive, we crossed the border from Guatemala into El Salvador. The crossing this time is very simple, short, and easy.
We said goodbye to Guatemala, crossed a bridge to El Salvador, and met the official who issued us a temporary driving permit (for general information - here it's free, while in Mexico you have to leave a deposit of $400 and pay a few more pesos for it)
That's it, we're in El Salvador. I'm excited to be back here, after almost fifty years. We immediately recognized that the roads are of better quality, with proper shoulders, and that there is less congestion from people, carts, motorcycles, tuk-tuks, and bicycles. In general, it is less crowded.
We continued and arrived at a small town located on the shore of a small lake, where we found a restaurant with a large parking lot, where we would spend the night. The campgrounds in El Salvador are less organized than those in Mexico and Guatemala, probably as a result of years when the country was considered one of the most dangerous in the world. After decades of political instability, military coups, and enormous social disparities, a severe and bloody civil war broke out here in the 1980s, which lasted about 12 years and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
Even after the war ended, the country struggled for many years with poverty, violence, and the control of brutal street gangs, which meant that many travelers simply hurried through it on their way to other Central American countries.
For me, returning to El Salvador also touched on an old personal memory. When I was a child, I lived here with my family for two years, and at the end, we left relatively hastily, when the revolution and the deteriorating security situation were already clearly felt around us. For years, this country remained a beautiful memory for me, but also a charged and slightly frightening one.
In recent years, under President Nayib Bukele, the country has undergone a dramatic change in terms of personal security and public order. The streets are much quieter, and there is a sense that people are back out and about, although opinions around the world are divided about the democratic cost of these changes. We feel completely free to walk the streets, and everyone we meet is warm, friendly, and very happy to welcome tourists.
We met the restaurant owner, who went out of his way to connect us to electricity and allowed us to stay in the yard in maximum comfort. And we ate at the restaurant and dipped in the pool to cool ourselves off from the steamy heat. Although we were connected to electricity, we couldn't use the camper's air conditioner because the voltage wasn't high enough. I also needed earplugs that night to fall asleep, because it turned out there was a nightclub nearby with a performance - with crazy decibel bass.
On the lakeside, in the restaurant's parking lot
Route of the Flowers- Rutas de las Flores
We woke up to a quiet morning; the lake was clear, and we continued on our way. We traveled on a road called “The Flower Road”, a beautiful mountain route in western El Salvador, connecting several small towns from the great coffee growing era of the region. The road is famous for its relatively pleasant weather, coffee fields, murals, local markets, food, and relaxed atmosphere. In the flowering seasons, the surrounding colorful wild trees and flowers gave it its name.
We stopped at two cute villages along the way, Apaneca with a well-kept, blooming garden around a square. It is one of the highest and coolest towns in the area, surrounded by coffee plantations and green nature. It is known for its quiet atmosphere, small galleries, and opportunities for nature walks and ATVs in the surrounding mountains.
And the second village, called Juayua, with its colorful food market, where we stopped for lunch, and Guy emerged with a local cowboy hat. Juayua is best known for its large weekend food market, which attracts locals and travelers from across the region. The streets are lined with stalls selling smoked foods (you could barely breathe from the smoke), meats, seafood, juices, and desserts, and the whole place feels like a colorful, noisy celebration of Central American street food.
Yes, he walks around with a huge snake wrapped around his neck.
In the afternoon, we arrived in a town called Sacacoyo, where Elly, who originally came from Colombia, lives with her partner in a house with a stunningly beautiful, well-kept yard overlooking the entire valley below us. Here too, Elly connects us to water and electricity, and we spend two days here under huge mango trees, with birds chirping, and a breathtaking view.
Eli's amazing yard
The sea
On Tuesday morning, we woke up excited to meet Agami (our youngest son), packed up, and continued on towards the famous coast of El Salvador. To an area of small beach towns packed with surfers who come here from all over the world to catch huge and exciting Salvadoran waves.
A few days earlier, we booked a house on Airbnb, of course, with air conditioning; otherwise, the oppressive heat and humidity would overwhelm us. Before booking the house, I sent Diego, the owner, a picture of the camper and asked if we could park it next to the house. He replied firmly that yes, no problem, we'll just come. So we booked the house. Then we arrived at the street, or rather, it would be more accurate to call it an alley, which has a very narrow entrance and immediately begins an even steeper climb up the hill. It was clear that we weren't going in with the whole bear. Diego, all sweaty and stressed, tried to find us another place to park. After an hour, we found a place. We unloaded the bear from Sylvie and tried to enter the alley with just Sylvie. That didn't work either. To make matters worse, we put the bear and Sylvie to sleep in the parking lot, about a 10-minute walk from the house itself. Diego and his father helped us and took us with our gear to the house. The pool and air conditioning calmed us down after two hours of exertion and sweat. We settled in, and each of us had a work area, a kitchen, and even a washing machine. Hooray.
The picture above is the first alley we could enter.
The bottom middle picture shows the turn we were supposed to enter with the bear - it won't happen.
And on the sides is the alley that became our daily gym.
Finally, we excitedly met Agami, who came from Israel with Eldad and Tal, and Thomas, who came all the way from Australia to spend a month among the waves.
We are settling in for the next week here in a village called El Sunzal, and sinking into a routine of work, joyful meetings with Agami and his friends, walks in the sea, and other exciting encounters.
Great excitement
With the lovely Thomas, Eldad, and Tal
Through a mutual friend, we heard about an Israeli couple who live here, made contact, and decided to meet them. They live in El Tunco, a small surfer village close to the village where we are staying. We rang the doorbell, and the door opened to none other than Barak Shahaf, with whom I grew up in Israel until the end of high school, and we haven't seen each other since. The exciting meeting led to several hours of conversation, life updates, reminiscing, and sharing photos. We said goodbye warmly and were honored to receive a delivery of fresh, indulgent challah and cake from them, just in time for Friday evening.
On Friday, we went to the fish market in La Libertad, the largest town in the area, brought back fresh fish, prepared dinner for all the boys, hosted them at our villa, and got to practice some of our rusty parenting skills.
On Saturday morning, we picked up Agami and drove to San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, to look for the street where my family and I lived for two years when I was 11-12 years old. Eliezer, my father, whose memories live inside me to this day, was an agronomist, agricultural guide, and pest expert mainly in tropical countries. He got a job here, and we moved with him. Google Maps found the street without a problem. Almost 50 years have passed, and the street has changed; houses have been built in place of an abandoned valley, trees have grown and expanded, and my house could be any of the three or four houses I recognized. Another Israeli family lived here on the same street while we were here, and we were really good friends with their children, Eran, Racheli, and Yaeli Konforti. Later, I texted Racheli a picture of the street and a few words about being there and remembering the many hours we spent playing together. Much to my surprise, Rachel replied that she was also in El Salvador, visiting her father, who had lived here all these years. We arranged to meet, and indeed, two days later, Rachel arrived at our villa for an exciting meeting, morning coffee, and a warm and loving hug, as if fifty years had not passed.
Calle Cuscatlan and the entrance to a house that may have been my home
An exciting meeting with Racheli
In San Salvador, we also visited the central square, where the new National Library is located, a huge, modern, and particularly impressive building, built in recent years and becoming one of the most prominent symbols of the regenerating city. After days of villages, markets, and mountain roads, it was interesting to enter such a different urban space, bright, air-conditioned, full of young people, books, computers, and lively seating areas. On each floor, there are themed seating areas based on famous books, and the place is bustling with life and full of families who come to sit, put together puzzles, read, and spend time together.
It was a week of exciting encounters, of memories and nostalgia from several directions, which made me feel more strongly how connected the world we live in is, with threads of infinite energy and human connections, just like the network of roots of mushrooms (mycelium). And how exciting it is to experience these connections, as they come to light and are revealed to us.
So far, for now
We will continue to share, tell stories, and photograph.
With love,
Guy, Efrat, and the bear 🐻
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