Off the Beaten Path: La Union

Keep writing and sharing photos—so all of us who can’t be there can still feel the warmth and love from El Salvador.

This message just arrived from a friend.  The friend usually travels to El Salvador with a delegation to visit sister churches at least once during the year, but the pandemic has made it unsafe for that type of travel to take place.  

It's a little different for me because I live part time in El Salvador.  I am managing my time here in the same way that I have been managing time at my home in the US:  by staying at home.  ¡Quédate en casa!  At least in El Salvador I can hang out with the windows wide open instead of hunkering down inside while there's a wind chill of -30°F outside. 

My goal, despite staying home, is to keep writing and sharing photos.  I have already written about the most interesting thing which takes place outside my window, which is the migration of flocks of green parrots at sunrise and sunset each day.  (Apparently I have mentioned them in not one, not two, but three stories.)  So, I will do my best to travel beyond the window, dive into the photo archives and head out off the beaten path to some places about which I have not yet written.  

Stop #1 on our virtual tour:  La Union.

The city of La Union is located where you can see the red mark,
on the Gulf of Fonseca. El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua 
have coastline along this gulf.

One week, back in September of 2019, my husband and I decided to take a little vacation in the easternmost part of the country, La Union.  We rarely have the opportunity to visit that part of the country and were curious about the local culture, the topography, the climate and even the drive out there.  We arranged with a friend to rent a house on the beach, and we set out to relax and explore.

I think these photographs will pretty much speak for themselves...

This might be the most beautiful beach in El Salvador

Goats.  On the beach.

The tide pools were filled with life.

Yes, as good as they look.

We ran into a little traffic on the road between the beach house
and the city of La Union.

City of La Union - at the waterfront

Looking out into the Gulf of Fonseca

Municipal Pier

View from the municipal pier looking back toward the city

View from the Municipal Pier toward the La Union lighthouse
and beyond that is the family park

Looking back toward the city, you can see Volcan Conchagua
peaking out from the clouds.

We had planned a guided trip up to the top of Conchagua volcano.
Due to the weather, the trip was cancelled, but it is always good
to check out the local tourism center to learn about future opportunities.
Had it not been so stormy, we would have also checked out the
Casa Cultural - the city's cultural house (always free, always a good
source of information in any city or town in El Salvador).

Back at the beach:  this storm came in quickly and packed a pretty good punch!

After the storm, there was quite a bit of clean-up to do

There were lots of little crustaceans for these guys to enjoy.

Low tide and sunset. 

We will definitely try to go back to La Union during the dry season to get a peak at the islands in the gulf and to climb to the top of Conchagua.  The city of La Union has also done some work on the piers to increase both the aesthetics and to increase the productivity of the port.  It is a very warm location, so be prepared for the heat with plenty of water, plenty of sunscreen and plenty of time for a dip in the sea.

Note:  The most pristine of our world's beaches are impacted by the flow of plastics into the sea.  This beach was the setting for a story which I wrote about just how much plastic has become one with the water and one with the sand.  That story is entitled, What Happens if the Beach Turns into Plastic?