Walking With El Salvador

 Part 2: Off the Beaten Path at Ecoparque El Espino View looking down from Mirador Aleman  Before dawn on a recent morning, my husband and I headed up the San Salvador Volcano to do some hiking and bird-watching. Our destination was Ecoparque El Espino - a place we have heard about for years but a place we had not yet explored. We will definitely make this a recurrent destination to enjoy on our own and with delegations of visitors. Situated on the southeast side of the San Salvador volcano, Ecoparque El Espino consists of 102 acres of protected land, at an elevation of just under 4000 ft above sea level. Unlike Parque El Boquerón (featured in Part 1 of this story),  El Espino is not managed by the national park system, nor has it been developed as a tourist site with "fancy" amenities. It is owned and managed by the El Espino Cooperative, which garners income from coffee production and, since 2003, eco-tourism.  Can't pass up a swinging bridge! We wandered, carryin...

Part 1:  On the Beaten Path at Parque El Boquerón The San Salvador volcano is called the sleeping giant for good reason. It is a geographically broad, primarily stratovolcano made up of layers of built-up lava and tephra (ash, cinders and rock that blasts out as pyroclasts during an eruption and then settles). Stratovolcanoes are usually cone-shaped. More than 40,000 years ago, the immense, conic San Salvador volcano dominated the landscape of El Salvador. A mammoth eruption truncated the volcano, leaving behind an ancient crater in which the Boquerón volcano grew. About 800 years ago, Boquerón erupted and the central cone collapsed, leaving behind a crater lagoon and the profile which we recognize as the San Salvador volcano today. Photo taken on the day of writing this story: the San Salvador volcano as seen from southeast of the volcano, with an approximation of volcanologists believe was the ancient profile of the San Salvador volcano about 40,000 years ago. In the photo, El Bo...

Metropolitan Cathedral as seen from inside the National Palace (©2023) The historic center of San Salvador is an absolutely great place for walking. Grab your hat and a water bottle. Take a bus, take an Uber or take your car. Wander the pedestrian walkways, hang out in the plazas, and take in a few sites along the way. There are cafes, hole-in-the-wall eateries and some great new restaurants where you can grab lunch, coffee or an early supper. Day or night, the city center is a safe place to wander. (As always, use common sense, and remember it is most fun to go with friends).  Beautiful artwork can sometimes be found in unlikely locations. When walking, look around at the famous things, and also, keep your eyes open for unexpected beauty. This painting is just outside of the rather rustic parking garage, facing Plaza Morazán. (©2023) If you have your own vehicle, I recommend parking in the parking garage which is located next to the National Theater, off of Plaza Morazán. Wander a...

El Salvador is a land of volcanoes - a land of volcanoes and of craters and of lagoons. Some lagoons are mostly known by photographs, like the elusive green lagoon which rests inside crater of the Santa Ana Volcano (The lagoon is often hidden in the clouds, disappointing hikers who make the long trek to the summit.) Some lagoons, like the large crater lakes Ilopango and Coatepeque are very accessible for tourists and locals who want to enjoy some fun on the water or along the shore. Some lagoons are remembered for what they left behind as they evaporated or drained away, like at the base of El Boquerón or El Jardín Botánico La Laguna (literally named "The Lagoon Botanical Garden." And, some lagoons, like the one featured in this story, are just the right size and shape to circumnavigate and explore in a walk of an hour or two. One recent, sunny Saturday morning, we drove east from San Salvador to Usulután for a day of fun with some friends. Our activities were centered ar...