‘You’re kidding’ I thought. Our sixteen-year-old guide had suggested we climb up La Escalera Cascada, the Staircase Waterfall, to continue our hike along the Seven Waterfalls Trail. ‘Heather, please say no ‘ I willed her to answer. This was her idea after all. I had been content sitting at our guesthouse in Juayua, sipping Pilseners, the El Salvadoran beer, and admiring the view of the volcanoes and other mountain peaks that were visible from the grassy terrace behind our accommodation. Instead, we had spent the last two hours, in the searing heat, descending a narrow goat track that passed for a hiking trail, then waded upstream past the first two waterfalls to reach this point. We hadn’t intended on getting to all seven of the falls, as that would have taken half the day, and we had only allotted a couple hours for the hike. “No” she said, to my great relief, “this is probably a good point to turn back.” So we reversed course and climbed back out of the narrow valley to the dirt road that would take us back to town. We don’t typically hire a guide for hikes, but we had been cautioned that other travelers had been robbed, at machete point, along this very trail, and our guide would provide a measure of protection, as well as lead us along the path. Such is travel in El Salvador, the country that spawned the notorious gang MS-13 and had a reputation for violence that seems to have deterred many travelers.

We started our visit in Suchitoto, a small colonial town overlooking Lago Suchitlan. Heather had Google-mapped the route, with the most important factor being our desire to bypass the gang-infested capital city, San Salvador. Just before sunset we cruised into town, rattling over the cobblestone streets, squeezing our way through the narrow lanes to our guesthouse at the end of one side street just a few blocks off the main square. The Mayan Grouper guesthouse has no sign – really no indication whatsoever that the place offered lodging. We sat in the car wondering if Google Maps had led us astray when a face peeked out of the man door in the massive wooden gate. The woman who owned the guesthouse beamed when Heather answered to her name and the gates swung open to reveal a beautiful hacienda surrounding a garden with stunning views to the surrounding hills and Lago Suchitlan in the valley below. We were warmly welcomed, the car was parked and we were shown to our room – an inviting space in a large traditional wood and stucco room with just the right amount of modern touches. After settling in and with assurances that town was safe to walk around, even after dark, we strolled into town, did a lap of the main square to take in the weekend activity of vendors and locals out for the evening, found a nice meal and returned to our extremely comfortable beds soon after. In the morning we sat in the garden enjoying the view before we were served our tipico breakfast of eggs, refried black beans, cheese, fried plantains and rolls. Pleasantly stuffed, it was time to walk through town once more before checking out, then driving the short distance to the nearby lake for a quick stroll along the shore before heading west to our next destination. Suchitoto was a real charmer – we left wishing we could have stayed longer to enjoy its small town charms and generous hospitality.

After a lunch stop at Lago Coatepeque, a volcanic lake surrounded by second homes of San Salvador’s well-heeled residents, we continued on to Santa Ana, the country’s second largest city. Despite the glowing reports of bloggers describing Santa Ana’s attractions, we weren’t that impressed. At least by the city. Our accommodation was, however, delightful. We had a private room in a hostel located just two blocks off of the main plaza. The hostel occupied an old posada, with the rooms off an open-air tiled courtyard, boasting fifteen foot ceilings and a collection of antiques giving one a sense of the privileged life of Salvadorian elites. We ventured out into the plaza, saw the grand cathedral, the national theater building, the mass of vendors surrounding the square and decided we had seen the highlights of Santa Ana and it was time for a beer. Grabbing a table at a second floor restaurant, we were able to enjoy the views of the plaza, the cathedral and the accompanying flock of pigeons (every cathedral has its flock of pigeons) while sipping a couple cold brews. In the morning we grabbed coffee and some pastries from a nearby bakery, ate our breakfast in the hostel’s courtyard and made our way out of town headed to the hills and our guesthouse in Juayua.

Las Rutas de las Flores (The Route of the Flowers) was the destination for the next two days. One of El Salvador’s most visited areas, the ruta runs about twenty miles from the town of Ahuacacan to Sonsonote in the western part of the country. Following the rainy season (which ends in October) the area is in full bloom and the small towns that line the ruta are ripe for strolling cobbled streets, admiring the work of the local artesanias (artisans), viewing the murals for which the villages are famous for, and enjoying tipico cuisine. We checked into the Hotel Juayua (Wah-who-ah) on the outskirts of  town. We filled the afternoon by exploring town and the plaza before returning to the hotel to plan our drive along the ruta the following day. After breakfast we drove to the southern end of the ruta, visiting the market town of Nahuizalco, admiring the wooden furnishings displayed at the roadside shops (the town is specifically known for its furniture making), strolling through the fresh market set up on it’s main street and ducking into a couple other shops to check out the indigo-dyed clothing, which Heather found irresistible. Next stop would be the Alicante Termales, one of two hot springs in the area. Not believing our luck, we pulled into an empty parking lot, paid our $5 entry fee, and spent close to two hours moving from one pool to the next – ten in all of different sizes and temperatures. From the pools we had views of both the mountains lining the ruta on one side and the valley on the other, framed by luscious foliage, palms, banana trees and flowering vines. Following our relaxing soak, we reinvigorated ourselves under a cold shower and hit the road again, headed to Concepcion de Ataco, our planned lunch stop. After feasting on roasted chicken, rice, salad, tortillas and fresh pineapple juice, we hit the cobbles to walk around town and see more murals that adorned the sides of almost every building in the center before returning to our hotel in Juayua. As elsewhere in the country, we were always warmly greeted with a buen dia or hola or buenas tardes from each passing local. It was the next day that we found ourselves tromping through the stream of the 7 Waterfalls hike, which did at least offer some relief from the scorching heat of the sun.

Our last stop in El Salvador would be the beaches of La Libertad, which stretch across approximately twelve miles of the Pacific coast, with the real action (both in the surf and on land) centered around El Tunco, roughly in the middle of the strip. We elected to stay just east of El Tunco, on the beach at Playa San Blas. This proved to be a blessing, even though we wouldn’t be amongst the crowds of international backpackers sporting man-buns and the latest surfer fashions, have access to all the hip cafes for organic vegan menu options, or struggle through the narrow streets of town which were undergoing a full reconstruction, dodging heavy construction equipment, jackhammers and clouds of dust. Instead we were happy to be the only gringos on our beach, walking the long, wide, black sands in the morning (as opposed to El Tunco’s rocky shore) then watching as the Salvadorian families came out to play, vendors set up their carts selling ceviche or shaved ice from under colorful umbrellas, local fisherman beach their boats after the morning run and even the occasional cowboy on horseback made a trip along the shore. Couldn’t have ended our week any better.