We stayed at a small B&B located less than 10 minutes (by car) from the town center. Villa Napoli is owned by a friendly and very accommodating woman named Rosie. Staying at Rosie's place really did feel a bit like being at the house of a relative: she wanted to make us feel comfortable, asked about the things she could do to make our stay better (nothing, because it was already so pleasant), and her husband and son were equally generous with their time. Alfredo offers tours of various sites in the area, and climbed the Santa Ana Volcano with us. As if all this wasn't enough, all of the decorations at Rosie's are handmade AND she uses all recycled materials. If you ever find yourself in need of hospitality while in Santa Ana, El Salvador, Villa Napoli is the place to go (you can find it on bookings.com or hostel world.com).
Our first afternoon in town, Rosie showed us the town square, the Cathedral (beautiful church constructed over 100 years ago, and home in past years to big socialite weddings from what I gathered: Rosie talked of huge red carpets that newlyweds would walk on from the steps of the church and across the town square right into the casino (which is synonymous here for a dance hall, not a gambling establishment) for their reception). Unfortunately, the local theatre (an impressive building itself) was being renovated or restored, so we weren't able to go inside.
Our next stop was a fresh pupusa dinner at Las Palmeras. If you haven't heard of pupusas before, they are kin to arepas (see my Colombia posts). These delicious corn tortillas can be filled with any matter of stuffing and then are cooked to perfection with a crispy outside, yet still tender within. They are also served with tomato sauce and picked vegetables. Rosie brought us to Las Palmeras because they still cook pupusas in the traditional way, on a clay surface above a fire. I decided to the two varieties: cheese&shrimp and "revueltas" (beans, cheese, and chicharron) because at $0.80 each, why not? The meal was complete with a "licuado de fresa", or fresh strawberries blended into juice. A full meal with fresh flavors for only $3.20 total= win!
By this point, the dark night sky (at only 7:30, because Daylight Savings Time is not observed here) plus the travel made me feel like it was time for bed.
Th next morning, we arose to a fresh cooked typical breakfast on the patio: fried black beans, eggs, rolls, yogurt, fruit juice (real stuff!), and coffee. We packed our bags and along with Alfredo and Simon, a British gentleman also staying at Rosie's, we set out for Volcano Santa Ana. From Santa Ana, we had to drive something like 45 minutes or an hour to where we parked our car. One thing I noticed as we drove was the incredible variety of flora here...it ranges from the tropical plants I expected like palm trees, but you could find coniferous plants- we saw several variations of pine trees- and some deciduous trees that you would find just as quickly at home. I also realized that the smell of a fire in hot weather always reminds me of Latin America.
One other thing I noticed on the drive was the men employed to clear brush on high mountain roads. They were all wearing uniform neon vests as they worked, so it seemed official. I find myself wishing I'd asked who hired them to do the work.
A short hike from the car brought us to the ranger station, where we paid a park entrance fee and waited for the guide and tourist police who were going to accompany us. And then we waited some more...finally, they arrived and we were underway. The hike was about an hour am a half to the top (we covered 1800 meters, the volcano is actually around 5362 m from base to caldera, but we had already climbed quite a bit in the car). Strenuous at parts and flat in others, we moved from a jungle path where we were surrounded by trees, to a more exposed area above the treeline, to a final rocky barren path leading to the summit.
Totally worth it!!! Besides it being my first volcano, looking down onto the turquoise blue sulfur lake was really striking in contrast to the gray and brown volcanic rock all around it (I was hoping for someone as knowledgeable as Jon Zerbe to tell me more, but no such luck).
After the descent, we headed for Lago Coatepeque, one of the top six places to see in El Salvador, according to Simon's guidebook. And I understand why- serene and beautiful, it's set in a valley surrounded by a few volcanoes. And as the late afternoon sun hits while you're enjoying fresh-caught garlic lime shrimp and a local beer on the pier of a small restaurant, there's no other place you'd rather be.
After a slight mishap with keys being locked in the car (aw, shucks, we had to have another beer on the water), we headed home for showers. A relaxing night followed, complete with a delivery dinner from Rosie's husband Frankie's family's restaurant. I tried, for the first time in my adult life, rabbit. It was just like the dark meat of a chicken- yum!
I went to sleep for a brief nap; Simon, Jamie, and I had all decided to wake at midnight to see the Pink Moon. As any of you who also observed will have noticed, it wasn't pink. For us it was a reddish gold moon. Fun fact- if you took a picture that wasn't completely still, the color of the moon didn't show up. That is to say, it looked just like a regular picture of the full moon. However, the animals of Santa Ana were going crazy- dogs howling and barking, cats...doing whatever is louder and more strident that meowing. Truly a cacophony out there. Shortly, I was back in bed to a sound sleep, even with all the ruckus.
Our next morning featured another breakfast, but this one on the poolside terrace. After that, some reading in the hammock and packing, and we were on our way to the next stop- the beach at El Tunco.
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