Central America - Day 7 (La Libertad, El Salvador to León, Nicaragua)

Today was a tough day of travel after a short night. We departed at 3:30 a.m. and drove about 4 hours to get to the place where we were going to catch our boat over to Nicaragua. Before the boat, we stopped at the immigration office to exit El Salvador, but they didn’t stamp our passport. We completed the paperwork for Nicaragua and headed to the dock with our luggage. 

The trip by sea is only an hour an a half versus another three hours of driving, so the tour included the boat ride. I have had some interesting boat rides in the past, but thankfully this was boring and predictable. 

Entering a country through the shore with immigration at the dock was a new experience for me. We got out of the boat in the water because the dock was too high for the boat and it was clear that no one has used the docks in many, many years. As soon as we reached the shore, we were greeted by three immigration officers who went through all of our bags. Our guide had warned us about this, but they went through every pocket of our luggage, so it took some time. While we were being inspected, our guide took our passports to get stamped. 

Line for immigration

While we got off in the water, the guys helped us down. It was a smooth disembarkation.

This guy carrying our luggage had impressive strength.

After our passports were stamped, we climbed aboard our new bus and headed towards León. One our drive, we passed many beautiful, green volcanos and most of us passed out on the drive. 

Once we reached the town, we checked into our hotel (Hotel Hellenika) and learned about the different sites around the town. Then we headed to a local bar for some lunch that we pre-ordered, so it would be ready. I had chicken quesadillas with tostones. They served the tostones with cheese and beans, which was tasty and different as to eating them with my normal ketchup. 

We opted to go purchase tickets to see the rooftop of the Cathedral de León, the largest cathedral in Central America. The official name of this church is the Royal and Renowned Basilica Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was a cool experience going through the narrow stairwells and up to the top to walk across the domes. We were also able to see all of the volcanoes from the top of the church. 

León is a small town with 17 churches surrounded by volcanoes. There is a rich history from the Revolution that I didn’t really learn about while we were here, but I will read up on it when I have time. We found a cute, little terrace bar where we finished our evening. 

Central America - Day 6 (Suchitoto to La Libertad, El Salvador)

Rest of day 5…

After such a good time in Suchitoto, we arrived to the La Libertad area on Sunday afternoon (Atami Escape Resort). Apparently, this area was riddled with gangs years ago, but now it is a travel destination with many different hotels and resorts on the coast. We took some pictures of the dramatic coast and sat by the pool for a bit before preparing for dinner. They have these really cool natural pools down by the coast that are fed by the waves and water. There are 3 natural pools, 2 large pools and a kiddie pool. The resort was average, but the views were outstanding. 

Walkways along the coast

Black beach with huge pebbles

The rooms here are very interesting, with a toilet/shower in the middle of two rooms. But each was a separate room. Nevertheless, sharing a toilet/shower amongst the 5 of us was not ideal. We got ready and headed to Surf City for some pizza and drinks. Surf City is a common destination for surfers with many little restaurants, kiosks, bars and clubs along the beach. President Bukele’s has used millions of dollars to clean up this area and create this surfing destination. I shared a pineapple and ham pizza with one of the girls. It was delicious! 

Interesting way to dispense meds

Day 6

Some days, you just need to sit around and do nothing! I started off with a slow, lazy breakfast while catching up on my blog. I am an earlier riser, but I enjoy slowing down a bit and drinking coffee for hours in the morning. This was my chance to slow down and catch-up on a few things. 

After breakfast, I headed to the pool. I literally sat by the pool all day until we went to dinner around 7 p.m. It felt so good just to rest and relax. I am not a good “slow” traveler, but I needed this day in between the hustle and bustle of this trip.  

Remnants of an old water slide

We finished our time in La Libertad with some drinks and dinner overlooking the water at the Pelican (restaurant at the resort). It was just beautiful and the perfect ending to our relaxing day.

El Salvador has been the biggest surprise for me. I felt safe, food was good, services were available, US dollar is the local currency and people were friendly. It is a level 1 based on the Dept. of State travel advice level (although this never stops me from traveling).