El Salvador

April 25

Arrival & Beach Town Vibes

We landed at Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport (still called SAL by locals) and couldn't help but smile at the life-size replica of President Nayib Bukele and his wife in a formal greeting pose near the arrival area – an unexpected welcome to this country that loves making bold statements.

After picking up our Enterprise rental car, we faced the reality of Saturday beach traffic on the Carretera del Litoral (Coastal Highway). The 31-mile drive from the airport to El Zonte normally takes about 45 minutes, but on a sunny Saturday afternoon with half of San Salvador heading to the Pacific beaches, it stretched much longer. The two-lane coastal highway wound through small towns and past glimpses of the ocean, lined with locals selling coconuts, mangoes, and grilled corn at makeshift stands.

We settled into our open-air Airbnb in El Zonte – also known as "Bitcoin Beach" after becoming the epicenter of El Salvador's 2021 cryptocurrency experiment. After fighting that beach traffic, we arrived completely exhausted. But stepping into that open-air living space with two hammocks swaying in the Pacific breeze? Worth every minute of the slow drive. We spent the evening exploring the town on foot, getting our bearings in this laid-back surf community that's somehow become ground zero for both Bitcoin enthusiasts and wave riders.

April 26

Surf & Coffee Discovery

Started our day with breakfast at Palma, where we discovered El Zonte Café coffee – and we're not exaggerating when we say it was the best we've ever had. El Salvador's coffee-growing regions have been producing world-class beans for over a century, and this local roaster showcased exactly why Salvadoran coffee commands premium prices globally. This café became our daily ritual for the rest of our stay.

We attempted to walk across the river at high tide (spoiler: not a great idea!), watched surfers tackle the Pacific waves that have made El Zonte famous in surf circles, and spent the day exploring the laid-back town on foot. El Zonte's authentic charm was already winning us over – this wasn't a manufactured tourist destination, but a real fishing village that had organically evolved into a surf haven.

April 27

Volcano Adventure: El Boquerón National Park

The drive up to San Salvador volcano's crater was an adventure in itself. We took the well-paved but narrow Carretera al Volcán (Volcano Road) that climbs about 17 kilometers from the capital, winding through increasingly cool mountain air as we gained elevation. The road passes through the upscale suburb of Santa Tecla before entering the cloud forest zone surrounding the volcano.

When we arrived at El Boquerón National Park, we were thrilled to discover free entrance for seniors and just $1 for parking. It was a pleasant surprise in a country working hard to make its natural wonders accessible. The San Salvador Volcano, locally known as Quetzaltepec, last erupted in 1917 when it formed the Boqueroncito cinder cone that now sits inside the main crater. Standing at the rim of that massive volcanic crater (5 kilometers in diameter and 558 meters deep), looking down into the verdant bowl below where a lake once existed before evaporating in that 1917 eruption, reminded us how geologically dramatic this tiny country really is.

El Salvador sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire with a chain of volcanoes running through its center. This volatile geology has shaped both the landscape and the history of this nation. From the viewpoint, we could see across the valley to other volcanic peaks in the distance, a reminder that we were standing on one of the most seismically active regions on Earth.

Back in El Zonte, we enjoyed sunset drinks at La Cajita Kitchen overlooking the beach, then had our first of many dinners at Jesi's Pupusaria next door to our Airbnb. Great atmosphere, even better pupusas, and we never spent more than $11 for dinner including three beers. When we told our friends back home about eating well for under $10, they thought we were joking!

April 28

Tale of Two Surf Towns

Our morning at Palma brought another highlight, chatting with the owner, a young Salvadoran who studied in California and returned home to run a hostel and the café. His enthusiasm about El Salvador's growing tourism was infectious and emblematic of a larger trend we were seeing. "It's great for foreigners to come and meet the locals," he told us. "We both benefit from learning about the diversity of the world."

Under President Bukele's administration, El Salvador has been working to rebrand itself from its painful past – the country once had one of the highest murder rates in the world with 103 killings per 100,000 residents. The government's controversial but effective crackdown on gang violence has dramatically improved safety, and young entrepreneurs like our café owner are returning from abroad to build businesses in a country they believe is finally ready to show the world its beauty. His optimism and pride set the tone for our entire trip.

On this sweltering, humid day, we drove the short distance to El Tunco to see what the more famous surf town had to offer. The road between the two beach communities runs along the coast for just a few miles. Our verdict? Not impressed. The tourist-focused vibe felt manufactured, the quality of everything was lower, and the prices were higher. We walked through town for a few hours, bought some souvenirs, and couldn't wait to get back to El Zonte's authentic charm.

The one exception: Beto's seaside restaurant delivered spectacular Pacific Ocean views and excellent seafood. John's conch ceviche was so good he's still talking about it.

Dinner was back at Jesi's for more pupusas – our happy place.

May 10

Between Versailles Dreams and Alpine Reality

Hot showers restored both body and spirit as we departed Plansee under partly cloudy skies. Today would prove that Ludwig II's architectural ambitions extended far beyond Neuschwanstein's Gothic fantasies.

Schloss Linderhof revealed an entirely different facet of the dream king's imagination. Where Neuschwanstein reached toward medieval romance, Linderhof embraced French court elegance. This intimate palace, modeled after Versailles' Petit Trianon, showcased Ludwig's admiration for Louis XIV's absolute monarchy—ironic, perhaps, for a king whose own power was rapidly diminishing.

The palace tour unveiled chamber after chamber of rococo excess, but it was the Venus Grotto that truly captured Ludwig's theatrical soul. This artificial cave, complete with underground lake and rainbow projections, allowed the king to stage Wagner's operas in his private subterranean theater. Rowing across the illuminated waters in a swan-shaped boat, Ludwig could inhabit the very myths that obsessed him.

Lunch in Garmisch-Partenkirchen—schnitzel, beer, and small sundaes—fueled our drive into Austria and onward to Innsbruck. The train station newsstand provided our first newspapers in over a week, connecting us momentarily to a world beyond castles and beer gardens. Yet as we continued toward Lofer, 45 minutes west of Berchtesgaden, that external world seemed increasingly irrelevant.

Our riverside campsite placed us literally within touching distance of the Alps. Twenty-five feet from our van, clear mountain water rushed past while snow-capped peaks dominated every horizon. The bathroom facilities maintained German standards of cleanliness, and the 111 Austrian schillings ($7) felt like highway robbery in reverse.

Evening rain drove us into the van for newspaper reading and postcard writing—John catching up on baseball standings while thunder echoed through Alpine valleys. Such moments of stillness, sheltered within our mobile home while storm and mountain landscape surrounded us, created memories more profound than any palace tour.

April 29

Lazy Beach Day

A perfect lazy day exploring more of El Zonte at our own pace. We soaked in the town's relaxed vibe, walked the black sand beaches (volcanic in origin, of course), and watched the surfers carve up waves that travel thousands of miles across the Pacific to break on this particular stretch of Central American coast.

Dinner was at Restaurante Bella Luna right on the El Zonte beach with our STV SC friends Robert, Debbie, and Pat who had come from Mizata. They were also attending the wedding that upcoming weekend. The unbeatable view of the surf and good company made for a wonderful evening.

April 30

Welcome Party Wildness

We packed up and had our last breakfast at Palma (already missing that coffee!), then drove south along the Carretera del Litoral toward Mizata. This section of coastal highway is less developed than the route to El Zonte, passing through smaller fishing villages and offering stunning ocean views where the road hugs cliffsides above the Pacific.

We checked into the Antiresort at Mizata. This place is unlike anything else in El Salvador – elaborate bamboo treehouses with thatched roofs that look like they were airlifted from a Disney movie. The resort represents the new wave of upscale tourism development along El Salvador's "Surf City" coastline, a government initiative to position the country as a premier surf and beach destination. Our room was spectacular, though the resort itself had interesting extremes: a small, quiet pool where we could relax, and the Nawi Beach House pool that was basically a nonstop party.

After settling in with a welcome drink and lounging by the pools, we socialized with other arriving wedding guests. Then came the wild bus ride to Cadejo Brewing Company for the welcome party. The drive took us back along that coastal highway – and what a drive it was! Wedding guests were taking shots, partying hard, and our bus driver was passing gasoline tanker trucks on the two-lane road – including one terrifying pass inside a 400-meter tunnel! We alternated between laughing and holding our breath.

The welcome party at Cadejo Brewing Company (named after the Cadejo, a supernatural dog from Central American folklore) was fun with great food and drinks. When we made it back to the resort around 11 PM, we felt like we'd survived an extreme sport.

May 1

Yoga & Sushi

The day started with yoga on the beach at the Yoga Shala with wedding party and guests. It was a fun activity and a great way to start the day together, the Pacific breeze and sound of waves providing the perfect backdrop. The rest of the day we lounged by the small pool, avoiding the party scene at the Nawi Beach House pool.

We had dinner at the intimate Ishwi Omakase restaurant with two other couples also attending the wedding. The 7-course sushi dinner was excellent – unexpected culinary sophistication in this remote beach location – and we had a wonderful time talking travel with these nice young couples. A lovely evening of great food and even better conversation.

May 2

The Wedding

We walked down to Casona Tunan, the small boutique hotel with a pool where Robert, Debbie, and Pat were staying, then walked around Mizata and spotted our Airbnb that we'd be moving to the next day (we couldn't extend our stay at the Antiresort past tonight).

The ceremony started about 45 minutes late (very El Salvador time – the culture here operates on a more relaxed schedule than Norte América), and all of us guests were desperately seeking shade from the brutal sun and humidity. But once it started, it was absolutely lovely. Our favorite touch? The abuelas (grandmothers) serving as flower girls – so sweet and meaningful, honoring the matriarchs in a culture where family bonds run deep.

The reception brought unique surprises: engraved coconuts handed out to every guest, a choreographed dance by the bride and groom, a cellist playing modern hits, Mayan fire dancers and drummers (honoring El Salvador's indigenous Pipil heritage), and fireworks lighting up the Pacific night. By 8 PM, John and several other guests had changed into swimsuits and were lounging in the pool. I joined them around 9:30. In that heat and humidity, ending the special evening in the water felt absolutely perfect.

May 3

Storm & Surf House

After breakfast we checked out of the Antiresort and drove toward Ruta de Flores (Route of Flowers), a scenic mountain route through El Salvador's coffee-growing highlands in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec range. This approximately two-hour drive west from the coast took us from sea level up into cool mountain air, passing coffee plantations, cloud forests, and colonial villages.

Our stop at Café Albania in the mountain town of Apaneca turned into one of those "you can't make this up" travel moments. Café Albania is an outdoor adventure park built on a coffee plantation, famous for its bike zipline, surf zipline, and rainbow slide – brightly colored attractions that have made it Instagram-famous. We were having lunch at the café when a thunderstorm rolled in – lightning, thunder, the works. And people kept climbing onto the metal zipline structures and launching themselves across the canyon in the middle of the lightning storm! Absolutely insane. We stayed safely under cover and watched in disbelief as thrill-seekers tempted fate with metal cables in a lightning storm.

We drove back to Mizata (retracing that mountain route back down to the coast) and checked into our beachfront Airbnb – and I mean RIGHT on the beach. The surf crashed literally outside our back door. We couldn't have asked for a better location.

May 4

Perfect Beach Day

We'd planned to spend another day exploring Ruta de Flores, but after one morning looking at that beach from our doorstep, we scrapped those plans. Best decision ever.

We discovered Sea Garden Mizata for breakfast – a lovely, homey café in someone's backyard overlooking the river and beach. The service was warm and friendly, the food delicious. We immediately wished we'd found it earlier in the week.

John flew his drone and captured incredible footage of the coastline – the black volcanic sand beaches stretching for miles, the green mountains rising inland, the powerful Pacific swells marching toward shore. I took several long walks on the beach, watching local fishermen pull in nets, surfers waiting for the perfect set, and collecting shells while just soaking in our last full day in this beautiful country.

That final dinner at a local pupusaria summed up everything we loved about El Salvador: two pupusas, three beers, and a homemade lemonade for $9.50 total. Delicious, authentic, affordable, and served with genuine warmth.

May 5

Devil's Gate & Departure

We left Mizata early to visit Puerta del Diablo (Devil's Gate), dramatic rock formations rising 1,131 meters above sea level in the municipality of Panchimalco, just south of San Salvador. The site gets its name from local legend: some say the devil, while being pursued, broke through the rock creating the prominent gap between two massive boulders. Others attribute the formation to violent storms in the late 18th and early 20th centuries that caused landslides, permanently separating the two rocks.

The geological reality is equally dramatic – this is part of El Salvador's volcanic mountain chain, shaped by millennia of tectonic forces and erosion. The site was sacred to the ancient Pipil people and tragically served as an execution site during El Salvador's brutal civil war (1979-1992). Today, after being closed for five years for renovations, it has reopened as a symbol of the country's efforts to reclaim its natural beauty and move beyond its painful past.

Standing between those towering rocks in the early morning light, with panoramic views felt more spiritual than sinister. The name might invoke darkness, but the vista celebrates the dramatic beauty of this small but geologically magnificent country.

On the drive to the airport, we couldn't stop noticing the colorful chickenbuses – old American school buses that have been auctioned off after reaching 10 years or 150,000 miles of service, then purchased for under $2,000 each and driven south for a new life. In El Salvador and throughout Central America, these buses are transformed with vibrant paint jobs, chrome detailing, and sometimes even club-like lighting and sound systems. They're packed with locals standing in the aisles, vendors climbing aboard to sell everything from tamales to phone chargers, and occasionally even street preachers delivering impromptu sermons.

We also spotted locals riding standing up in the beds of pickup trucks along the highway – a common and practical form of transportation in a country where creative solutions to mobility challenges are simply part of daily life. It's communal, efficient, a little bit wild, and utterly authentic.

We returned our rental car at the airport and headed home with full hearts and even fuller camera rolls.