For me, the best part of traveling to El Salvador is seeing my extended family and eating some delicious Salvi food – the food in El Salvador is just awesome! I loved each meal from the traditional breakfast: platano frito, huevo y café (fried plantain, egg and coffee) to the more specialty foods like: Pollo Campero and Pupusas con Loroco (edible herb native to Central America). I loved it all! If you’ve never had any of these dishes then you are really missing out on some delicious eats. I’ve eaten food from many parts of the world by now, but my favorite is still Latin American food, my people really know how to cook!
Santa Ana Cathedral
Santa Ana is my favorite city, it is old town El Salvador, one of the better looking towns in the country. It is also one of the few safe towns left. The Santa Ana Cathedral is a beautiful church located in the downtown area. Next to the Cathedral is the Santa Ana Theater; however, I didn’t have enough time to see the interior of the theater, I was told that it is beautiful and well preserved.
Puerto de la Libertad
If you are a surfing fanatic then you will definitely enjoy checking out Puerto de la Libertad, it caters to traveling surfers and water sports enthusiasts. The main strip is lined up with rows of rooms for rent, surfers and the like gain easy access the waves nearby. There are a lot of really nice restaurants in the area as well. My uncle and family took me to a really nice restaurant with a great view of the ocean. The seafood combination cream soup we had there was simply amazing. I’m allergic to shellfish but that didn’t stop me from chowing down and really enjoying that truly delicious dish.
There is a very nice pier in the area worth checking out. There are many restaurants and souvenir shops in the area in front of the pier. On the pier itself there is an enclosed fish market. It smells strong, but it’s nice to see what kinds of sea-life are being caught and sold. I saw puffer fish, sting ray and all sorts of large and small fish. At the end of the pier you can hang out and see all the freshly caught fish the local fishermen are bringing in.
Jardines del Recuerdo
I waited many years to visit my late grandfather’s grave. This was my last stop before boarding the plane to Peru. It was by far one of my most memorable experiences. I finally got the chance to say goodbye to my Grandfather. Buried next to my grandfather is my late cousin whom I unfortunately never met. His middle name was given to me as my middle name when I was born in El Salvador and it was a bitter sweet moment to say hello and goodbye to him.
This short trip to El Salvador was about family. It was about reconnecting with my heritage and my place of origin. Though El Salvador is no longer a safe country, it is my real home away from home and the place where my wonderful, loving, extended family reside. Seeing all the familiar and new faces was the highlight to my trip and I am very thankful to have had the chance to return after so many years. I love my family. Happy Travels!