Saturday, March 24 to Thursday March 29
Several weeks ago, we thought about skipping El Salvador all together. Gangs, violence, civil unrest. More gangs. Guns, guns, more guns. Nothing to see, nothing to do. Countryside ruined by civil war. Etc, etc, etc. Right?
WRONG.
We arrived in El Salvador with our expectations fairly low and our bags held tight to our chests. San Salvador, as with almost all capitals, was typical - polluted and ugly. So we left ASAP and took a bus north into the mountains and Juayua. The best decision yet! El Salvador is full of incredibly nice friendly people and we have felt very safe at all times. No gangs, no guns. Just pretty hillsides and lush mountains, roaring waterfalls and geniuine people.
Juayua (pronounced Why-You-Uh) is a pretty village set in a valley surrounded by several lush mountains and volcanoes in the Sierra Apaneca Llamatepec (mountain range). The Central Park in the middle of the village is lovely with many pretty benches, a large decorated water fountain, and a beautiful bright white church. The church houses the famous Cristo Negro (Black Christ), carved by Quirio Catano in the late 16th century. The city is very green with trees, plants, and colorful flowers everywhere. The trees are trimmed and manicured, some in topiary and animal shapes. A very lovely place to base yourself for a few days or a week of hiking, biking, and adventures. Juayua can easily be labelled as the World´s Most Friendly Village.
LODGING
We arrived in the middle of the town, by the Parque Central and immediately started looking for a hotel recommended by other travellers (Hotel Anahuac). Unable to locate it in this small village, we settled into another hotel called the Hotel Mirador. For $15 a night, we got a pretty and clean private double room with private bath (hot water, towels), cable TV, ceiling fan, free Internet and free new mountain bikes. What a steal! It is very safe, and in a great location behind the Church, one block from the Central Park. We ended up staying for 5 nights and highly recommend it. (Fellow travellers - we eventually found the Hotel Anahuac and checked it out - it is also very nice and a good deal for single travellers at $7 dorm and $25 private double).
CHOW TIME!
Juayua is well known for it´s weekend food festival (Feria Gastronomica).
This festival has taken place every weekend for 10 years, and people
from all over El Salvador (especially the capital city) come here for
weekend getaways. The Central Park is lined with food stalls grilling and bar-b-queing everything from Chorizo (sausage), ribs, german sausage, steak, chicken, jumbo shrimp, lobster, ceviche, paella, etc etc. Desserts include chocolate-covered strawberries, frozen coffees, fried doughy things, and lots of regional sweets.
We have found heaven! After checking into the hotel, we immediately walked the one block up to the park and scanned the food selections 5 times, unable to decide. Lucky for us, the food festival is held on Saturday and Sunday (from 11 am to 5 pm). One day we sampled a wonderful plate of large shrimp, veggies, baked potatoe, and rice & beans. The next day we tried a tender steak with veggies, potatoes, red rice, and wonderful sauces. And of course, every type of Cervesa (beer) made in El Salvador - Supremo, Pilsener, Golden.
During the festival, tables and chairs are set up all around the park, and along the nearby side streets under tents. Live music is played, starting out with recorded music, then a live band, then a Mariachi-dressed Mexican singer, then a local singer who looks like he should star as an Opera Singer on Days of our Lives soap opera. (more about him later)
PEOPLE
We have never felt so welcome. Every person we have met in Juayua has been very warm, friendly and social. Each person you walk by says Buenos Dias, Como Estas, etc. Within the first few hours of our arrival in Juayua, we met a half dozen different locals who approached us with Buenos Dias and continued with friendly questions about us. We befriended a sweet 9-year-old boy named Adilto, who frequently visited us during the 2 day festival by running up to our table and throwing his arms around us with a very big hug and hello. He also brought one of his sisters and a 1 year old niece by to say hello and share more hugs.
Another local (forgot his name, oops!), stopped by our table, sat down and immeditely said hello, how are you, where are you from. He lived in the US for a short while and could speak some English. He was excited to speak English with us, tell us about him and his family, and inquire about us and our families and travels. A few days later, when we were sitting at the bus stop, he approached us again with a warm hello, how are you, are you enjoying your stay in our town, etc.
Toward the end of the food festival, Frank and I grabbed a couple frozen Coffees (like Frappachinos) from one of the stands. The Soap Opera looking singer was near us and came by to say hello, how are you, etc. He too spoke a little English and was excited to speak to us. He gave us his business card and phone number and told us to call him and he would be happy to show us around the area. And off he went back to his beloved microphone (be sure to check out the photos when we post them later!)
Oh, and we were almost the only Gringos in town. The first day we spotted a table of Menonites in one section of the festival. We also spotted two guys who were over 6 feet tall, obviously not natives of Central America. I approached them and found out they are Americans here for a basketball tournament (and one of them works at the US embassy in the capital). There was also a nice Canadian girl at our hotel who we went hiking with once. But that was it. So it´s easy to understand why we stood out. And we did. All week long.
HIKING to WATERFALLS
On Sunday morning, we arranged to hike to some nearby waterfalls called Los Chorros de Calera. Our hotel set us up with guide, Juan Pablo, who would become our guide the next few days of adventures as well. A nice Canadian girl from our hotel (forgot her name) joined us as well. The hike is not too far from town, about a 30 minute stroll. The falls consist of several sections of waterfalls coming from a wall in a gorge. We hiked down the lush hill of the gorge to the first section, about 50 feet tall by 100 feet wide. Large amounts of water poured out from holes in a massive rock wall. The source was unknown. The next few waterfalls were smaller, but beautiful still. We came across several families on a weekend outing to swim in the pools under the falls. All generations of familes were there, from great granny to baby grandchildren. The pools underneath the falls are walled off into dikes to be used to generate hydroelectric power further down the gorge. After hiking through the lush gorge for a couple hours, we went back to Juayua just in time for chow time at the food festival!
More adventures in Juayua later!
Cheers, Kay
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