TCC Territory #9. Jan 17-19, 2026
San Salvador
Had planned on ten days in this beautiful country, but unexpected personal issues popped up in December which meant rescheduling a month’s worth of Central America plans. I just got back on my original agenda in El Salvador with two days left instead of ten. This spring I will visit the countries I missed these past thirty days.
My original plans had me visiting the colonial mountain/lake town of Suchitoto for a week and then spending three days in San Salvador. I had to miss Suchitoto due to the aforementioned personal issues. If you visit El Salvador, go to Suchitoto as I hear it is gorgeous.
I enjoyed my time in San Salvador. El Salvador is, as of four years ago, an extremely safe country. The pre-2022 criminal element has vanished due to strictly enforced laws and tons of police presence. I felt 100% safe walking everywhere. Even petty theft has disappeared due to mandatory 8+ year sentences.
I took a walking tour with Traveling Souls and learned that a) earthquakes are common (3 or 4 on the scale), b) climbing Santa Ana is a popular day trip, c) the beaches are known for good surfing, d) the country is just now starting to open up to tourism, and e) it was not until 2022 that our tour guide could safely travel to different sections of the city without being mugged/threatened/hurt by gang members. All the gang members are now in prison with decades-long sentences.
The highlight of the walking tour was, for me, seeing the Rosary Church. Built in 1971, the exterior looks ugly as all get-out, but the inside is an amazing spectacle of strategically positioned stained glass on two arched walls which bathe the interior in a lovely display of color and light. Red is one end of the spectrum, and it depicts Life and a closeness with God. Blue is the other end, and it depicts Death and the absence of God. The Stations of the Cross are shown as a series of sculptures instead of the usual stained glass or paintings. The first in the series, when Jesus is condemned to death, contains an open confessional. People line up after Mass to confess in a completely open space.
The painting is of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Romero was assassinated in 1980 for promoting social justice and speaking out against state violence. He was canonized as a saint in 2018. We visited his tomb in the basement of the Metropolitan Cathedral.
We also saw the exterior of the oldest buildings in the city. The top floor of one of them contains Club La Dalia, the oldest bar in San Salvador (1931).
Walked by the two-month-old McDonalds and the six(?)-month-old Starbucks. The Starbucks is gorgeous and is owned by San Salvadorans.
Grabbed a late lunch with my fellow tour-mates and ate traditional pupusas, grilled cornmeal flatbreads stuffed with beans and cheese.
If I could live ‘til 150 then I would come back and spend more time in this country at a later date. As it stands, I need to be extremely active and healthy until at least 85 to do everything I want to do. So I guess I will return when I am 86, though by then the country may be at risk of overtourism. Was grateful and happy to see what I could these past couple of days.
Random travel details:
Flew Frontier Boston to Atlanta, then Atlanta to San Salvador. Kind flight attendants. They told everyone to stay seated unless they had a close connecting flight. I did have a close connecting flight, and I was grateful to get off that plane stat.
Immigration did not ask me to pay for a $12 Entry Visa, though apparently they are supposed to..? The officer was super friendly and chatted me up about Boston for a few minutes. Also, there were a gazillion officers and no line. I never check bags, so it took me less than ten minutes to exit the airport after getting off the plane. Most of that time was spent walking through the airport to the exit area.
Made the mistake of booking airport shuttles through Viator. The drivers were great. The cost ($50), however, was twice as much as the available San Salvador Uber/taxi services ($25). Lesson learned.
