Waterfalls and spontaneously to the sea

Wow, what a great start in El Salvador... on the first evening in Juayua, after writing the blog, I met the other two guests Noah and Eve. Since they had already booked a tour to the 7 waterfalls and I was planning to do the same, I decided to join them.

On March 13th, 2024 we went to the road at around 7:50 a.m. to catch a bus to Juayua. When we arrived we had a few minutes to spare and strolled around a bit. At 9:00 a.m. we stood in the back of a pickup truck with a few others and off we went. A few minutes later we were shaken up and were able to start our hike. Very stark nature there...super hot but somehow a jungle feeling even if it's totally dry, the path to the waterfalls was incredibly beautiful. Our guide kept explaining to us about the flora and fauna until we came to the first waterfall. And from then on our feet were wet because we just walked along the river, really cool. The waterfall was very breathtaking. I have to admit, I don't remember which waterfall was particularly great and which was rather small, but overall they were all great. We hiked again and again and then suddenly the next waterfall came again until we came to the fourth one. Our guide climbed up, attached a rope to ~5m and told us to climb up, awesome shit. It was really easy and I was almost disappointed that that was all until I saw where we had to go next. Up and this time without a rope and it was a bit more difficult. And then we went up again with a rope, very adventurous. Afterwards we had to go through a waterfall, anyone who wasn't completely wet by then was now. And then came the “last” waterfall. But our guide still had an ace up his sleeve, 3 more waterfalls. 10 waterfalls for the price of 7, awesome.😂 They were no longer part of the circular route but were still halfway along the way. These 3 waterfalls were also amazing and 2 had a pool in front of them where you could swim. And there we were able to wash off the mud mask that we applied to the 6th waterfall. I don't think it made my skin any softer, but so be it. Our guide then had a slice of pineapple for everyone and later picked a few more fruits for us (forgot the name of the fruit...), correct guy. At some point we went back to the pickup and drove into town. Since it was now 1 p.m., the six of us went looking for lunch and ultimately found it in a Comedor. I went back to the hostel with Eve and Noah left on his motorbike. We then chilled at the hostel and I had to decide where I was going the next day. Since there were no cheap hostels available in my actual destination, Santa Ana, I wanted to go somewhere else and ultimately found what I was looking for in Acajutla. An absolutely untouristy city by the sea.

After Noah came back, everyone showered and Jasmin checked in, we all went to a pupuseria. There we had 5 pupusas for $1.45, which was a delicious and inexpensive dinner. At the end of the great day we had a campfire with marshmallows🤩

In the morning (03/14/24) I took everything in a relaxed manner and set off for Sonsonate with Eve around 10:00. There's a food hall in the bus station...it's amazing with hamburgers, hot dogs, baguettes, pizzas, milkshakes, whole lunches and more. And everything was super cheap, so we filled our stomachs. Since we had to take different buses from there, we said goodbye and I went to bus 252 to Acajutla. For 3 buses and a journey time of ~3 hours I counted €1.30😂

I checked in in Acajutla and enjoyed the sea because it was incredibly warm. The hotel wasn't the nicest but it served its purpose. The hotel was right on the beach and at high tide the waves even come up to the terrace, so the location was great.

I didn't have anything planned for March 15, 2024, but a lot happened again. After my meditation session on the beach, I saw a few Salvadorans preparing for a soccer game. And as it happened, there were an odd number of them and I gambled with them. I ran across the beach with the beach lifeguards and their friends for almost an hour. There weren't that many rules, there was a lot of laughter and everyone had fun. At some point I felt burned and dried out and said goodbye 😂

Later I went looking for lunch, but that turned out to be very difficult... no Comedor had anything vegetarian, all sauces and rice dishes had meat. I've visited so many comedians, it's amazing. In desperation I got some tortillas and some beans from the supermarket, also a lunch option. However, I had 3 empanadas (fried dumplings with banana or refried beans as a filling) beforehand, so everything was easy.

In the evening a couple came to the hotel and of course they were Germans. We drank beer on the terrace and chatted...

Today (03/15/24) we went on to Santa Ana, which was good because at 8:00 a.m. there were suddenly 30 El Salvadorians in the hotel. Everyone wanted a room and the hotel isn't big and only has a shower and stuff. In any case, the hotel is now fully booked and I'm happy to have had two quiet days there😅

Santa Ana is quite touristy in comparison, but there are many day tours to volcanoes or waterfalls that you can do. I'll start with that tomorrow, today the only plan was to arrive and explore a bit. Unfortunately the lunch situation is the same😑

Well, I'm looking forward to the tours in the next few days😋