Maybe Next Trip

Tag: central-america

  • Guatemala: from BC to B.E. (Before Easter)

    Pre-Easter procession

    Antigua: Three volcanoes surrounding a UNESCO Heritage Site

    Sharing the burden

    Antigua struck me as the legendary town of Macondo come to life. Its streets seemed to embody the mythical town at the heart of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel “100 Years of Solitude.” Yes, I know that Macondo is set in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s native Colombia and Antigua is in Guatemala. But its mystical feel and magnetic pull made me feel this UNESCO Heritage Site was in a place like no other, one I wanted to linger in for a while.

    Altar along pre-Easter procession
    Solemn pre-Easter wound through the streets

    At the Heart of Guatemala’s History

    Palacio de los Capitaines de los Generales
    Palacio de los Capitaines de los Generales at night

    Antigua is at the heart of Guatemala’s history. Ruled by the Maya from 1000 BC to 1524 AD, Guatemala was conquered by the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado from 1523-24. Antigua was founded in 1543 to become the locus of Spanish colonial rule throughout Central America. A destructive earthquake hit in 1773 and many of its 38 churches as well as mansions, convents, and homes were badly damaged. While many weren’t repaired since then — those that were faced another deadly earthquake in 1976. The visible damage from the two earthquakes is one of the distinctive features of Antigua — a city that at its peak attracted the focus and funds of the unimaginably rich Spanish colonial power. Now, its candor is its charm, a city unafraid to reveal a few gray hairs and age spots that don’t detract from its glamor, even if its glitter is long gone.

    Repairing earthquake ruins

    Once a Backwater

    Surrounded by volcanoes

    Antigua became a backwater in 1775, when two years after the quake Spain moved the colonial capital to Guatemala City. And that’s where Guatemala’s history played out. Independence was achieved from Spain, then Mexico in 1823. A CIA coup against President Jacobo Arbenz happened in 1954. A deadly civil war occurred from 1960 to 1996 with a staggering 200,000 deaths. Now peaceful, Antigua is at the center of Guatemala’s efforts to attract tourists to a country that has been at the political center of Central American history for literally 3,000 years.

    Elegant colonial courtyard

    Fireworks over Antigua

    Kaq’ik

    I was eating Kaq’ik, a multi-layered spicy Maya soup from Coban at the charming El Adobe restaurant, the sound of a woman slapping tortillas onto a grill creating a soundtrack in the background. Explosive fireworks lit up the sky overhead. I went to the second floor to see the fireworks illuminate the night sky and the colonial skyline. Burst, crackle, and then descending colorful lights, fading in illumination as they approached the earth.

    Cucurucho figure. They are part of Easter processions
    Catedral de Santiago

    Pre-Easter Procession

    Easter decoration at San Jose church

    Outside, I followed a large procession as it moved through the glowing cobblestoned streets, flanked by colonial-era buildings, homes, and churches.   A scarlet red banner with a gold crown was held high and proud. Three mask-wearing women wearing red robes and white aprons and carrying torches led the way. Several dozen people shouldered a large float, called an anda, as they swayed down the street. When a man or woman peeled off from carrying the float, they were immediately replaced, a sense of strong community with the burden shared by all. On top of the float was a statue of Jesus, in a purple cassock with a scarlet sash. Jesus is depicted as struggling beneath the weight of the cross. A sculpture of a winged angel was at the front of the float and a lamb at the back. A half dozen musicians with drums, cymbals, trombones, and horns announced their presence as they slowly walked and played while following the procession.

    Easter decoration

    I trailed the procession to its endpoint, the Catedral de Santiago, built in 1545 and ruined in the earthquake of 1773. All that remains is the parish church of San Jose, in what used to be the front of the cathedral. At the entrance to the cathedral was an alfrombra, an elaborate carpet made of sawdust, pine needles, fruit, vegetables, and flowers. After the procession and the band entered the San Jose church, I looked at the ruins of the cathedral, pillars with no roof to hold anymore, carved angels that were meant to gaze down on congregations, looking at no one now, exposed to the elements.

    Decorative alfombra
    Alfombra

    Traditional Pastries from Antigua’s Oldest Pastry Shop

    Dona Maria Gordillo pastries

    Pastries from Dona Maria Gordillo were a sweet way to start many of my days here. Founded in 1872, the traditional pastries it serves are astounding – light, nuanced flavors with varying levels of sweetness across the topography of each piece. I would get them packed in a box and devour them in the Parque Central.

    Delectable Dona Maria Gordillo pastry

    Parque Central – Social Nexus of Antigua

    Jacaranda trees in bloom at Parque Central

    Jacaranda trees in bloom dropped purple petals onto the footpaths of Parque Central. Birds of Paradise with colorful, pointy beaks lined the flowerbeds. I sat near the central fountain where water streamed through the fingers and breasts of sculptural depictions of nymphs. Surrounding the plaza were some of Antigua’s finest colonial edifices. The Catedral de Santiago — the San Jose church part of it — was on one side, the elaborate white façade dotted with sculptures overlooking the plaza. The ruins weren’t visible from here.

    Parque Central during evening
    Water bearing nymphs

    The imposing Palacio de los Capitaines de los Generales was on another side. Built in 1549, it was once the capital of all of Central America. It is now a mind-blowing art museum known as MUNAG, Museo Nacional de Arte de Guatemala. The building itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I spent several hours here seeing art from pre-colonial to the colonial era and to the Republican period. The stunning art pieces were beautifully displayed. I had a coffee at the Café Condesa at the Antiguo Colegio de la Compañía de Jesus, occupying another side of the plaza. I noticed that people at the café were more interested in each other and the people watching than their phones. The building was built in 1626 as a Jesuit monastery and college until the order was expelled in 1767. Six years later, the building was ruined in the 1773 earthquake. Now there are shops, cafes, and a cultural center.

    Nostalgic carriage ride
    Corridor along Parque Central

    I strolled past the 18th-century Palacio del Ayuntamiento to the Arco de Santa Catalina, built in 1694. This arch is perhaps Antigua’s most iconic monument. When you look through it, you can see one of the three volcanoes that surround Antigua, Volcan Agua. At any time of day, groups or individuals, from proud brides to friends proud of each other, are posing in front of it.

    Arco de Santa Catalina

    Maya Stews from Ancient Recipes

    La Cuevita de los Urquizo restaurant

    For lunch, I liked to eat Maya stews at La Cuevita de los Urquizu. Large earthenware pots contained Pepian Chicken (chicken and veggies in a piquant pumpkin seed sauce), jocon (green stew with herbs and chicken with tomatillos), kaq’ik (turkey stew), and other dishes I didn’t know the names of. It was a feast. And I was the only foreigner in the restaurant.

    Breakfast at traditional restaurant
    Maya stews

    Guatemala History, Art and Culture on Display in Museums

    Maya art at MUNAG

    Antigua has some great museums. The Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo was a monastery founded by Dominican friars in 1542. Buildings on the site were rummaged for materials after the earthquake of 1773. The haunting ruins and restored buildings now house six museums: stunning silverwork at the Museo de Plateria; 16th-18th paintings and woodwork at the Museo Colonial; Maya stonework and ceramic at the Museo Arqueológico; Maya art juxtaposed with modern pieces at the Museo de Arte de Precolombino y Vidrio Moderno; traditional Antigua handicrafts at the Museo de Artes y Artesanias Populares de Sacatepequez; and a restored 19th apothecary shop at the Museo de la Farmacia. There’s also the ruins of the monastery’s church, candle and pottery maker workshops, and the Calvary Crypt, which houses a 1683 mural of the crucifixion. All of these museums and ruins are now part of the grounds of the atmospheric Casa Domingo Hotel, where I took well-needed breaks over coffee while working my way through the museums.

    Crypt sculpture of monk being readied for burial

    Colonial-era Churches Provide Spiritual Depth

    Iglesia Merced

    Antigua is of course, famous for its colonial-era churches — intact as well as ruined — that provide spiritual depth to the city. Iglesia Merced, built from 1749 to 1769, was built with the thick earthquake-proof walls similar to the baroque churches in the Philippines. It’s a vibrant religious destination in the city.

    Convento de Capuchinas

    At the Convento de Capuchinas, renovated after the 1773 earthquake, I got a sense of how the nuns lived. I strolled past an indigenous woman wrapped in colorful fabrics, through the markets where fruits and vegetables shimmered in the bright, though opaque light. At nearly every turn, one of Antigua’s looming volcanoes – Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango – stood sentinel-like, serene, almost omniscient in their quiet force.

    Ruins of Catedral de Santiago

    Ruins from the 1773 earthquake, combined with partial repairs and renovations such as those at the Colegio de San Jeronimo and Iglesia y Convento de la Recoleccion, gave Antigua a haunting beauty that is both timeless and stuck in time. It wasn’t the spic n’ span over-polished look that some colonial-era cities have.

    Sculpture of angel at Catedral de Santiago

    A Vibrant Nightlife

    Best Starbucks ever

    Antigua surprised me by having a really lively nightlife. Even Starbucks was a truly stylish hangout here. On the weekend, partygoers from Guatemala City, just an hour or so away, crowded into the city — and then into the bars and nightclubs. The restaurants and bars were north of Parque Central. After a few bottles of Moza beer, I slipped off a stool and headed back for the night.

    Cerveza Moza

    Post-Sunset Fairytale Ambiance

    Selling fairytale balloons

    I passed a woman in Parque Central, selling sparkling purple balloons that provided a fairytale-like ambiance to the post-sunset city. On my walk down the empty cobblestoned streets, soft echoes trailed me at every step. At the simple, elegant Hotel San Jorge by Porta I knocked on the heavy wooden door and was let in by the receptionist. I sank into a chair by the courtyard and let the crisp mountain air envelop me. Antigua, I decided, wasn’t just a city to see but a city to help you see yourself — ruminations via ruins.

    Fruit seller on Pan American Highway
    Colorful bus
    Tiny taxis

  • Guatemala: from BC to B.E. (Before Easter)(con’t)

    Gran Plaza from Templo II

    Tikal: Ruins of an ancient Maya kingdom

    Templo II at Gran Plaza

    I’ve wanted to visit Tikal for decades. When I lived in Asia for 27 years, it was always too far away — until I moved back to this hemisphere. The city started its journey in 700 BC and built its monumental temple complex, Acropolis del Norte, by 200 BC. By 250 AD, Tikal was the center of power in the Maya world, which was spread throughout Central America into Mexico. Its population peaked at 100,000 in the mid-6th century before its mysterious collapse around 900 AD. The 10,000 buildings over 30 square kilometers on the site started to succumb to the jungle and decay until a Guatemalan government expedition discovered the site in 1848. Even today, much of it remains untouched, buried, and covered in jungle. If the mystery and magic of ancient ruins are your thing, this site will send chills down your spine.

    The back of Templo I

    Screams of Howler Monkeys

    Elusive howler monkey

    When our van drove through the gates of the park, we were greeted by the piercing screams and grunts of howler monkeys. Howler monkeys can make sounds that travel miles, at up to 140 decibels. It’s a piercing and unnerving sound. It’s also a little like entering a Jurassic Park movie.

    Jungle still rules at Tikal

    Because of the relative lack of tourists, it’s easy to soak in the atmosphere of this UNESCO Heritage Site, explore the ruins without crowds at all, and in some places without people at all.

    Pyramids emerging from jungle

    Gran Plaza at heart of UNESCO Heritage Site

    Long way up Templo I

    I felt a sense of anticipation when I approached the towering pyramids of the Gran Plaza. The Temple of the Grand Jaguar (Templo I), where King Ah Cacao is supposedly buried beneath layers of the pyramid, faces the Temple of the Masks (Templo 2). I climbed the Temple of the Masks for a view of the Gran Plaza, the Temple of the Grand Jaguar, and the Acropolis Central, a warren of ruined palaces, courtyards. This complex was completed between 740 AD and 800 AD. Between the chirping of the birds, the distant screams of howler monkeys, a languid breeze drying my sweat, I settled in to absorb and observe. In the plaza, a local woman was performing a Maya ceremony at a fire pit with a Caucasian woman. Their solitary intensity permeated the scene.

    Maya ceremony in Gran Plaza

    At the Acropolis Del Norte was a monumental carved stone mask that glowered from a wall. It was over three meters high. It provided a sense of the drive and ambition that fueled the growth of this civilization. I could easily see the citizens of this Maya city intimidated when they stood in front of it.

    Monumental mask

    South of the Gran Plaza, I turned a corner on a forest path and saw Templo V emerge as a solitary temple, sentinel-like, dominating the foliage around it. It was built between the 7th and 8th centuries AD and is 57 meters high. The chance to see a structure without crowds gave me a chance to feel its majesty — and to wonder what it was like with crowds of the apex of the city’s power.

    Templo V

    Entering the Mundo Perdido, the Lost World

    View from Mundo Perdido pyramid

    From there, I walked to the Mundo Perdido, the Lost World.  A few dozen structures surrounded a huge pyramid, 32 meters high and 80 meters around the base. I climbed to the top for a stunning view of the ruins. Nearby was Templo IV, at 65 meters the highest temple in Tikal and the second highest pre-Columbian building the Western Hemisphere after La Danta in the ruins at El Mirador.

    Mundo Perdido pyramid
    Vertigo at top of Mundo Perdido pyramid

    Tikal is well-explored, with widely visited ruins. But there are other Maya ruins in Guatemala, more remote, very difficult to reach. El Mirador, also located in the El Peten province of Guatemala, can be reached via a 5-day, 83-kilometer hike through jungle. Or, if money is no object via helicopter from Flores. El Mirador is more expansive than Tikal, across a larger area, with larger pyramids. Historically, it is considered the most important Preclassic period ruins. Tikal’s ruins, in contrast, span from the Preclassic to Classic to Postclassic periods.

    Temple IV from Mundo Perdido
    Templo IV, Tikal’s highest pyramid emerges from foliage
    Tikal pyramid Mundo Perdido

    I came across a line of stone stela with indecipherable writing and reliefs that had been worn down with time. Above them loomed a ceiba tree, the Maya tree of life. But the life that was lived here has long since disappeared. The rulers that reigned here had fearsome names: Dark Sun, Moon Double Comb, Yax Kin to name a few. Their power was absolute until time and the tides of history swept their civilization away, where you needed machetes, shovels, and pickaxes to uncover it.

    Ceiba tree
    Stone stela

    Birdlife overtakes human civilization

    Toucans in a tree
    Toucan
    Tree ravaged by woodpeckers

    My visit ended by focusing on the rich birdlife and their incessant chirping amidst the distant screams of the howler monkeys. Toucans, Ocellated turkeys, parrots, shrikes, herons, and the woodpeckers who left ravaged trees and trunks in their wake. Underfoot, I watched to avoid streams of relentlessly marching army ants. Humanity might have been the dominant force here once, but nature was now. As I passed through the pyramid-shaped archway on my way out of the park, I brought with me thoughts of how Tikal stretched over 1,000 years with wars that were devilish and a civilization that reached a divine peak — for a time. Just a time.

    Maya king depicted on stele
    Depiction of Maya king on stone stele

    On Templo II
    Templo I

    Maya goddess of fertility, Ix Chel

  • Guatemala: from BC to B.E. (Before Easter)

    Mural at San Juan da Laguna
    Mural at San Juan da Laguna

    Lake Atitlan: Three volcanoes and a deep, deep blue lake

    Lake Atitlan volcanoes

    Maya tradition alive today

    Maya deity Maximon

    In the town of Santiago Atitlan, the guide led me down steep, narrow streets, looking furtively to see if we were being followed. No, it wasn’t a secret assignation we were going to, but it was the location of a discrete brotherhood: the confradia of Maximon. The confradia, brotherhood, looks after the Maya deity, Maximon. We slipped unnoticed into a nondescript building and entered a long, narrow room on the right side.

    Confradia taking care of Maximon

    Inside, three men were tending to a nearly life-sized wooden effigy of Maximon, draped in layers of scarves, a hat with a scarf laying over it, and a cigarette butt gripped between his lips. The attendants from the confradia tended to him like a beloved uncle. Flowers flanked and were behind Maximon. A dozen lit candles were in front of him, melted and hardened wax staining the floor. I gave a donation, which was silently slipped beneath a scarf.

    Syncretism is the amalgamation of different religions and Maximon is an example of this. He is a Maya deity who is the granter of all wishes — no matter what they are. As he is non-judgmental, disciples feel they can ask him anything. The Maya believe he is a descendant of a pre-Spanish God called Maam. The Catholics’ interpretation of him is a combination of the Catholic Saint Simon and maybe even Judas Iscariot.

    Maximon in glass casket

    In antique shops, I saw depictions of Maximon for sale, wearing a suit, hat, sometimes sunglasses, and often a cigarette, sometimes a cigar, in his mouth.

    In an adjoining room, I saw another effigy of Maximon laying in a brightly lit glass- enclosed casket with flowers in front of it. Well-wishers paid their solemn respects.

    Every year the confradia secretly moves the effigy of Maximon to another location in the city. Visiting Maximon gave me an insight into the layers of spiritual belief in Guatemala.

    Iglesia Parroquial Santiago Apostol

    At the nearby mid-16th-century Iglesia Parroquial Santiago Apostol, I saw more examples of syncretism. Jesus laboring beneath a huge cross on a flower-covered platform is dark-skinned, like the indigenous people of Lake Atitlan. A statue of a saint inside the church is draped with layers of scarves just like the Maximon effigy I saw earlier. Along the walls is a wooden carving of Maximon, the Maya deity clearly displayed inside this Catholic church. Despite its age, the church is the dynamic center of the community, the saints in the church having new clothes made for them every year by local women.

    Maximon carving at Iglesia Parroquial Santiago Apostol
    Statue of Jesus
    Saint in Maya dress

    When I visited, the church was draped in luxuriant purple fabric as part of the decorations for Easter.  Before I left, I paid my respects at the shrine in the church to Father Stanley Francis Rother from Oklahoma, who was murdered by ultra-rightists in 1981, the Civil War in full swing then.

    Father Rother shrine
    Saint in Maya dress
    Saint at Iglesia Parroquial Santiago Apostol
    Purple fabric decorating church in preparation for Easter
    Saints dressed as Maya

    Digital nomad and party town

    San Pedro La Laguna
    San Pedro La Laguna’s steep streets

    From Santiago Atitlan, I took a boat to San Pedro La Laguna. Lake Atitlan stretches 18 kilometers by 8 kilometers, drops as deep as 300 meters and is surrounded by three volcanoes: Volcan San Pedro, Volcan Atitlan, and Volcan Toliman. If Central America is the Earth’s ring finger, then Lake Atitlan is the polished sapphire that decorates it. The Spanish, under Pedro de Alvarado, colonized the area in 1524, allying with the Maya group Kaqchiquels against the Tz’utujils, then turning against Kaqchiquels in 1531 after they defeated the Tz’utujils. During the 1960-1996 Civil War, Lake Atitlan was a focus of the military as indigenous people comprised the majority of the rebels. It’s tragic, violent history is a startling contrast to the serene tranquility of today — and especially painful to comprehend after spending time with the warm, welcoming people of the lake.

    San Pedro La Laguna from the lake
    On top of San Pedro La Laguna

    San Pedro La Laguna has a reputation as a digital nomad and backpacker haven and something of a party town. When I visited a Western traveler was sprawled face down along the side of the road. Given that I was there in the early afternoon he didn’t just have a rough night, he must have had a rough morning too. No one bothered him and he seemed to be sleeping off whatever he was on peacefully. Nearby, I got a jolt from an espresso at a simple café that wasn’t notably appealing to Western tourists. I took a three-wheeler, a Guatemalan tuk-tuk, up the steep streets to an IMAX-like view of Lake Atitlan. The clouds were moving in, enveloping the landscape in a veil that gave the environment a mysterious aura.

    Lake Atitlan tuk tuk
    View from top of San Pedro la Laguna

    Maya craft traditions alive today

    San Juan La Laguna

    A boat zipped me over to San Juan La Laguna next. This village takes pride and its Tz’utujil Maya crafts. Visitors here seem keen to learn and give back by supporting the trades that fuel its economy: painters, weavers, coffee growers, fishermen, farmers. This village is also popular for its Spanish schools. Looming over the village in the Cristalina Hill, with a profile of a man.

    Cristalina Hill with man’s profile San Juan La Laguna

    Upon walking away from the dock, I was greeted by a marimba band, three men tapping out a tune on a large marimba, a type of xylophone made of palo de hormigo, a type of wood, and pumpkins. A fourth man shook maracas filled with seeds. It was a joyful entrance to a lively village.

    Mairmba band

    A decorative canopy of multi-colored umbrellas covered the street as it led upwards into the high reaches of the town. Walls were covered with bold murals depicting Tz’utujil Maya life: from Maya ancestors playing ball games to shamans to contemporary Tz’utujil playing music. There were even huge 3-D cut-outs of Maya at key junctures of the streets. The umbrellas give way to bowler hats and tassels overhead.

    Umbrella canopy at San Juan da Laguna
    3-D cutouts at San Juan da Laguna

    I visited a weaving cooperative and saw a demonstration on how they dye fabric before buying a multi-hued scarf there. I spent time watching a shop harvest honey from their beehives before buying a bottle of robust-tasting honey. I also visited galleries featuring Tz’utujil oil paintings, a primitivist style depicting Maya life. And around nearly every curve and corner, I could see women slapping and grilling corn tortillas, the scent wafting out onto the street, the sound a rhythmic, ambient beat.

    My next stop was back where I started my journey on Lago de Atitlan, Panajachel, the largest and busiest of the towns on the lake. It’s the jumping off point for visits to the lake. For most travelers, including me, it’s really a transit point.

    At San Juan da Laguna

    Lago de Atitlan is only around a 3-hour bus ride to Antigua, but it’s a journey to an indigenous Guatemala that is finally finding the peace it needs to provide a better future for its citizens and their centuries-old culture.

  • Salvation in El Salvador

    Salvation in El Salvador

    At the archaeological park Cihuatan in northwest El Salvador, the park’s sole guide told me that I was the only tourist that day and the only visitor, now that a school group had just left. At over 60 hectares in size, it’s the largest archaeological site in El Salvador. The guide walked me around a site that featured the country’s ancient and recent history. Dating from 950-1200, Cihuatan was a large Mesoamerican city built following the mysterious collapse of the Maya civilisation.

    A perfectly preserved ball court was missing only the players that once animated it. In the quiet of the park, punctuated by the chirping of birds, I imagined teams of four moving a heavy rubber ball to a hoop to score, using only their hips, elbows, and knees to pass the ball. The winners of the game were sacrificed. If I played the game, I would happily be a gracious loser.

    Next to a large pyramid is a huge Ceiba tree, known among the Mayas as the Tree of Life since they believed four Ceibas hold up the corners of the universe. The tree is pockmarked by bullet holes from army helicopters that fired at FMLN guerillas who took shelter behind it during El Salvador’s 1979-1992 Civil War. By protecting the lives of those guerillas, the tree lived up to its name.

    At nearby Joya de Ceren, a UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Pompeii of the Americas, I walk through the ruins of a Maya settlement that was buried under six meters of ash when the Laguna Caldera volcano blew in 567 AD. Unlike Pompeii, no human remains were found — but there is a footprint preserved on ash, indicating that people hot-footed out of there to survive. Just a handful of tourists here.

    From turbulent history to tranquil present

    El Salvador’s turbulent history extends from the Maya era through the colonial era to the recent Civil War and the emergence of the violent MS-13 gang. The gang, which originated in Los Angeles to protect Salvadoran immigrants, metastasized into an international criminal organization that terrorized its home country. The murder rate peaked at 103 per one hundred thousand in 2015 and has dropped dramatically, especially under the strong leadership of current president, Nayib Bukele, to 2.4 per hundred thousand in 2023. Now El Salvador is more than two times as safe as the US with its murder rate in 2023 of 5.5 per hundred thousand.

    Cobble-stoned colonial cities

    The northern town of Suchitoto delights with evocative colonial architecture from its time as the heart of the indigo trade. Although it was the center of fighting during Civil War’s early day, the scars have been covered up. The Parque Central fronts the charming Iglesia Santa Lucia. Cafes abound and a fifteen-minute downhill walk on cobblestoned streets takes me to the shores of Lago de Suchitlan. Boats traverse the 135 square kilometer lake to take tourists to islands and falls.

    Santa Ana is a grander colonial city with the imposing neo-gothic Catedral de Santa Ana, which opened in 1913, anchoring its center. Fueled by the lucrative coffee trade, growers built the lavish Teatro de Santa Ana, also on Parque Libertad, in 1910.

    Small country, big landscapes

    El Salvador’s vivid landscapes punctuate my trip. Lingering over a morning coffee I study the reflection of clouds in Lago de Coatepeque’s blue waters as it is framed by the Cerro Verde, Izalco, and Santa Ana volcanoes.

    At the 1,893-meter-high El Boqueron volcano, there is another cone within its crater. On the Sunday morning that I visited Salvadorans enjoyed the park for its coolness and the views of the vast center of this volcano, which towers above San Salvador city.

    At nearby Puerto del Diablo, two gargantuan rock outcroppings jut over sheer cliffs. There is a legend as to how it got its name, the Devil’s Door. The devil himself was courting Maria de la Paz, daughter of the wealthy Renderos family, until the family decided to hunt him down. When the devil was cornered by his would-be captors he broke through the middle of the rocky outcrop to escape, creating the opening that makes it look like a colossal doorway.

    During the Civil War, the area lived down to its name. The army executed guerrillas and their supporters here and threw their bodies into the ravine below. A dozen hawks circled relentlessly the day I visited.

    Hawaiians travel here to surf

    El Tunco on the coast is known as Surf City. While strolling down the narrow lanes leading to the ocean I hear in addition to Spanish voices American and Australian ones. Nearly everyone, except for me, seems to be carrying a board either on the way to or from the beach. El Salvador has some of the best surfing in Central America and the world. During my recent visit to the Upcountry Farmers Market in Maui, a stall owner there spoke to a friend about a surfing trip she was planning to El Salvador. When Hawaiians want to travel to El Salvador for their waves you know they’re good.

    A newly completed highway connects the beaches with San Salvador in about an hour — commuting distance. Greater San Salvador is becoming closely linked to its beach towns the way Los Angeles is to its seaside cities.

    From notorious to noteworthy

    San Salvador has a reputation for political and gang-related violence. The Oliver Stone movie, Salvador, depicting the journalist Richard Boyle’s experience during the Salvadoran Civil War, is engrained in many people’s minds as to what El Salvador is like even today. It isn’t. Not even close.

    Today the city is a sparkling counterpoint to Stone’s out-of-date vision. Probably the best before and after juxtaposition is the Monumento a la Revolucion at the back of the Museo de Arte de El Salvador. The imposing monument, 25 meters high by 16 meters wide, is a mosaic depicting a man with arms upraised as if throwing off shackles. It was built to celebrate the popular uprising that overthrew the rule of the dictator General Salvador Castaneda Castro. The jewel-like museum features the country’s most famous artists, including the world-famous Fernando Llort. Next to the museum is the Teatro Presidente, an elegantly designed performance space.

    An unflinching look at the past

    To get a sense of San Salvador’s journey I visited sites that marked its Civil War period. The Monumento a la Memoria y Verdad is an 85-meter black granite wall with the names of the over 25,000 people who died or disappeared before and during the Civil War. Haunting sculptures capture the spirit of reconciliation. One shows two hands holding two sides of a split heart with a man and a woman hugging at the top.

    One of the most notorious episodes of the Civil War was the murder of six Jesuit priests at the School of Theology on the campus of Universidad Centroamericana. It is now the Centro Monsenor Romero, with a small graphic museum that depicts Oscar Romero’s life and death, the murder of the priests, and the 1980 murder of three nuns and a laywoman, which was depicted in the movie Salvador. The military killed the priests along with their maid and her daughter because of their outspoken advocacy for the poor. A rose garden was planted on the site where four of the priests’ bodies were found. I found the garden peaceful as it was graced by flowers in bloom and eery.

    The most famous victim of the Civil War was Archbishop Oscar Romero who was assassinated at the chapel of the Hospital Divina Providencia, also known as El Hospalito. On the day I visited a staff member showed me the chapel and Romero’s simple home across the driveway. The Toyota Corona that he drove was on display. His bedroom was simple, with a narrow single bed and the typewriter he used. In an adjacent room, the blood-stained robes he died wearing were displayed. It stunned me to see them.

    Spiritual heart of San Salvador

    Archbishop Romero is buried in San Salvador’s Catedral Metropolitana. 250,000 people attended his funeral, about 5% of El Salvador’s population in 1980. It was a convulsive event though the war had many more years to run. His tomb is covered by a somber brass sculpture created by Italian artist Paolo Borghi on the 30th anniversary of his death.

    When I stepped outside the cathedral onto the Plaza Barrio I could sense the energy of a city that has moved away from a divisive past to an energized present. Construction scaffolding, hammering, drilling, and attendant sounds of work enveloped me.

    The new Biblioteca Nacional occupies one side of the plaza in a gleaming white building that the government described as a “cathedral of knowledge and learning”. Open 24 hours a day it is the largest library in Central America.

    Latin American version of Singapore?

    The Palacio Nacional is President Nayib Bukele’s residence. Taxi drivers, shopkeepers, and people I chatted with said the same thing about him: his strict anti-crime policies have led to a safe environment for the first time in anyone’s memories. Crime is way down and people are enjoying the freedom from that fear. The president has indicated a goal of turning El Salvador into a Latin American version of Singapore.

    At the stylish Museo Nacional de Antropologia de David J. Guzman, I got an overview of the country’s progress from Maya times through the colonial period to modern times. The murals on the ground floor didn’t hold back: scenes of torture, murder and rape were depicted. On the second floor is a life-sized Maya sculpture of Xipe Toltec, the flayed one, so named because he wears the skin of a sacrificial victim. It dates from around 1000 AD. Nearby is a Maya stone disk of jaguar head from 250-900 AD.

    Hearty, robust cuisine

    I loved Salvadoran cuisine. The national dish of El Salvador is pupusas, grilled flour and corn meal mixed with cheese and refried beans.  They are served with a pickled cabbage relish and a tomato sauce. I enjoyed watching them being made, women’s hands slapping them into shape and onto hot grills. At Tipicos Margoth restaurant I feasted on pupusas, chorizos, empanadas, and quesadillas, which is a sweet cheese cake. I washed it down with a refreshing cinnamon horchata.

    Music to chill by in a now chilled city

    One evening I visited a popular jazz bar, The Balance, in the Colonia Escalon district. The music alternately soothed and seethed and the open-air bar was packed. A couple invited me to join them at their table and soon I was in a spirited conversation. They told me about El Salvador’s journey away from a divisive civil war and a country where gangs ran rampant. Things are so much better now, they said. Safe streets with companies like Google setting up operations. They added that costs are high and they have to worry about inflation and affording the good things in life that we all aspire to. In El Salvador, daily choices are not life and death anymore.

    As I listened to the persistent rhythms of the music with a gentle breeze wafting through the bar of energized, gregarious patrons, I thought of how things had changed so much for the better here and how much Salvadorans deserved the brighter future that now seemed more certain than ever.

    Pocket Guide

    Where to stay: Hilton San Salvador excelled: large rooms, friendly staff, a short walk to numerous restaurants.

    Where to eat: Tipicos Margoth for a wide selection of great Salvadoran food for a reasonable price.

    Where to listen to music: The Balance has jazz bands playing on its terrace. The food is great too.

    What to buy: Sopresas, miniature scenes hidden within clay eggs. I bought some for myself.

    Best tour company: Grupo 3 Tours is one of the best tour companies I’ve used in the world. Helpful, friendly, punctual, top-notch.

    Published in August/September 2024 Asian Journeys magazine