Bahia del Sol, El Salvador

We explored some of the bays and enjoyed excellent snorkeling.

Rescalillo Bay was beautiful and peaceful. The rocks guard the entrance. Unfortunately, we don’t have photos between Mexico and El Salvador since Carrie’s camera broke. The pictures that follow, up until the arrival of Carrie’s parents, were taken by other cruisers. Gary and Celeste of Sol Surfin’ took most of them.

Arriving at the Estero de Jaltepeque (a.k.a. Bahia del Sol to Cruisers) is a bit daunting. The boats must pass through the surf and over a bar in order to enter the tranquil Estero. The boat above, Tide ‘N Knots, is leaving on a relatively calm day. It can be quite exciting, but with guidance from Murray and Collette (Tarazed), and Jim and Susie (Sparta), a safe passage can be made.

Once inside the Estero, excellent, calm anchorage can be taken. For most cruisers, this is the first anchorage in many hundreds of miles that isn’t rolly!

One of our first inland trips was to the National Park El Impossible. It spans almost 10,000 acres and contains the source of eight rivers, numerous petroglyphs, and 4 different ecoregions.

A refreshing swimming hole

We arrived at the base of the road to the park a little late and missed the bus to the park. We had to catch a pickup truck instead. While waiting for the pickup truck kids emerged from everywhere to see us. Celeste (Sol Surfin’) speaks Spanish well and entertained the children and us until the pick up arrived.

Pick up trucks are used as public transportation where and when buses don’t go.

You pretty much haul your gear aboard with a dozen of your newest El Salvadorian friends and hang on for a bumpy, dusty hour. It was actually great fun and we were glad we missed the bus.

We stayed at the Hostal Impossible and had excellent accommodations, food, and service. We would highly recommend it to anyone traveling to the park. Our cabin consisted of two bunk beds, one queen-sized bed, a private bathroom and a very cool porch. We hung out on the porch every evening after hiking in the park all day and played Scrabble.

The hiking in the park was wonderful and moderately strenuous especially for a bunch of cruisers who have been at sea level for many, many months! A guide is required to hike in the park and the local youngsters are trained in the wildlife and vegetation of the park. Our guide was Carlos and he did a great job. The park was beautiful with spectacular overlooks, swimming holes, birds, animals and petroglyphs.

There are many volcanoes in Central America. These three are, from left to right, Izalco, Cerro Verde, and Santa Anna.

This lake is Lago Coatepeque in the western portion of the country. Many San Salvadorians have weekend homes and boats here.

Carrie’s parents and brother visited for a week in April. Everyone had a good time. We packed a lot of sightseeing into a short period!

Our friend Santos took all of us for a panga ride into the mangroves with his wife and son.

We took a trip to Suchitoto and visited the Alexander Coto museum. Alexander gives the tours himself. There is a large collection of art, mainly from Central America and extraordinary gardens on the property.

The Bahia del Sol hotel has a small zoo with deer, geese, a goat, and many birds.

Of course, we went out to eat a lot while the parents and brother were in El Salvador. There are many fun and interesting places to eat and drink. This is the Galley.

Jan’s Thursday night chicken BBQ

Manuel’s

Mar Y Sol