Santa Ana Volcano, Izalco Volcano
When I was checking in for the bus that was going to take me from Guatemala to El Salvador I encountered a problem. I was informed that the visa (or more precisely, the travel permit, as apparently there is some difference between them) I received when I entered Guatemala is the same as the one to El Salvador, and also for both Honduras and Nicaragua, should I wish to visit those countries as well. And due to spending all this time in Guatemala, I did have long left on this visa. Hoping to sort things out in El Salvador, I got on the bus.
After going through immigration at the border, asking in the accommodation I was staying at, going to the local immigration office, and asking online, I got a better picture of what was going on. The CA-4, the travel permit I got in Guatemala, allowed me to cross borders with El Salvador quite easily, within the time limit, but it also meant I had less than two weeks if I wanted to cross the border to Nicaragua or Honduras. And since I got it in Guatemala, only there I could get an extension for it. Undecided about what places to visit, still somewhat confused, and stressed about times, I headed back to Guatemala in order to get an extension for this inconvenience.
Once more, I consulted the internet, and it turned out the whole extension process was a lot easier and faster than I anticipated. With that, for the second time, I got on a bus and crossed the border to El Salvador.
My first stop in this new adventure was Santa Ana. The city itself didn’t interest me much, but it was a good base in order to visit some of the attractions in the area. The first one on my list was the quite popular hike of Santa Ana volcano. Looking into how to get there (as well as how to get to a few other points of interest in the area), the logistics of transportation seemed to be a problem. As far as I could understand, there was only one bus that goes to the volcano, and two buses that goes back from the volcano to the city.
Somewhat confused and unsure of it, I got up in the morning, packed some food and water, and left my accommodation. At the main street I got on a local bus which was supposed to take me to the bus station for the volcano. However, almost immediately the bus was stuck in traffic. Worrying that I might not be able to make it in time, I got off the bus and ordered an Uber.
I got to the station a bit late, but thankfully so did the bus. After about ten minutes or so of waiting, the guard called the people waiting at the station to get on the bus to Santa Ana volcano. The ride took about two hours, and took a route with views of Lake Coatepeque, and the surrounding area. That made me feel hopeful for the hike and for the beginning of my adventure in El Salvador, even though the sky was cloudy.
Along with most of the people who got on the bus, I left it when the driver informed everyone we got to the stop for the Santa Ana volcano. We quickly grouped up and had a short introduction for the guides at the sites. After paying for the guide, we walked for about ten minutes until we got to the proper entrance, and paid an entry fee.
Once everyone was ready, we started the proper hike. We walked at a pace which felt a bit fast, but I didn’t struggle keeping up. For the most part I was near the guide, although occasionally I found myself in the middle of the group. This group, as it turned out, was quite diverse, and conversation among members took place in four different languages.
Walking among the woods, we didn’t have much to look at in the beginning. The road wasn’t very interesting for me, although I did enjoy spending some time in nature again, being about and getting more active. Then, waiting for everyone to catch up, we stopped next to a viewpoint. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy and we were not able to see anything. That happened a couple more times along the way, before we got to a small tower. Climbing to the top of it, I could see above the treeline, but the clouds still covered the view. However, a few minutes later the view momentarily cleared up, and I could see Lake Coatepeque and the towns next to it. It was a nice sight, even if not a very impressive one, and it made me wonder what view can be seen from the top.
From there, the group continued along the trail in a similar manner, with the occasional break, until we got to another great viewpoint, and by the time we got there the clouds cleared up again. The green, hilly area was beautiful, and I quite enjoyed looking around me.
A few minutes later, the group continued going up the volcano. There were still views to look at, but it didn’t take long before the clouds came in again and obscured everything. After a bit more time and effort, we finally made it to the top. Our guide said we have about twenty minutes or so, although to me that was a bit too much. On that cloudy day, I didn’t have any views from the top of Santa Ana volcano. The only thing to look at was the crater lake, which was nice, but not very impressive. I didn’t really expect it, so it was a nice surprise, but after a few minutes I felt like there was no point staying at the top.
Being part of a group, I had to wait for the guide to decide when to start the descent, and when he did I was among the firsts to get up and go. It was not very challenging to go up, and the way down was easier. There were less breaks on the way down, and at some viewpoints we did manage to see a bit more. We quickly got back down to the starting point of the trail, and from there to the bus stop. On the way back, the bus driver slowed down next to a viewpoint of the lake, to allow us to take a few pictures. The group thanked him, and then we made our way back. It wasn’t as incredible as it could’ve been, due to the weather, but it was still a very fun experience, and a good way to start exploring El Salvador.
After a bit of a rest, I headed back to the same bus that was going to Santa Ana volcano, but this time I stayed on the bus a bit longer, until I got to what seemed to be the official entrance of Cerro Verde National Park, and the starting point of the hike to Izalco volcano. I paid the entrance fee, and then walked along a very lovely road with decorative bushes on both sides, until a few minutes later I got to a parking lot. In that area there were some cabins, for those who wanted to spend the night in the park, a food court, and a garden with a play area. There were also a few viewpoints, but as the day was cloudy, there was nothing to look at.
I walked around for a little bit, and ended up sitting at a bench in the play area until it was time to start the hike. A small group gathered around at the entrance to the parking lot, and our guide gave us an introduction to the area, which I didn’t really try to understand. His Spanish was fast, and common sense was all that I needed in order to do the hike without any problems. Unlike the hike of Sana Anta volcano, of the Izalco volcano there wasn’t an additional fee for the guide.
When the introduction was over, we walked down the road toward the entrance to the park, but stopped a little bit before that, next to a gate. The guide said a few more things, then opened the gate and let all the members of the small group go through into the woods and the proper start of the hike to the Izalco volcano.
Going to the top of a volcano, I expected the trail to go up all the way, but the trail through the woods was going down. And down. And then it kept going down, to the point where it felt like we could be going the wrong way, even though I didn’t see any splits in the road and the guide seemed very confident. It was a nice trail in the forest, but not a very interesting one. The only thing of some interest was the fog, which was quite heavy at the beginning of the trail, and reminded me of the mountain I visited in Kobe, which looked like a good place for a horror movie to take place. The further down the trail we went, the less foggy it was.
We didn’t have many breaks as we walked through the forest, maybe two or three, but they weren’t for rest. When we stopped, it was because the guide wanted to point out something, which for the most part I didn’t understand nor cared about. Those stops felt longer than they should have, but it was a group hike, and other members of the group were a lot more interested in learning than I was.
It took almost an hour to get to the bottom of the trail and the end of the forest section. Coming out of the forest, we were greeted by a beautiful view of Izalco, and could see all the way to the very top of the volcano. With the forest part cleared, this section was going up a volcanic trail, exposed to the elements. There wasn’t much color there, but it was still an impressive sight.
The group rested at the base for a while, and the guide talked some more about the volcano. Very quickly I wasn’t able to follow along, and just waited for him to make the call so we could start going up the volcano.
I was a bit confused as to how we could get to the top, as I didn’t see any clear trail and wondered if we were just going to forge our own path climbing the rocks, but when we finally got up and started walking, I realized I just didn’t see the trail from the spot I sat at. It was a long and twisty road, going all the way up. There were rocks on both sides, of various sizes, and it didn’t take long before the bottom of the trail was hidden from view.
For the most part it wasn’t a difficult trail, although it was more challenging than the trail of Santa Ana. It felt steeper from the very start, and as we got closer to the top of the volcano I found myself using my hands, holding onto rocks for support as I climbed up. And I wasn’t the only one, pretty much all of us struggled with the incline and terrain, so the pace slowed down a bit.
We had more breaks going up Izalco then we did in the forest, which was expected, and whenever the clouds partially cleared up, we had a beautiful view of the area. Unfortunately, that didn’t last very long, and as the group continued the ascent, there was less and less to look at. We did meet another small group, on its way down, but other than that, we were the only people there.
When we got to the top of the volcano and saw the crater, we had it all to ourselves. Everyone sat down to rest and waited for a couple of stragglers to join us. There too, the clouds came and went, revealing different views along the way. It made me wonder what it would be like on a bright and sunny day.
After we had some rest and all members of the group got to the crater, we had a walk around it. Other than a nice scenery to look at, the crater of Izalco revealed a surprise I didn’t expect. There were holes at the top of the volcano, from which steam and hot air came out, making parts of the trail feel quite different, which was an interesting contrast to the cool winds.
We walked all the way around the crater, and then set down at the top of the volcano to rest some more before starting the descent. On the way down, the guide was at the back, every now and then communicating with one of the group members who was at the front. I didn’t fully understand what they were saying to each other, but it didn’t matter much, all I had to do was follow the trail back down, regardless of who was in front or behind me.
At some point we had a break, to rest and allow slower group members to catch up, and I decided it was a good time to eat my lunch. While I was eating, the guide said something and the rest of the group resumed their walk down. It was just me, the guide, and two other members who found the trail quite challenging. For some reason, they waited with the guide a bit behind me.
When I finished eating, the guide said something that I assumed was something along the lines of “keep going down to join the rest of the group, and we’ll catch up”. I didn’t think much of it, and just went on my way. Due to the trail being twisty, I quickly lost sight of the guide, and had to idea how far I was from the others. A couple minutes later, and I couldn’t even hear them. I was on the trail all by myself, which was an unexpected turn of events.
For a while, I quite enjoyed the solitude on the trail. I wondered what made the guide feel like it was okay to let something like that happen, rather than keeping everyone together, as it was mandatory to go with a guide. It didn’t really matter at the end, so I didn’t think about it much. A few times going around a bend in the road I could see the guide, or the people ahead, but each time they seemed to be further away.
By the time I got to the bottom I had no idea where everyone else was. It felt like a good time for a break, and to wait around for a bit in case the guide wanted everyone else to join him. I was there for a while, and then I heard some shouting. At first I thought I might be imagining it, but then it became clear the guide was trying to say something to me. However, my Spanish was not good enough, and from far away I had no idea what he was saying. He could be telling me to stay put or keep going, but I had no idea.
Looking around, I was not able to spot him or the group members he was with, and after waiting a few more minutes, I went back into the forest and started my ascent back to the starting point.
I’m not really sure if I was walking around by myself for a little too long, or if there was something in that forest, but I started to feel a bit bad and think some negative thoughts. I tried to shake it off, but that was quite a difficult task. I stopped for a couple of moments from time to time in order to catch my breath, but I didn’t want to take any breaks. I just wanted to get it over with. I went up, not knowing when exactly I’ll get to the top, and then I saw a staff member cleaning the trail. Thinking I can’t be far away, it was a bit encouraging to see him.
It took longer than I thought, but eventually I cleared the forest and was back at the starting point of the trail. Pretty much immediately my mood changed, as I was under the sun, and looked around me at all the decorative bushes. As I still had time before the bus back to the city, I drank a refreshing soda, and then walked around the garden for a bit. Even on a cloudy day like that, Izalco volcano was a great experience, and to me, under those weather conditions, it was better than Santa Ana volcano.