Acajutla, El Salvador - Jan 13

After maintaining the same Northwesterly heading along the El Salvador coast throughout the night we came to the port of Acajutla. It’s a container port as they have no passenger port YET.

I did not realize that we were the first ship to call on this port. It’s always nice to make a maiden port. I can tell you the locals were as excited to see us and the ship as we were to visit. As we sailed in we could hear music on the dock and I ran out to the balcony to take a photo of the steel drum band. It took me a while to realize there was no band only a speaker. They were taking photos of us.

 photos from the balcony

Rick & Janie are 2 doors down - waving at each other from the balcony

We finally got cleared to disembark the ship and we went in search of Mac of Macua Tours. I organized a private tour “El Salvador Combo Day Tour visits the main highlights of Volcanoes, Lake and Mayan Sites” and were again joined by Rick & Janie, Perla & Joe and Cyril & Vanessa. They were such a great group yesterday so we looked forward to another great day with them.

It was a tad unorganized since it’s the first ship they have dealt with, but the people on the dock couldn’t have been more helpful. I think they have had European ships in before, but not many. Being on a private tour was a bit harder and though Mac had our passport info so he could get into the port to pick us up, there was a bit of a delay. There were newspaper and TV reporters there and one of them interviewed Vanessa.

 Princess had shuttle buses to get people out of the port, but they were even using pickups to get people out faster.

Mac finally was able to get in to pick us up and he suggested an alternative itinerary that he thought might be less “rushed”. He said he thought seeing the culture in the villages on the Flower & Coffee Route was worth more time and instead of the Volcanoes we could see the Green Lagoon. (a lake in a crater). Since we had seen volcanoes the day before we agreed it was a better plan and off we went.

I have to say Mac is one of the best guides we have ever had. He talked not only about the country’s struggles, but his personal struggles. He has lived a very interesting life and the love of his country really shines through. You can’t go wrong with a tour led by Mac.

The drive was beautiful with views of the volcanoes in Green Hill National Park and Lake Coatepeque in the background. Much like we saw in Africa, people carried most everything on their heads.

 from the van windows

 "push button" hotel (our Panama friends will know what that is)

 furniture town

We had a lovely day driving between the colonial style towns with views of the mountainous vegetation, seasonal flowers and the view of the volcanoes in the backdrop. Each town is known for different things. Some made furniture, another had gardens, coffee, handicrafts and more. We enjoyed Nahuizalco, Juayua, Apaneca and Ataco.

Part of Mac’s history is that he has trained most of the police and they greeted him everywhere we went and they followed us around for our safety.

We visited Nahuizalco where we toured a lovely church, town square and their local fruit & vegetable market. What a fabulous stop. The locals wear colorful aprons and their fruits and vegetables were beautiful. We toured a small museum and walked amongst their handicrafts. The indigo blue dye in the clothing is sold to Levi for their jeans.

 Mac talking to a friend in the park

 dog asleep on the church step

 Mac with a huge fruit

Lunch was at Mac’s favorite restaurant and it was a lovely old house converted to a restaurant called Jardin de Celeste. The atmosphere was wonderful and full of locals and the food was very tasty and plentiful.

After lunch we drove to the Green Lagoon. We passed a Princess tour with a group of quads that one had broken down and we were held up in the intersection. The tour actually came back late due to the delay. Once we got to the Lagoon, the police there wanted us to pose for a photo for them to keep. On our way back down from the Lagoon we saw the Princess tour finally making their way up. We saw Fran & Bill from our dinner table in one of the buggies. They told us later they had a great time. It did look like fun.

 Greg, Annette Janie, Rick, Vanessa, Cyril, Perla, Joe

Our last stop was in Ataco which is known for their colorfully painted houses and walls of stores. They also had beautiful handicrafts there. 

 motorized vehicle (yes, it's a shoe!)

We then made our way back to the ship. There would have been time to add more to this day as we didn’t have to be back on the ship until 6:30 and we were back by 5:00ish. However, since we had just seen volcanos the day before and it was a long drive to get there and sitting or lying down with my leg hurts more than walking, I really didn’t mind. It was a fulfilling day with Mac and seeing the Flower Route.

 Cyril, Vanessa, Janie, Rick, Joe, Perla us and Mac!

Tonight’s entertainment was Chris Walkins an energetic entertainer that plays electric violin. Amazing show.

After departure from Acajutla we sailed along the South coast of Guatemala, then Mexico as we crossed the Gulf of Tehauntepec. The winds are strong is this area and the captain slowed down to keep the swells down. Tomorrow for a few hours it should be a bit of rough seas due to the strong wind Tehauno.

Whoo hoo a sea day tomorrow! We have 3 of them before we arrive in La Paz.

Photos: https://get.google.com/albumarchive/116659709528973371528