1. Driving the 35km Ruta de las Flores, and discovering the towns, villages and coffee plantations dotted along it
2. The weekend market at the beautiful and authentic town of Suchitoto, which is ringed by mountains
3. Iglesia El Rosario, a modern church in the capital
4. Relaxing on the beach at Playa el Espino
5. The fishing village of Barra de Santiago, and the little houses of Ataco with paintings on the walls
6. Compared to Honduras and Nicaragua, El Salvador is a surprisingly pleasant tourist destination
7. The Mercado Central (Central Market) of San Salvador is thrillingly chaotic
8. Hiking in the Parque Nacional los Volcanos
9. The views from the mountain town of Alegría
10. The locals in towns and villages were extremely pleasant and good-natured
1. Worries about public safety risks (though we had no problems)
2. Having to always check they don’t put ice-cubes made from tap water into our drinks
3. The ruined Mayan cities of Joya de Cerén and Tazumal (Santa Ana) are underwhelming for those who (like us) have already visited Tikal in Guatemala – here they aren’t well presented, and not enough money has been spent on them
4. The white-knuckle ride every time you take to the roads (local drivers pay no attention to the rules)
5. The uncomfortable seats on long-distance buses (especially bad for those with long legs)
6. The natural landscape in El Salvador is not so spectacular
7. Conversations with locals revealed how much more at risk they were from local gangs than we were
8. Compared to other Central American nations, El Salvador feels less exotic: there’s little opportunity to meet Native American populations here, and the local Mestizos are not particularly distinctive.
9. Even today the effects of the bloody civil war that raged between 1980 and 1991 are still visible, especially in more impoverished areas
10. Even when crossing the border into El Salvador, as a tourist you can easily perceive how corrupt the border guards are
