Our journey brings us to El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America but one with a huge heart and incredible energy. There are around 6.5 million people living here, and the capital is San Salvador, a bustling city located at the foot of a massive volcano. The official language is Spanish.
El Salvador covers about 21,041 square kilometers (8,124 square miles). The country is roughly the same size as the state of Massachusetts in the U.S., or about the same size as Slovenia in Europe. Because it is so compact, you can drive from the mountains to the beach in just a few hours!
The most popular sport is Football, and the fans are known for being some of the most passionate in the world. Their national animal is the Torogoz (Turquoise-browed Motmot), a beautiful bird with a unique “racket-shaped” tail that cannot live in captivity, representing the people’s love for freedom.
The flag consists of two blue horizontal stripes with a white stripe in the middle and the national coat of arms at the center, where the blue represents the two oceans surrounding Central America and the white symbolizes peace.
The food is famous across the globe, especially the Pupusa. You must try these thick, handmade corn tortillas stuffed with cheese, beans, or pork, served with curtido (a spicy cabbage slaw) and tomato sauce. Another treat is Yuca Frita, fried cassava served with tiny fried fish known as pescaditas.
El Salvador is home to more than 20 volcanoes, and some of them, like the Izalco Volcano, were once known as the “Lighthouse of the Pacific” because they erupted so frequently that sailors used the glow to navigate! You can hike to the turquoise crater lake of the Santa Ana Volcano, which offers a view of the entire country. The coastline, particularly El Tunco and El Zonte, is a world-class destination for surfing, with some of the best right-hand point breaks on the planet. El Salvador is also the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US Dollar. For history lovers, the site of Joya de Cerén is known as the “Pompeii of the Americas”—it is an ancient farming village that was perfectly preserved under layers of volcanic ash, showing exactly how people lived over 1,400 years ago.
From the coffee-covered hills of the “Flower Route” to the crashing waves of the Pacific, El Salvador is a land of resilience and natural beauty. ¡Gracias! That means “Thank you!”