Located 65 kilometres on an easy and inexpensive one hour, retired school bus ride, from the nations capital rests the second most populated city in El Salvador, Santa Ana. Having just shy of 400k residents with-in the city limits it is almost hard to believe as we never felt it to be overcrowded. Just a short walk from the main town square we checked ourselves into “Casa Verde” and within seconds we knew that we had made the right decision. This is one of those places where everything is thought out and it just works. Common kitchen with private refrigerated food storage, roof top terrace for watching the sunset, pool for the perfectly refreshing dip and hosts that treat you like gold. One of the best really.

Resting 665m above sea level and encroaching on the volcanic peaks in the north east of El Salvador creates a perfect climate. Daytime highs reaching the upper 20’s with minimal humidity and cool evening make for a welcoming change after spending any time through Central America. As you walk the streets with its tall rendered brick buildings, you can feel that all these walls have a story to tell. With El Salvador being is such a state of turmoil over the last 30 plus years every archway and every church bell has seen something that most would not even dare to dream.

Civil war ravished the area for years and drugs and gangs took the reins after that. For us the best way to take in the true feeling of the city and culture is directly from the locals themselves, and many are not shy to talk. We had ourselves signed up for a free city tour (tips encouraged) where we met the small group outside the entrance to the Cathedral of Our Lady Santa Ana for our tour. We walked through the beautiful church, heard stories of the old movie theatres, drifted past the market that was engulfed in flames and tried some of the local street foods and drinks with the recommendations of our early 20 year old host.

With all the places we stopped, the questions always seemed to drift back to hear more of the recent history and the way of life for our guide as a child growing up in El Salvador. With the election of the latest President, Nayib Bukele, the lives of the locals has been transformed to the unbelievable. Since June of 2019 he has turned the country in a complete 180 degree spin and the residents love him for that. A prison was build and laws were enforced. Within his rule, nearly 2% of the population is now behind bars and he is not stopping. This sounds like a rash movement but this just explains how corrupt the most dangerous country in the world truly can be. Police and military literally went door to door and arrested everyone with the token gang member tattoos. It was said that some members were melting plastics on their arms and personally trying to cut their tattoos off with the fear of what was coming.

Our host spoke of how amazing it is now to be able to walk freely at all times of the day and being able to travel to the neighbouring cities to visit family members like grandparents and cousins. How businesses and store owners can continue to operate and provide caring services without the threat of face-tattooed gang members stopping by to collect their monthly dues. Words like kidnapping, rape and homicide was in the daily vocabulary but now it is only spoken when remembering harsh realities of the past.

Our guide also mentioned on a few occasions how amazing the young President has been for their overall quality of life, however it was also mentioned how the lower levels of government still have some gremlins lurking in the shadows. The town services like roads, sidewalks, public buildings and markets seem to be in need of repair with no work getting started, and it is unclear where their tax payers money is going.

As you walk down the streets during the day and after the sun has set you see Santa Ana families with young children enjoying their parks, vendors and restaurants. The military and police force still have a strong presence as you observe them patrolling the streets, six abreast, dressed in full combat gear complete with automatic weapons. Seeing this represents a symbol of peace now rather than mass corruption like the decades of the past. With President Bukele being recently re-elected for another term, the local residents are beaming with joy to see where their city, country and way of life will progress in the future.

For us now, Santa Ana is an amazing home base for day trips to the surrounding attractions. Some of the not-to-be missed day trips are the Santa Ana Volcano hike, the seven waterfalls tour and the Salto de Malacatiupan where you can swim, jump and relax in a full hot spring river.

If you are planning a trip to El Salvador then I would highly recommend staying here. Their public bus system is amazing, and inexpensive at that. But just so you know what you are getting into, you will be riding in a non-airconditioned old school bus. And don’t worry if you forget to pack snacks, as you will always be able to buy something along the way.