Monday, December 24, 2012

Ruta de las Flores - El Salvador

If a sight is not mentioned in an older guidebook, then it's probably not worth seeing, right? So when we set off from Santa Ana for the only recently touted Ruta de las Flores (Route of the Flowers) we were not sure what to expect. The Ruta is described as a stretch of road, 36 kms long, linking quaint villages with scenic views of volcanoes, coffee fields, and flowers.

Since we are traveling by bus (not car), we parked ourselves in Ataco, and day-tripped one day to Apaneca, and another to Juayua (why-you-a).

Turned out to be a great choice to make Ataco our home, as it has many of the things we like in a town: a family-run hotel in a old building, a local market, a pleasant town square, drinkable tap water, street food, good transportation, nearby day hikes, a mirador, great weather, reasonable car traffic, and locals enjoying themselves. It does not have a river (or lake), sights, or lots of great architecture, but it does have murals.

In cool (~4500 ft elev) Apaneca, we hiked up to Laguna Verde, returned, and enjoyed a great lunch at the market.

Juayua was hot, and busy, and since we didn't hit it on the weekend food fair, a bit dull.

Ataco as seen from the mirador.
Ataco, El Salvador

The church in Ataco. [Bonus points for spotting a person in this photo.]
Ataco, El Salvador

Our favorite "bread lady" in Ataco. She carries that bread basket on her head all over town.
Bread Lady - Ataco, El Salvador

Papas with ketchup, hot sauce, and grated cheese from our fav papas vendor.
Papas - Ataco, El Salvador

A part of one of the many murals in Ataco.
Ataco, El Salvador

Sun-Ling and I having some Trompe L'oeil fun with a mural in Ataco.
Ataco, El Salvador

A mural in Apaneca.
Apaneca, El Salvador

Coffee fields "grid" the slopes around Apaneca.
Apaneca, El Salvador

Laguna Verde - Apaneca.
Laguna Verde - Apaneca, El Salvador

Vegetarian Lunch - Apaneca, El Savador
Lunch - Apaneca, El Salvador

Parque Central - Juayua.
Juayua, El Salvador

The church in Juayua is known for its Christo Negro image over the altar.
Juayua, El Salvador

And finally, our hotel room at Hotel Villa Santo Domingo in Ataco.
Antigua, Guatemala

2 comments:

Crash Eddy said...

I see a person on the left tower on a balcony under the cross.

john said...

Hmmm. I see a person on the middle tower standing on a ladder under the cross. Do we agree Ed?

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