Rum Tour at Flor de Cana

I am a big fan of rum, but had never visited a rum factory before. When I heard that Flor de Cana has the best rum in Central America and runs a tour daily (with the exception of Monday), it made it to my list of "to do" in Leon. 

There are tours that run to the factory, but they are super overpriced at USD40/head, of which half of that amount is used to cover transportation. 

Latina Hostel suggested that I can make my way on my own, costing just a couple USD for a return bus trip.  This was the instruction sheet I received from them. Super basic! 

Telica

The drive to Telica was a very bumpy 1.5hr ride, as we drove through the countryside with rush hour traffic (aka cows, see picture). 

There was only 1 other lady who joined the Telica Sunset Tour, and even when we arrived at Telica, we were the only vehicle at the foot of the Volcano.

Cock Fighting

I was the only person whom had signed up for the cock fighting tour offered by my hostel, and so my guide Ronny picked me up and we made our way to a village (Col. Eugenio Perez) about 15 minutes outside of Leon on a motorbike. 

We arrived in a small crowded compound, mostly filled with men. At the entrance was a betting table, surrounded by men shouting. 



Seeing that I was the only tourist, carrying a camera around trying to get a good shot of whatever they are doing, they made way for me. 

On the table was a big circle with a lot of red and black dots, and a small funnel like thing in the centre.  Ronnie explained to me that they throw a ball  through the funnel and the winner will be whoever that had bet on where the ball lands. 

From what I gathered, it seemed to work in a similar fashion as roulette in the casinos.

Volcano Boarding

Cerro Negro, located in Leon, Nicaragua, is the only place in the world where Volcano Boarding can be done.  This was the main reason why Leon was a stop on my travels.

There are usually 2 daily departures, 8am and 2pm.  I was keen to do the cock fighting tour organized by the hostel later in the evening, and thus opted for the 8am Volcano Boarding trip.

At 8.30am, I was picked up in a 4x4 and we made our way to Cerro Negro, located about 1hr drive from Leon. 

It was a much smaller group than I expected, with just another French couple and I.

Arriving in front of a black hill, made up of ashes and gravel – This is Cerro Negro, which also literally means Black Hill. 

Day 80 : Border Crossings – El Salvador to Nicaragua

After a few nights of just chilling and doing nothing in El Tunco, it’s time to make my way down south. 

I dreaded getting on the shuttle, particularly since our legs would be crammed in an uncomfortable position for a full 10 hours.  Just wish they could had made the spacing between seats wider for a more comfortable ride. 

I suppose it does beat taking the chicken bus and crossing 3 countries’ immigration.  I would definitely hate it more having to load and unload my bags, changing buses at each immigration checkpoint, and queuing to get my passports checked. 

With the shuttle, everything was taken care of by the driver, a total peace of mind, and definitely worth the USD30. 

Cost breakdown

• Shuttle from El Tunco, El Salvador – Leon, Nicaragua : USD 30
• Honduras Entry Fee : USD 3
• Honduras Exit Fee : USD 1
• Nicaragua Entry Fee : USD 12

Day 76 – 79 : El Tunco, El Salvador

 

Journey to El Tunco

The original plan was to travel from Antigua to La Tortuga Verde on El Cuco Beach, but the direct connection via Gekkotours were no longer available. 

Taking the shuttle, I made my way to El Tunco beach, which cost GTQ 148 (USD20) and took 6 hrs, including the border crossing at Guatemala and El Salvador.

Hostel Recommendation : Tunco Lodge

Originally intending to stay only 2 nights at Tunco Lodge, the hostel became my home for 4 nights. 

I wasn't sure if it was tiredness that had built up or just the very chill nature of the hostel and the beach, but I had the best 4 consecutive nights sleep I ever had on my trip.

Definitely recommend anyone visiting El Tunco to stay in Tunco Lodge and opt for an aircon room. 

Comfortable firm mattresses and pillow, perfect size pool, food at in-house restaurant is also surprisingly good and reasonably priced. 

The wifi is also super fast, probably one of the fastest I had on my trip.

It is located 2 minutes away from the beach.

Price wise, I paid USD10/night for a bed in an aircon dorm, which slept 5.

Tunco Lodge

email : tuncolodge@gmail.com

Phone : +503 2389 6318 or +503 7857 5733.

Address : Km. 42, Playa El Tunco, Tamanique, La Libertad, El Salvador, C.A.

Biggest Festival of the Year @ La Libertad

We caught wind of a big party, and according to one of the locals in El Tunco, this is said to be the biggest festival in the entire world!

Held at La Libertad, located about 20mins from El Tunco, one of the locals had arranged a couple of shuttles to facilitate transportation to the site starting from 9.30pm.

On arrival in La Libertad, one of the main road was closed off from traffic.  It was full of people, and lined with make shift food stores, interjected with stages and live band at a few different sections of the road.

Day 75 : Antigua

Antigua is my most favourite town in Guatemala.  The city is really beautiful, and somewhat reminded me of San Cristobal de las Casas, with its numerous cafes and boutique stores housed in quaint little shop houses.

Not so great for walking, with its cobbled stone roads.

Day 74 : Chichicastenango Market

Chichicastenango market operates every Thursday and Sunday.  There is a shuttle option that facilitates the connection between Panajachel Antigua and via Chichicastenango market, which was ideal for me, as I needed to make my way to Antigua and was also keen to see the market, as it is said to be the largest in Central America. Killing 2 birds with 1 stone!

The cost of the shuttle varied between GTQ130 to GTQ150, and I went with Eternal Tours, located on the main street of Panajachel.

Strongly recommend the company, as the staff Felix who sold the ticket was very detailed and honest.  The vehicle used for the trip was also fairly new and the driver was efficient in taking shortcuts to avoid traffic. 

Departing at 8am, we arrived at Chichicastenango at about 9.30am. The market was certainly huge, and at the beginning I had a systematic way of covering the area, but soon got lost after a while.

There were a lot of people visiting, both locals and non-locals, and with many different stores.  However for someone travelling for more than 4 months, I couldn't really buy anything, so after a while, the merchandises started looking the same. 

Day 71 – 73 : Lake Atitlan

One of the key destinations in Guatemala is Lake Atitlan, a huge lake with a surface area of 130.1 square kilometres.  It has a scenic backdrop of a couple of majestic volcanoes (Volcan Toliman & Volcan Atitlan). 

I made the town of Panajachel my base at Lake Atitlan, primarily for its ease of access, and took day trips to visit the numerous villages around the lake. 

Panajachel is known as the tourist town, and the main port of call for most visitors before getting on the boat to the villages.  It's also the largest town on the lake and constantly bustling with activity, and has one of the best views of the volcanoes.