Port Acajutla, Cerro Verde and Joya de Ceren, Republic of El Salvador
El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. The presence of many active volcanoes, have blessed this nation with the rich soil which allowed important civilizations such as the Maya to settle and flourish since the dawn of time.
This morning we were greeted by our Salvadoran hosts in the port of Acajutla and we drove to Cerro Verde, one of the few natural reserves in the country. Cerro Verde is about 6,000 feet above sea level from there we were able to see the crater of Izalco Volcano and the spectacular sight of Lake Coatepeque. Then we hiked through the trails of the cloud forest with its clean and fresh air. Oak trees covered with epiphytes and vines were a nice treat and a change after visiting so many tropical dry forests and mangroves in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
From Cerro Verde we descended to the lowlands where we visited Joya de Ceren, “the Pompeii of the New World.” Joya de Ceren is the only archeological site in Central America where we can see how the common Maya lived. This village was destroyed by a volcanic eruption around the year 600 A.D. The sudden volcanic eruption which covered the village with hot volcanic ashes barely gave time to its inhabitants to escape (up to now, no human remains have been found in the site). Thanks to this unfortunate event for the Maya, archaeologists from the University of Colorado have been able since 1975 (when the site was accidentally discovered) to reconstruct the daily life of the Maya civilization. For a while we were able to sneak into this most fascinating civilization and with the help of our guides transport ourselves in time and see these ordinary people eating, sleeping, cooking, planting and bathing in their homes. A grand finale to a trip which took us to discover Central America… so small and yet so great!
El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. The presence of many active volcanoes, have blessed this nation with the rich soil which allowed important civilizations such as the Maya to settle and flourish since the dawn of time.
This morning we were greeted by our Salvadoran hosts in the port of Acajutla and we drove to Cerro Verde, one of the few natural reserves in the country. Cerro Verde is about 6,000 feet above sea level from there we were able to see the crater of Izalco Volcano and the spectacular sight of Lake Coatepeque. Then we hiked through the trails of the cloud forest with its clean and fresh air. Oak trees covered with epiphytes and vines were a nice treat and a change after visiting so many tropical dry forests and mangroves in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
From Cerro Verde we descended to the lowlands where we visited Joya de Ceren, “the Pompeii of the New World.” Joya de Ceren is the only archeological site in Central America where we can see how the common Maya lived. This village was destroyed by a volcanic eruption around the year 600 A.D. The sudden volcanic eruption which covered the village with hot volcanic ashes barely gave time to its inhabitants to escape (up to now, no human remains have been found in the site). Thanks to this unfortunate event for the Maya, archaeologists from the University of Colorado have been able since 1975 (when the site was accidentally discovered) to reconstruct the daily life of the Maya civilization. For a while we were able to sneak into this most fascinating civilization and with the help of our guides transport ourselves in time and see these ordinary people eating, sleeping, cooking, planting and bathing in their homes. A grand finale to a trip which took us to discover Central America… so small and yet so great!
