Our trip goes back to the ocean. In only a few hours we make it from the volcano to sea level and reach “El Tunco”.
It’s a touristy village. Not because the village is beautiful, because the waves are perfect for surfing. We don’t surf but we enjoy the beach although it’s not perfect for swimming it’s nice too cool down.
In the morning and afternoon we can watch the surfers who are really fancy 😉
We don’t camp in El Tunco directly because it’s a party village and way too full and loud for us. Especially at the weekends.
As this place has so many hotels we get the idea of making a video here, too. We ask each hotel and an hour later we have a deal with a nice resort. We film for a week and the KAYU Resort has a pretty nice promotion video now:
At work. Dora always stays close. No! Always looks for shade 😉
We drive to the “Parque Natural Cerro Verde” on 2.000 meters. There’s a fresh and cool breeze as well as a huge parking space to camp. We enjoy the “cold” temperature.
Together with another travel group of about 9 people, Dora and I climb up to Volcano Santa Ana while Jan stays in bed with a cold. The tour is really save as two police men from the tourist police always join the group. The hike up and down takes 4 hours and is (except for the last part back to the camp which are only stairs) really nice. Dora does very well and manages the whole trail perfectly. After the trip she was dog-tired – in the truest sense of the word 😉
The park does not prohibit dogs at all and Dora was fine without leash all the time.
We leave Monterrico. After a long time in Guatemala we will now cross the border to El Salvador.
Our first km back to Antigua are not overland as usual, it’s on water with an exciting “ferry” crossing the mangroves. You can see the pictures and know why I think it’s exciting 😉
I did not only think that we might sink, I also wasn’t sure if our captain knows how to steer as he always headed directly towards oncoming boats. After 20 minutes we reached the other side of the river and got back to normal streets which i really appreciated.
As we reached the border in Guatemala some pushy “helpers” were already awaiting us. While Jan waited in the car, I handled the paperwork and departure. It went really smooth and 20 minutes later we were in El Salvador.
Sticker number 7 for El Salvador
Here, it took us 2 hours which is still ok for central america. Bringing Dora was not a problem at all. We only showed her vaccination pass and were ready to leave. We did not have to pay anything.
Our first destination in El Salvador are the “Termales Santa Teresa”, which are natural hot springs. The Resort ist really nice and has many pools to swim or relax. The temperatures in the pools are different, you can find really hot pools or some to cool down.
We’ve directly had the idea to take a video here, too. The manager was enthusiastic and liked the idea, especially the drone flight.
That’s why we stayed here for a week and took this video:
One day we needed to say goodbye to Linda cause we can’t spend the rest of our travel time in Antigua. (Information about the visa extension at the bottom)
A little sad to leave this place, we headed towards the ocean. Our destination was Monterrico where we stayed at Johnny’s place Hotel for a week. Usually we do not stay in hotels but this time Jan had a job offer here. He has to film the hotel to make a promotion video for this nice place. Dora and me enjoyed beach life while Jan had to work 😉 What we also enjoyed was the hotel room and restaurant as the accommodation as well as food and drink was our payment.
If somebody will visit Guatemala / Monterrico one day, we can absolutely recommend Johnny’s place. Watch the video and you know why.
Besides filming Jan flew a lot. Sometimes twice a day and had a lot of fun. One flight was amazing as he saw two wales. The pic shows them but very little – it was saver to fly high above the water in case the engine would have had stopped working.
Dora – who else?
Dora had her first beach experience, we usually walked in the mornings as daytime was much too hot. She liked it and had to learn how to behave when she passed other beach dog areas 😉 She is really good and knows what to do. But, she is not a real beach dog. She hates water. Especially the waves. Well, she is still little and those waves are strong.
Huge!
U wanna come a little closer?
Wow, she is very brave – so close to the waves
Sit for the pic, pleeease
Mangroves behind the hotel
Beach flight
Beach flight
Does he look happy?
Can u see the wale?
Chillem am Strand
Oh yes, we’ve had a flat tire…
…that’s why.
P.S: Extension of Visa & Car Import papers of the CA4 countries.
The extension IS possible. As well as for car and yourself.
First you need to extend the tourist visa at Immigration Office Extranjeria in Zone 4. Direccion General de Inmigracion (Extranjeria), Avenida 6, 3-11, Opening hours: monday – friday (not on holidays) 8:30am-4:30pm
In the Office go to the 1. level to window number 1
Tell that you want to extent your tourist visa and you will receive a form which you have to fill out. Also you receive a “number paper” which tells you when it’s your turn.
The actual number is shown on a display in the waiting area. Waiting took us the longest.
As soon as your number is shown on the display, you need the form, your original passport, a passport photo, two copies of your passport (the page with the picture), a copy of cour credit card (front and back side) or a departure airline ticket as well as 115,- Q per person. You pay only when you pick up the documents which is 5 working days later. Then, you can directly go to window number 2.
To extent the import papers for your car you have to show your car to the SAT office at the airport (GPS: N14 35.056 W90 31.829). You need your original import papers, the passport of the vehicle owner and your new tourist visa. The process took us 30minutes and we did not need to pay anything.
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