So, Canadians CAN Freeze in the Tropics?!
Why we missed the cold…until we were FREEZING on the mountain!
Hola, amigos 😊
How is life?
It’s been one of the busiest times of year in El Salvador this past week, with Semana Santa (Holy Week) and everyone on vacation, spending time with family and friends down at the beach.
My oldest daughter and I went to the Bitcoin Farmers Market in El Zonte recently and met some amazing people! A few of them even joined “y’all” as readers of this blog. Shoutout to my new friends and readers!
Thanks for coming along for the ride 😃
As promised, I want to tell you guys about our crazy adventure up to the highest point—2,730 meters up—in El Salvador…El Pital (pee-TAL). For those of you who don’t do meters, that’s 8,957 feet!
Ever since we left Canada 2.5 years ago, our girls have been telling us how much they miss the cold weather and the snow. Tom and I also miss feeling cold, especially when we’re roasting during the hottest part of the day here! When you’re always hot, it’s hard NOT to miss wearing jeans and a hoodie. Air conditioning is something we try not to take for granted—it’s such a huge blessing in the heat!
Yeah, we missed being cold…until we almost FROZE up there…WAY up there!
Tom’s parents were here visiting for a few weeks in March, so we squeezed all 7 of us into a 4x4 pickup one Friday morning, and drove for about 4 hours to the country’s northern border. The day was hot, and we needed to stretch, so we stopped briefly for ice cream in a little town along the way. The girls noticed there were some baby chicks for sale across the road, so we HAD to go and hold them—so adorable! We wanted to buy some, but hopefully by this time next year we’ll actually have a place to put them!
It was neat to be driving through some of the countryside we hadn’t seen before. As we started the incline, we drove past a few fruit vendors, so we stopped and bought a pineapple, some mandarins, apples, a cantaloupe, and bananas—all for $11!
We stopped again after awhile, made a few sandwiches, and bought some refreshing drinks, before the final leg of our journey.
Soon we came across a sign that said in Spanish, “Only 4x4’s from this point on for 5 km” so we put our truck into “4 Low” and kept going, up the steep, rugged road. The road soon became incredibly narrow, and we noticed that on-coming vehicles would honk when approaching on a blind corner.
Finally, we were getting close to our destination. And the road was suddenly getting EXTREMELY rough! Tom’s mom, the girls, and I got out and decided to walk the last bit. It felt like it would be easier, looking up at the narrow road with those huge rocks jutting up from it and surrounding it. Sure enough, Tom and his dad said it was “insane” getting through one particular point—the road was so narrow! Tom had the truck almost hugging the side of the mountain which had a giant boulder sticking out—while hoping not to scrape the truck on it…all the while also praying he wouldn’t slide off the cliff with the opposite side of the truck!
We finally arrived at our “mountain resort” which consisted of several cute little “cabañas” surrounded by lots of huge pines and other trees, and flowering bushes…and best of all, the breath-taking views of what looked like a “sea of mountains.” The name of the place we stayed is Los Alpes and it is so fitting—it reminded me of being in the Alps Mountains in Switzerland years ago, with the view of a sea of mountains. Of course they’re not quite as tall here, and half of them are volcanoes!
A caretaker named Jaime (“Hi-may”) came out and greeted us, and showed us around. He led us to our cute little A-frame cabaña, which had 2 double beds downstairs next to a small bathroom (with an icy cold shower), and 2 more beds upstairs. I noticed there were warm blankets on all the beds and extra thick blankets next to them…and I wondered how cold it would get. With no heat inside the buildings and not even hot water, we’d have to bundle up!
Jaime explained to us that a lady named Esther would be cooking our meals for us, whenever we’d like them, and sent us the simple menu. The girls were excited to try her pancakes the next morning.
Walking around, we quickly discovered the super fun swings that hang from tree branches from about 30 feet up. You get on the swing on the uphill slope, and then swing WAY out over the ground below…it’s like floating, when you’re 15 feet above the ground!
In the evenings, the mountain air started to cool way down, and around 6pm, Jaime would make a big bonfire for us to sit around and warm ourselves. The girls went back to the cabin, and kept themselves busy, playing games and reading books they’d brought along. We heard some high-pitched noises in the trees, and asked what creatures were making them. Jaime told us those are little animals called mullos (“moo-yos”) that look a lot like a cross between a raccoon and a possum, and they’re nocturnal. Their noises filled the air as we sat by the fire in the evenings.
Before dinner, as the air cooled down, I put on ALL of my warm clothes—wool socks, leggings under my jeans, a long sleeve and a warm hoodie under my winter jacket, and of course my toque—if you’re not Canadian, that’s a warm hat. Let’s just say, it was pretty cold out! I slept upstairs with the girls, and kept double layers on all night! It got down to around 8 Celsius.
Saturday morning, Tom and I got up at 6, watched the breath-taking sunrise, and then read for a bit, while we tried to patiently wait for Esther to have our coffee ready at 7:30.
We then enjoyed a huge breakfast of fried eggs, refried beans, plantain, and more coffee. For the girls it was a big stack of pancakes with orange juice.
The morning air warmed quickly as the sun rose higher. It was nice and sunny all day, and Tom took his parents and two of the girls up to explore a camping resort near the top of El Pital, which had a little strawberry farm, restaurants, and cabins nearby. I stayed back with one of our girls who wasn’t feeling well. They came back after a few hours with some delicious mountain strawberries and blackberries—mmmm! Incredible that they can grow those at 2,700 meters here!
The rest of our afternoon was spent relaxing and exploring around the amazing property. Sunday morning we got up at 6:30 to go enjoy the view and read, but it was cloudy, and SO much colder—the icy-cold wind felt like it was chilling us right to the bones! Tom and I went back and sat in front of the cabin, which acted as a buffer from the wind. We could hardly wait for our coffees!! The only way to FINALLY warm my hands was to wrap them around my coffee mug that morning. We were still bundled up, even after our warm breakfasts and hot drinks. The wind wasn’t letting up. Finally, around 10, the sun started to break through, and warm things up a bit, but not like the day before.
Jaime took us on a hike that morning, up to where there is a huge meteor rock. He said part of the giant rock is in Honduras. And because the jungle (“la selva”) is so thick there, no one can walk through it, so there is no border control. We hiked right through the part of the rock where it had split open, and up the ladder they had put on the opposite side.
We then kept hiking over to a beautiful view point. The sunny air up there was a bit warmer, and we all sat on a big rock and took in the amazing views from up there…until the clouds began to roll back in…
Monday morning was even more icy cold, with the mist from the clouds sprinkling on us. One of our girls—even though she’d thoroughly enjoyed her time on the mountain, said, “I don’t EVER want to come back here!” while freezing in the cold wind.
After breakfast the girls took one last swing on those magical “floating swings.”Then, we packed the truck up quickly and started our journey back down the big mountain. Within less than an hour, we were all warm again, and needed to peel off our layers.
Who knew we could drive 4 hours in this hot tropical country and go to a place where we’d freeze?! What a weekend! We were all glad it had been warm for us on Saturday…but I think we were also reminded that being too cold is almost as overrated as being too hot—haha!!
El Pital is an incredible place, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to explore more areas in El Salvador…and has a 4x4.
Hope you enjoyed the virtual trip 2,730 meters up the mountain with us!
Happy be-lated Easter, amigos!
I hope you all had a blessed time over Easter, and know the hope that comes with Resurrection Day!💖
Thanks for reading!
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Loved reading about your adventure. ❤️
Great experiences and photos. Thanks for describing so well and taking us along!