Santa Ana
Santa Ana begins with first impressions and expands into the Ruta de las Flores, Maya ruins, volcanic landscapes and the notoriously demanding Trail of the Seven Waterfalls.
Part I · 2022
El Salvador
El Salvador · October - November 2022
Small country. Enormous momentum.
The route begins among the volcanoes and coffee highlands of Santa Ana, pauses in the capital and finishes beside the Pacific at El Tunco.
After Guatemala’s sweeping geography, El Salvador compresses the pace: waterfalls, city streets and surf arrive quickly, while the people met along the way begin to matter as much as the places themselves.
3Stages across El Salvador
14Days on the route
77 kmWalked through the chapter
277 kmTravelled across the country
Before the diary
About El Salvador.
Begin with the country itself - its land, people and history - before following the journal from the western highlands to the Pacific coast.
Read Chapter I.IV
Three stages from volcano to surf.
Each card follows one stage of the El Salvador route, with its journal entries kept in chronological order.
After El Salvador
Three months and four countries into the journey, El Salvador leaves behind friendship, greater confidence and the fulfilment of a childhood dream on the Pacific waves.
Dios, Unión, LibertadNational motto of El Salvador
God, Union, Liberty
What El Salvador becomes
Confidence through connection.
The country becomes a turning point where companionship, risk and long-held dreams reshape how the journey moves forward.
The complete gap-year journal
El Salvador raises the bar.
Continue through Central America, South America, Antarctica and the long route back home in the complete Reflections of a Roving Doctor collection.
The road turns towards the Caribbean.
El Salvador ends beside the Pacific. The next chapter crosses into Honduras for Maya ruins, Caribbean islands and the journey’s longest stay in one place.
Continue with Honduras.