Living near the San Vicente Volcano

I lived my childhood years in the Jiboa Valley near the San Vicente volcano and I loved it!

San Vicente El Salvador is such a picturesque city where you can still see vestiges of Spanish influence.

Yes, it’s true, it’s a smaller city and you won’t find the modern shopping centers or high rises you see in San Salvador… but that is what makes it more enjoyable and unique!

I remember having the San Vicente volcano always there in the background, it’s such an impressive volcano. It's not the tallest volcano in El Salvador, but it is a beautiful one.

To this day, going to Amapulapa is one of my favourite places to visit in San Vicente El Salvador. Amapulapa is an outdoor aquatic park with 2 large swimming pools and 2 smaller ones and are all fed from natural springs. Here is a picture of the "olimpica" swimming pool.

We just love going to Amapulapa, I’m not much of a swimmer but the natural setting of the park is so inviting and relaxing, it feels like an oasis – especially in the hot summer days!

So while the kids are playing in the water, we would just hang (literally) on our hammocks! Just relaxing, with a nice cold drink in our hands – if you’ve been to Amapulapa you know it’s the best!

When we lived in San Vicente El Salvador, we would bring food for a BBQ but when we didn’t feel like cooking, we would just go to one of the eateries there and enjoy an nice hot meal – without having to do the work!

Another great place to visit is Chinchontepeq - the San Vicente volcano.

I never had the chance to hike the volcano (it was not a “smart” thing to do during the war years) but I will definitely give it a try next time I go to San Vicente El Salvador.

Especially now that they just opened a new park in the village of Guadalupe which is basically at the base of the San Vicente volcano.

This new park is called “Parque Los Infiernillos” which are the hot springs from the volcano.

It sounds like an awesome place to visit with a hot springs pool, a mixed water pool, concessions stands, a restaurant and all the good stuff you can imagine.

So it is on my list of “must go” places for my next trip! It must be so relaxing bathing in these thermal waters - talk about eco-tourism!

Laguna de Apastepeque (Apastepeque Lagoon) is also worth a visit. This lagoon was actually created by a volcanic eruption and is about 35m deep in the center.

Laguna de Apastepeque is located about 15km east of San Vicente along the Panamerican Hwy and it belongs to the village of Apastepeque.

The park is just beautiful with such peaceful surroundings. You can do a little swimming on the lagoon or the swimming pool - whatever you prefer.

We’ve done some hiking along the trails where you can see many beautiful tropical plants and some really, really old trees.

What’s my favourite part of going to Laguna de Apastepeque? Sitting on a patio chair under the shade of a large tree, just taking in the scenery and enjoying a nice cold beer – talk about relaxing!

Unfortunately, it was badly damaged by the 2001 earthquakes but the repairs are now almost complete.

La Torre de San Vicente dates back to the 1700’s and was built by Spanish settlers in the city – so it really had no chance against those strong tremors.

As you come in to the city past the “Acahuapa” river bridge, you can see the Torre de San Vicente in the central plaza.

The central plaza is closed off right now due to the work being done on the tower. So climbing to the top is not possible right now, but it will soon open again – it sure is a nice view from the top!

In fact, you can also see the Torre de San Vicente as well as the San Vicente volcano as you approach the city from the highway driving down to the bottom of the Jiboa Valley – it’s an impressive sight!

San Vicente El Salvador is such a beautiful colonial style city where you can actually slow down and enjoy life at a much slower pace.

San Vicente is about 1 hour east of San Salvador on the Panamerican Hwy.

So why not give San Vicente El Salvador a try when visiting the country. And if you do, don’t forget to try the famous meat and tortillas (tortillas con carne) sold at the Hwy detour – what a treat!

Oh, and did I mention that San Vicente really knows how to throw a party? Yes, it’s true; some of the best Salvadorean music bands like Hermanos Flores, La Jiboa, La San Vicente and La Canela are all from San Vicente.

So what can you do in San Vicente? Just about everything you want, eat, drink, swim, hike and dance… so have fun exploring the great city of San Vicente!