Isla La Tortuga > El Salvador > Americas
[Visited: January 2026]
- At the end of my third visit of El Salvador, I decide to head towards the east. Most sights of this undervalued country are in the west, but there is more to see further down the road. Unfortunately, I don't have time to climb San Miguel volcano, which will have to wait for my fourth visit. As I drive almost straight east on an early morning, I see other volcanoes on my left and further down towards the sun, which is still hanging low in the sky, After Zacatecoluca, the road becomes narrow and has some repairs done, slowing me down. I turn right st Jiquilisco, where an even quieter road takes me to Puerto El Triunfo.
- This was my goal of the day. I park, walk a short distance to the boardwalk, and it doesn't take long before I'm approached by an El Salvadorean. His lisping Spanish is not always easy to understand, but he understands what I am looking for, and proposes several options. I am very short of time, and we settle for the one hour excursion, around Isla La Tortuga which lies close to port. We walk the jetty, and are on our way before I know it. We pass a floating restaurant, and when I turn around, I see a string of volcanoes defining the horizon. The sky is a perfect blue, and the panorama is magnificent.
- It doesn't take long before we are close to the mangroves of Isla La Tortuga. The tide is falling, and I can see the roots of the mangroves sticking out of the water. A little further east, as we round the far side of the island, we see several small boats and fishermen walking in the sea: it is really shallow here. Pelicans dot the trees, and there are egrets, herons, and many other birds, too. We now follow the southern coastline of the island, and see always more birds. We come close to pelicans, and I now miss the longer lens for better pictures. We see a hut on stilts on the water, and my skipper explains that fishermen come to live here when they are on longer missions, The hut is empty now. Around the corner, the volcanoes come into sight again, and then I see a row of fishing boats. We are getting close to port, and the exciting tour is about to end. My new friend begs me to take the longer tour next time: there are beautiful beaches nearby, and he can offer an entire day trip to remote islands and beaches. It will have to wait: I am about to embark on a long journey home where snow awaits me.
