Three Generations in El Salvador

Crossing the Bar

After 4 days and 5 nights at sea, including one nasty thunderstorm, Dave and I dropped Synchronicity’s anchor safely outside Bahia del Sol, El Salvador.

The ocean bar into Bahia del Sol must be timed and is notorious for big surfing waves. You can only cross the bar with a pilot.

A week prior to our arrival we emailed Bill and Jean, residents and former cruisers who live in Bahia del Sol, and they told us exactly what time it would be safe to cross the bar into Bahia del Sol.  If you’re planning to cross the bar, you can email Bill here in advance.  He will ask you for the following information: Where you are coming from; number of people onboard; pets; boat length and depth you draw; boat type; if you drink adult beverages; if you have inReach or another way to track your location; citizenship; if you can receive emails.

Bill charts the surf each day and is an amazing information source for the crossings. At 75, Bill still rides with the pilot in his panga and over the VHF radio guides you in (and out) across the bar. A few days before your expected arrival, Bill will ask you to email again to confirm your arrival time. At that time, Bill will let you know when is the best time to cross the bar. If the tides, waves and swell are too big, the bar will be closed. There were three boats crossing into Bahia del Sol when we were crossing. Boats go in one at a time under Bill’s guidance.

In preparation for the bar crossing we closed all the hatches, put in the drop boards and harnessed up. As we crossed the bar there were surf waves behind and beside us. Dave found it exhilarating; I found it quite unnerving. Following Bill’s exact instructions, we lined ourselves up and safely made the crossing. Phew!

Top Left: Celebrating our safe arrival to Bahía del Sol Marina, El  Salvador; Bottom Left: Marina pool; Right: Dave enjoying hospitality at Bill and Jean’s place

If you stay at the Bahia del Sol Marina for a week, the pilot costs $50 USD for the two-way crossing. If you don’t stay at the marina, you pay $50 USD each way for the pilot to cross. We opted for the Bahia del Sol Marina. We were greeted with cold drinks from the hotel associated with the marina. The marina has a restaurant, bar and pool, along with a simple hotel. We hooked up to power. Water was not potable. There are some basic showers but we opted to put the hose down into our head to shower on our own boat. A weekly fee of $15 gives you access to the pool as well as a 30% discount on the marina/hotel food.

Bill and Jean look after the cruisers nicely. When Dave had a crown tooth fall off during our sail, Bill recommended a dentist in Zacatecoluca who, for $45 USD, fixed his crown and gave him a check-up. They also have mooring balls for $150/month.

Socials are also organized by Bill and Jean. We had the opportunity to see their place on the island right next to the marina and share stories with other cruisers. We came away with a large bag of bananas from their amazing garden.

Bill and Jean were incredibly helpful. Through Bill’s contacts we had the boat bottom cleaned for $40 USD, propane filled and fuel delivered. On Saturdays they organize a papusa night – the local El Salvador food.

Family Reunion

El Salvador is where our family celebrated three generations of sailors. For a year we had planned to meet up with our daughter Leah, her husband Jon and their son Zephyr who sailed Brio II, a Sabre 42, to El Salvador from the Bahamas.

Left: Zephyr’s 5th birthday; Right: Synchronicity, Do the Thing, and Brio II

We had promised we would celebrate our grandson’s 5th birthday with Leah and family. Seeing our two boats together gave me a great sense of pride. Sadly, we only had one short day with the whole family before Jon and crew set sail to bring Brio II home to Vancouver, BC. However, Leah and Zephyr stayed with us on Synchronicity for 9 days before they departed back to Vancouver. We had lots of fun in the pool with Zephyr and then did a side trip to Santa Ana.

Santa Ana Road Trip

Santa Ana Cathedral ( Catedral de Santa Ana) lit up at night in Santa Ana

Leah, Dave, Zephyr and I rented a car (which was dropped off at the marina) for the two-day inland trip to Santa Ana. We hiked up a taxing two-hour trail to see the volcano and its crater. Five year old Zephyr hiked in crocs and never complained once. I dragged my butt up at the rear. Leah, pregnant and wearing flipflops, was in the middle. At the top we were able to buy ice cream and bottled water. We couldn’t believe that there were no barricades around the volcano. The volcano was a beautiful sky blue.

Left: Our daughter Leah & our grandson Zephyr in front of Santa Ana Cathedral; Centre: Leah and Zephyr, being troopers, hiking up the volcano trail; Right: at Ilamatepec Volcano, elevation 2381 m

During our car rental, the car’s plastic front bumper fell apart. We were concerned we would have to pay for repairs. The rental people neglected to pick up the car on the arranged day. They still didn’t pick it up when we told them we were back. Finally, an hour before we were scheduled to depart the dock (to time the bar safely), the rental people arrived. Fortunately they just waved off the damage and we timed the bar crossing fine.

Top Left: a Bahia del Sol Marina local; Bottom Left: Views along our road trip; Top Right: Beautiful El Salvador flowers near the marina; Bottom Right: Roadside paintings on our Santa Ana trip

Prior to leaving, we enjoyed a cruiser get together at a stilt restaurant situated over the water, where everyone enjoyed the fresh fish. To get into the restaurant required a scramble up a little rickety log ladder. The bathroom was simply an outhouse that had a hole directly through to the ocean. It was that, or some folks just waded out in their bathing suits.  I chose the outhouse.

Fruit and veggie stands along the road nearby were cheap, and we tried out a roadside pupusa stand for dinner one night.

Enjoying roadside pupusas

Overall, El Salvador was reasonably priced, with beautiful scenery and friendly people. The officials all came to the boat for the checking in and out. Note that they wanted US cash for the fees.

We are grateful to Bill and Jean for all of their assistance. They work tirelessly to help out fellow cruisers. A big shout out to them.

Side note: Our daughter Leah and son-in-law Jon brought their first boat Brio here approximately 10 years prior. Full circle. What a moment for us to meet up with the family and their boat.

Left: Our AirBnB courtyard in Santa Ana, El Salvador; Right: Leah relaxing in Santa Ana