Continuing on the much requested topic of places to visit in El Salvador, I want to point out a beach that has some different features than others we have seen here.
Playa El Flor Is A Very Interesting Beach.
The beach is a very shallow slope, It feels as though you could just keep walking and walking out into the ocean forever before the water has much depth, but the ground is a network of rocky mounds and unexpected holes, so visitors should wear water shoes, and step carefully. El Flor is unlike most of the other El Salvador beaches.
That the landscape is rocky and uneven sounds unpleasant. Looking out at the moonscape I was initially not all that interested in going out. But I had no idea about the advantages of these sink holes and jutting rocks!
First of all, if you take seawater and trap it for a few minutes, in El Salvador beaches what you end up with is:
A Saltwater Spa.
As we walked out, our friends started saying hello to these roundish rows of rocks. Oh wait! these were the neighbors heads. Plenty of lucky locals were spending the afternoon sitting in the warm and soothing tide pools. The sandy bottom is smooth and soft, and there is really only enough vegetation clinging to the rocks to remind you that you are not actually in a heated pool. The waves at low tide are pretty gentle and basically just push you around a little bit. Too awesome!
I highly recommend a trip to El Flor especially at low tide to experience the amazing naturally occurring saltwater spas that are formed by the rocky tide-pools. You could easily lounge for hours in them.
Someone told me that another great activity at El Flor is to come out at high tide, when the rocks are all submerged, and either snorkel or scuba dive. Though we didn’t happen to encounter fish on our trek through the pools, the beach is home to tropical fish, which inhabit the rocky network when the tide is high. Other regional sports include fishing from the beach, and believe it or not surfing at high tide. I would not do it, but I understand people do, and very few of them lose limbs. We saw many people fishing both for pleasure and for livelihood.
The approach to the beach is a fairly short trek on dirt roads through rural communities. I have grown accustomed to the dirt roads here being strung with jewels. In fact I have grown to like it. They look nothing like the beach approaches we are used to from California. (somehow much cooler)
El Flor is yet another minimally developed beach. I am not all that interested in development but what I wish I saw more of (I do say saw…because I may just not be seeing it) is public access points. When I invite friends here to go to the beach, I actually do not know how I will get them there, to enjoy it at length in a comfortable way, without imposing on landowning friends, which I am loath to do. I saw no way to get to the beach that did not involve walking through someone’s yard.
Public Beach Access Is NOT The Same Here
I’m starting to think that next time I feel like going to the beach and haven’t received an invitation, I’m just going to park somewhere and walk through whatever lot doesn’t have a locked gate. Chances are the homeowner isn’t there, and the caretakers might just be fishing.
I remember reading an excellent book, the ideas of which I did not completely embrace, but which I still regarded as both brilliant and significant. It addressed the idea of “the commons”, or areas shared in common, such as market squares (sometimes called commons). The idea of “commons” is expanded from common squares, to other shared resources that cannot really be “owned” in a natural feeling way. Water, air, earth, some argue oil should be in this category until pumped and processed, many believe the DNA for living things can not be owned (think Monsanto if you want to sprain your mind and be in a foul mood all day).
Some say natural treasures like beaches and lakes should be public.
Hold on, I do have a point.
The good old U.S.A is the champion of Capitalism, Self-ism and Private Ownership. The U.S.A. says “Hack down that tree and make a buck out of it if you’ve got an axe and strong arms!” But yet the U.S.A. treats most beaches and other natural treasures as commonly owned, at least emotionally. From what I have observed, El Salvador, a country with a leftist government (think Communist, as in Commune which sounds like Commons, as in not Privates) and many of the areas my capitalist instincts regard as common to everyone in the country, SEEM to be at minimum difficult for the public to access. Whether they are technically public or private I do not know. Whether they are technically anything does not matter IF technically you cannot access a beach or lake or park, in a manner most people would be comfortable enough to use.
I’m not mad, I’m just being dramatic to point out the irony. Unrestrained access can damage the resource, and without proper planning and a level of properly monitored and funded maintenance some locations could be overrun and loose their beauty. American style treatment of points of interest has it’s own problems.
I have to admit, that most of what I love about El Salvador is directly connected to the same things I seem to complain about.
When I talk about limited access there is an upside.
- First of all, you CAN get there, it’s just isn’t as easy or obvious. I’m just being a brat.
- Second it is worth the extra effort in part because it takes extra effort.
- Third, I am convinced that without funded maintenance, controls, and planning things can easily be ruined.
I have rambled enough. How do you think the beautiful places in El Salvador should be handled, or should they be handled at all? Discuss.
August 12, 2011 at 4:07 am
I've never heard of that beach before, sounds devine. Will definitely have to check it out if I ever leave Morazon
August 12, 2011 at 4:08 am
I have never heard of that beach before, sounds devine. Will definitely check it out if I ever leave Morazon.
August 12, 2011 at 5:20 am
I've never heard of this beach before, sounds beautiful. Definitely need to check it out if I ever leave Morazon. Out here pretty much all of the sites are open to the public, you just have to pay a parking fee. In some spots I swear we are paying some wise random local who got the idea to charge tourists to park on the public property close to his house. I gladly give him the buck for his ingenuity. But I have always felt, even in the US that beach property should be available to all. Who can lay claim to the ever changing ocean waters? Should it be trespassing if the tide pulls me down to the strip of beach in front of someones home? Maybe I'm a socialist.
August 12, 2011 at 10:02 am
Jennifer, If the guy has the motivation and energy to stand there and charge a fee I can see your point. Plus, he might keep your car from being broken into. I do not know if the beaches themselves are private. Instinct tells me the beaches are public, but most accesses in many areas are not, which may have the same net effect, kinda making some regions harder to share with visitors I'd like to share them with……without renting a house to do it.
August 12, 2011 at 12:04 pm
I visit the beach every year when my Salvadoran wife and I are on vacation to visit friends and family. We live in the Netherlands and take the time every year to travel to El Salvador. El Flor is by far my favorite beach.
There are a lot of pufferfish, eels, octopus.. the list continues. It makes for wonderful snorkling. Visibility is not ideal, especially when in rains. Sadly, much of the coral is dying. A wonderful place nonetheless.
My wife and I are looking to move to El Salvador. Your blog makes for wonderful reading. I am afraid to share the link with my wife. I wouldn't want her to get homesick
Keep up the good work!
Looking forward to your next post.
-Maarten
August 13, 2011 at 8:18 am
El Flor is one of those 'secret' spots few people know. Most of the Salvadorans I know haven't heard of that beach either. And it's one of the few beaches in E.S. that does't have dark grey sand.
The other being one part of the San Juan del Gozo Peninzula in Jiquilisco Bay – I can't confirm it though – I've haven't been there and it's a bit undeveloped. It looks a bit white-ish on the map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Jiquilisco,+Usuluta…
I *think* there's one public accessible area in El Flor. The address in Salvadoreño is: "If driving, when you finally reach the El Flor street (that runs parallel to the beach), instead of turning right where most of the houses are, turn left and drive until the road ends."
That's were I've seen the local tourism buses (excursiones) go. So I suppose there must be some kind of public access there.
I checked on Google Maps and there seems to be a road towards the beach, the road is shown on the satellite picture but it's unmarked on the map.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=decameron,+sonsonat…
The second option would be, to go on a weekday, and offer a tip to the maintenance family of a house that looks a bit forgotten by its owners hehe.
I did that once in Lago de Coatepeque and it worked, one day I wanted to show some friends the like. Perhaps I was just lucky.
August 13, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Rodrigo, I think that was probably the best advice right there. The caretakers are unlikely to mind, and if they do, there is always the next house. I had not thought to use googlemaps to find public areas! silly, but it just didn't occur to me. Thank you for that very good suggestion.
August 15, 2011 at 12:35 pm
I've investigated, un poco, the issue of beach/lakefront ownership in El Salvador and I'm still confused. Part of my confusion may stem from the differences in "law" and "local custom".
Ahem…
I believe that by law, the waters, beaches and lakefronts (to some height above the waterline) are PUBLIC, and I believe that some public access at some specified distance is required of owners of beach/lake-front properties and developments.
Sometimes, between the letter and the practice of the law in El Salvador, there is a beach…eh…ur…huh…breach. It just don't happen the way it's written.
Anyway…enjoyed the report of your adventures. I'm going to have to look up "El Flor" beach cuz I don't know where that is! From the photos I assume it's in Sonsonate and near "Los Cobanos"? Yet the description of a beach with a "shallow slope" sounds more like the eastern beaches, "El Coco" or "El Tamarindo". You need to see those as well as others in the east like "La Playa Negra" and "La Playa Las Tunas" in La Union.
August 15, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Mike, You are correct it is near Los Cobanos in the west. Just east of Los Cobanos if I am not mistaken. Definitely a long walk to the deep, I saw people standing up, only waist high what seemed like a great distance away….unless they were on one of those rock shelves.
And I do agree that I must see the eastern beaches! … Someone told me they are worth the drive, and have more people on them. (how strange that I would be interested in seeing a populated beach!)
February 9, 2012 at 1:45 pm
These are MY pictures of El Flor!!! Where did you get them???? I am glad you enjoyed El Flor and have written about it. It is our own little slice of heaven!!! The beach house we have there has been in my family for 40 years! We love it!!!
February 9, 2012 at 5:14 pm
Jose, I hope you dont mind the pictures. the ones i took were just not good. I got them by googling El Flor Picture!!!! they are very nice, and you are a good photographer!
February 16, 2012 at 9:28 am
I dont mind at all!! I was just so surprised to see my pictures on Google when showing co-workers here in the US what my home country is like!! I also have pictures up on Google Earth through my Panoramio account. My mother who is in ES reads your blog and receives the email and is also a member of the Ex-Pat FB group and is planning on attending the next meeting. I asked her to introduce herself to you and ask you if you would like to visit El Flor again. Hopefully you meet her and get a chance to take some good pictures!! Since I found your blog I have really enjoyed reading your stance on our wonderfully messed up country we call home!!!