The biggest experience I missed out on in El Salvador was spending more time on its famous beaches. The country has become especially well known for surfing, with warm Pacific water and consistent waves drawing surfers from around the world.
A local told me a funny story about one of the stars of The Fast and the Furious visiting El Salvador to surf. Apparently nobody at the hostel recognized him, so he was treated like any other traveler and even wrote his name on a wall. The owner later remodeled the place and painted over it, only to eventually find out who he was!
My main reason for visiting La Libertad was actually to see a nearby sea turtle conservation project. I had also considered going scuba diving farther east in the country but ended up doing other things instead. La Libertad itself is a busy seaside town with beaches, restaurants, fishing boats, and a large working wharf.
Since I’m not a fan of seafood, La Libertad probably wasn’t as exciting to me as it would be for most visitors. There are several surprisingly upscale seafood restaurants along the waterfront. One was even designed to resemble an old colonial ship. This advertisement was for one of the restaurants in town.
Seeing the fishermen here reminded me of one of the most unbelievable survival stories connected to El Salvador. A few years before my visit, Salvador Alvarenga set out fishing from the region and became stranded at sea after his boat was disabled.
His companion did not survive, but Alvarenga somehow remained alive by collecting rainwater and eating fish, birds, and other food he could catch. After more than a year drifting across the Pacific, he eventually washed ashore in the Marshall Islands, thousands of miles from where his journey began. It’s still one of the most incredible survival stories I’ve ever heard.
My most interesting experience in La Libertad was visiting the wharf. One of the guys working there noticed my camera and started telling me about the area. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake had struck while I was traveling in El Salvador, and he told me it had scared away much of the fish for a few days.
He was a really friendly guy and spoke perfect English, so I assumed he had probably spent time living in the United States. This boat was being hoisted out of the ocean while I explored the wharf.
The fish market along the wharf was packed with people and every kind of seafood imaginable. I realize the vast majority of people love seafood, but it’s definitely not for me.
Seriously though, how can a bucket of eels like this look appealing to anyone?
The market had a huge variety of fish and seafood. Whenever I see markets with this much fresh food sitting out, I always wonder how they manage to sell everything before it goes bad.
A few stands also sold souvenirs made from colorful seashells glued together. I rarely buy souvenirs and considered taking one home, but I didn’t think it would survive the rest of my trip.
To visit the turtle conservation project, I drove about 20 minutes away from La Libertad to another section of the coast. The beach itself wasn’t especially dramatic, but there was plenty of wildlife around, including crabs and several pelicans.
This is what I really came to see. The conservation project protects sea turtle eggs and later releases the hatchlings back toward the ocean. The turtles I saw were olive ridleys, one of the most widespread species of sea turtle.
When sea turtles lay their eggs, conservation workers collect vulnerable nests and rebury the eggs inside protected areas. This helps shield them from predators, human disturbance, and other threats during incubation.
After hatching, the turtles are released and have to continue on their own. If these little guys survive, they may spend decades traveling through the Pacific. Watching them crawl across the sand and enter the ocean for the first time was easily the highlight of my visit to La Libertad.
