Alegria

The highest town in El Salvador is the charming Alegria.  Located on the side of a volcano, Alegria is a small El Salvadorian town typical to the highlands.  The higher altitude brings in crisp and cool air, a welcomed change from the rest of El Salvador.  With just one plaza, and only a handful of restaurants and shops Alegria remains refreshingly noncommercial.  The locals of Alegria are happy, sincere, and very welcoming.

 The town was also my first taste of pupusas (not pictured), the ubiquitous cheese filled El Salvadorian treat.  A pupusa is a fried corn flour pocket filled with any combination of cheese, beans, and pork.  They are delicious, greasy, addictive, and cheap.

Flower growing remains an active part of the local economy and nearly every home seemed to have a well decorated garden.

Alegria sits on the sit of this crater lake filled volcano.

The town square, the hub of social life in Alegria.

Central America is known among backpackers for its "chicken buses" which are used or old yellow school buses used for general transport. Nearly all buses in Central America are chicken buses, they are cheap, run frequently, and essential for connecting small towns like Alegria to the rest of El Salvador.