When we entered Guatemala, there was no place to buy car insurance. Entering Guatemala, the locals do not speak English, only Spanish. We started to get stuck in language communication dilemma. We dare not bring too much US dollar cash with us, as there are many countries behind us. Both Belize and Mexico credit cards work well, but you have to use cash when you arrive in Guatemala. China has not established diplomatic relations, and UnionPay cards cannot be used. Using a credit card to withdraw cash from an ATM is 2,000 yuan, and the handling fee is more than 70 yuan, which is quite high. Fan Haijun from the Chinese store in Flores helped us and successfully exchanged to the local currency.
After leaving Antigua, we drove for more than 2 hours to reach the El Salvador border. The passport is stamped at the Immigration Bureau, and a sign is placed in the lobby of the Immigration Bureau, indicating that tourists have 90 days to stay in CA4 Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Cars need to be stamped on the back of the car pass, and the sticker attached to the front windshield is withdrawn.
After crossing the bridge is El Salvador.
First register the car information on the right side of the bridge head
Then go to the office building on the left side of the bridge to go through the formalities.
The information provided is the first page of the passport, the Guatemala exit stamp, the driving license, and the copy of the Guatemala car pass.
We will be given a car pass at the end. We have a US visa, so El Salvador is visa-free, just stamp the entry stamp. However, there is no requirement for car insurance.
It took two hours to enter the customs and entered El Salvador smoothly.
El Salvador is located in the northern part of Central America, bordering Honduras to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the south, Guatemala to the west and northwest, and the Gulf of Fonseca to the east. It is the most densely populated country in Central America.
el salvador flag
El Salvador license plate
The capital of the Republic of El Salvador is San Salvador, the country’s largest city and economic and cultural center. Located in the Amacas Valley southwest of Monte San Salvador. The altitude is more than 600 meters, and the climate is cool.
Established diplomatic relations with China on August 21, 2018. The embassy is still under construction and has not yet been used.
The temporary office of the embassy is in the hotel, and it is not yet possible to apply for travel documents, etc., so you must not lose your passport here, and it is difficult to reissue. The staff of the embassy told us a lot of safety precautions, and told us that Honduras behind is also chaotic, so be careful.
National Palace of San Salvador
san salvador cathedral
statue on the square
There is a magical rainbow glass church in the city center. The name of the church is “El Rosario Church”, which is located on the east side of Libertad Plaza in the city center. There is also a place named “Iglesia El Rosario” on the GOOGLE map. This place is more than 10 kilometers north of the city. We drove there, but there was nothing. Instead, it was a slum area, a dead end. I felt that the people inside were a little scary, so Do not navigate wrong.
The appearance of the church is very ordinary, it is an ordinary semi-elliptical cement building.
The entrance doesn’t look good either
After entering the door, the hall does not have any pillars and adopts a modern architectural structure. When the sun shines through the stained glass of the window, you can see a colorful church.
We come to the Holy Redeemer Monument
holy savior monument
The square next to the monument is engaged in activities
In the evening, there are food stalls all over the square next to the Monument to the Redeemer.
There are many gangs in El Salvador, and shops in some neighborhoods have to pay protection fees to the gangs. In the evening, we had dinner at the Plaza of the Redeemer and drove back to the hotel.
