Volcanoes of San Salvador

I am now in El Salvador, and while I've been here I have visited two of the neighbouring volcanoes. One was called the Puerto Del Diablo (door of the Devil) and the other is called El Boqueron or Quezaltepeque or Volcan San Salvador. Plenty of names to choose from! 

First we went to Puerto Del Diablo. I found an interesting little folk story about the name of the mountain, here it is...

"Legend has it that in times of settlers, the daughter of landowners Renderos, was courted by the very Prince of Darkness himself. Her father, Pedro Renderos, was determined not to allow her into the clutches of Lucifer, and went in pursuit of him when night fell. The evil, beset by all the tenants of the landowner, fled through the mountains and knocked down part of one with a blow.
This is why the arch carved in this mountain is called Devil's Gate".

Despite it's devilish name, mountain itself was very tranquil and lovely, and offered great views of San Salvador, and we could even see all the way to the Pacific ocean and over to Honduras on the other side. 

From the top of the mountain a family were playing with a lovely handmade kite. 

My great guide, Victor and I headed off for the next volcano, El Boqueron / Quezaltepeque / Volcan San Salvador (as you like it). The city of San Salvador is surrounded by stunning volcanic peaks, and this mountain is one of the most predominant. El Salvador in general is full of volcanoes. These provide an excellent environment for growing coffee, which grows particularly well on all the high volcanic slopes. This is why El Salvador, although not being a big country, is one of the world's top coffee producers. 

El Boqueron / Quezaltepeque / Volcan San Salvador is a mountain that erupted only quite recently. It has two huge craters, and as recently as 1917 it erupted and lava flowed down its sides, destroying buildings as it went.

On the way back from the mountain we stopped off at some plains where we got great views of the volcano and could see the remains of a huge lava flow. All n all it was a great day, and I'm glad I had such a knowledgeable guide to show me these amazing volcanoes!