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Copyright. CRUISING CENTRAL AMERICA © Eric Blackburn ~ S/V Chickadee EL SALVADOR If you decide to by-pass Puerto Quetzal, Puerto Acajutla, and La Libertad you’ll find El Salvador’s Bahia Del Sol a pleasant anchorage to enjoy after a long sail down the coast. Bahia Del Sol lies one mile on the inside of Estero de Jaltepeque. (Hal-tay-pek-eh). The region is also known as Costa Del Sol. There is a sandbar at the entrance of Estero de Jaltepeque. As is with most bar entrances, sometimes it’s flat and sometimes it is too rough to enter. The bar changes seasonally so a guide boat is absolutely necessary.
Out of the kindness of their hearts cruisers Murray and Colette on s/v Tarazed have inherited the task of guiding boats safely across the sand bar into the calm waters of the estero. They take this chore seriously and have escorted over 140 boats in and out of the harbor. There is a GPS meeting waypoint marked at 13 deg 16.30 N and 88 deg 53.76 W. The waypoint can change slightly from season to season so confirm the position by radio ahead of time. Call Tarazed a few hours in advance on channel 16 VHF (even during the night). You can also email Murray and Colette at WDA3853@sailmail.com several days before so they can prepare to escort you in. If Murray and Colette are out of town or unavailable, you may trying hailing Hotel Bahia Del Sol or call Jan on SV Quantum Leap on channel 16. If you arrive too early or too late at the entrance, and cannot be escorted in immediately, it is safe to anchor in 40 feet (12.12 meters) of water at the same given GPS meeting way point. (13 deg 16.30 N and 88 deg 53.76 W). The outside anchorage may be rolly but the holding is good in sand and there are no rocks or reefs anywhere. True campers determined to get across the bar have anchored at this waypoint sometimes for days until the bar settles down.
There are breakers and surf on both sides of the channel. It is best to arrive at the meeting waypoint slightly before high slack tide to allow time for a crossing at high slack. Call Tarazed for tidal information and a swell report. The swell runs highest between May to October. May is the month that signals the start of rainy season and extra precaution must be taken when crossing the bar. Once inside Estero de Jaltepeque, the water quickly flattens out and remains so throughout the year. The anchorage provides good holding. Estero de Jaltepeque is an ideal anchorage where you can safely leave your boat for an extended period of time in the event that you need to return to the USA, Canada, Europe and beyond. It is also an ideal spot for leaving your boat so you can travel inland. NOTE: On Page 57 of the YACHTSMAN CHART BOOK of MEXICO to PANAMA, it shows an entrance into Estero Jaltepecque, located at Puerto de la Concordia. It is incorrect. That entrance silted closed over 60 years ago. Check-in procedure is as easy as it gets. Polite and professional port officials come out to your boat and process all paperwork on the spot. As of 2006, there is no cost to check into or out of El Salvador. Request your international zarpe before departing El Salvador for your next country of visit. If you plan to cruise within El Salvadoran waters, request a national zarpe. The Salvadoran navy keeps 2 patrol boats in the estero so you can expect excellent security as well. The hotel also has a rotating staff of watchmen that keep an eye on boats, moorings and the floating dinghy dock. Marco-Antonio Zablah is the owner of Bahia Del Sol resort. Marco is working hard to encourage growth and tourism to this fascinating region of Central America. All foreign flagged vessels are given 30% off everything at the resort including meals and beverages. There is a $10. per week club fee for use of the pool, fresh water showers, shore-side amenities, rubbish disposal, security, tennis court, dinghy dock, water and other hotel facilities. Register at the reception office at Hotel Bahia Del Sol. The staff is most helpful and accommodating. For those who wish to anchor in the estuary, the holding ground is sand / mud and excellent in 15 feet (4.5) to 20 feet (6.5 meters). A 3 knot tidal current floods and ebbs inside the estero. Moorings are available in front of Hotel Bahia Del Sol for US$7. per day. Diesel and gasoline are available at the fuel dock beside the hotel. There is a tidal grid available for vessels up to 35 feet depending on draft and keel configuration. For more proficient bottom cleaning, boat work and long term storage, Island Marine offers cruisers a travel lift haul out service for boats up to 30 tons. Island Marine’s rates are reasonable and competitive. They also offer affordable bottom paint. Island Marine is located at the west end of Isla Cordoncillo. (see map) If you need your boat scrubbed while in the water, a young local named Santos Torres does bottom cleaning. Santos and his father run a small outboard repair shop on Isla Cordoncillo. Santos speaks a little English. He is very personable and hardworking. Santos can also do custom wood work and varnishing. He can be reached on VHF 16. If you need bright-work done, sanding, varnishing and painting, ask for Antonio or Pedro. Antonio is Santo’s uncle, so he should be easy to find through Santos. The cruising fleet have been very happy with Antonio’s and Pedro’s conscientious workmanship. There is reasonable hardware store in San Marcellino called Ferrateria Ramirez. It is small and humble but does offer basic tools, house paint, brushes, rollers, WD40, PVC fittings ect. Next door to Ferrateria Ramirez is a small welding shop. If you need any top end machining done, there is a full service professional machine shop in San Salvador called BARON. There shop is located on Boulevard Venezuela #1205 y 21 Av. Sur. San Salvador, the nation’s capital, is a 1 hour drive by car from Bahia Del Sol or 2 hours by bus. For a few extra dollars and a whole lot of convenience, a local Costa Del Sol taxi driver named Jose Osorio can drive you around the city all day and back to the bahia for a very fair rate. Ask for him at the front desk or phone him at 7945-1761. Jose speaks a little bit of English and knows the city well. If Jose Osorio is occupied, you can call for a second taxi operated by Jose-Benjamin 7720-6269. A third taxi operated by Jose-Martin can be reached at 7809-7912. Just about everything that can be found in the USA can be found in San Salvador. There is a Price Smart super store and Office Depot next to a super modern shopping mall called Metro Centro. Multi-Plaza is another mega shopping center found in the city. Ace Hardware and Vidris Hardware stores are well stocked with a huge assortment of tools and hardware; plumbing, electrical and marine needs. Banking can be done in San Salvador or in the nearby city of Zacetecoluca. ATM machines are common throughout the country. Banco Cuscatlan accepts the widest range of debit cards and credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Cirrus, Credomatic and American Express. Banco Salvadoreno cashes traveler’s checks for commission, as do most of the other banks. The official currency of El Salvador is the US dollar. Fuel, water, ice and propane are available at Bahia Del Sol. Telephone service is available at Bahia Del Sol’s reception office. The staff is friendly and accommodating. Teresa at Marisol’s Restaurant does laundry. (See map for location.) The hotel at Bahia Del Sol also offers a laundry service. Hotel Bahia Del Sol has one computer in the air conditioned office allotted for guests to access the internet. The cost is $5.00 per hour. Cruisers with a high speed planning inflatable can motor 20 minutes up the estuary to the town of La Herradura. There are two internet cafes in La Herradura and a unique traditional market place that shouldn’t be missed. La Herradura is a town that has a rough edge to in. Not a honeymoon destination, however interesting enough. Hotel Pacific Paradise offers wireless internet to visiting cruisers with laptops. The service is free. Ask for the configuration properties at the front desk. For a more modern efficient day of shopping, banking and Internet without going to San Salvador, you can catch a bus to Zacatecoluca, 1 ½ hrs from Bahia Del Sol. All you can provision with is available in Zacatecoluca. There is a fully modern supermarket, with the highest of standards, named La Dispensa de Don Juan. They have just about everything you could ask for at affordable prices. In the same plaza as Don Juan’s, you will find an InfoCenter Internet café. The facility is modern, air-conditioned, clean and inexpensive ($1.00 per hour for high speed Internet). You can connect your laptop to their LAN. There is another internet café located downtown near the park, called Chico Café. Propane tanks with US standard fittings can be filled in Zacatecoluca at the main Tropi-gas dealer on the highway. See map. Buses run to and from Zacatecoluca to Costa Del Sol, throughout the day. The last bus departing Zactecoluca for Bahia del Sol is at 16:30 hrs. For basic local provisioning 25 minutes by bus from Bahia Del Sol, you can ride up the road to the “Supermercado”. The “Supermercado” is reasonably stocked with an assortment of canned goods and other items including beverages, dairy products and sausages. Restaurant “Marisol’s” (known as Julio’s by the locals) on the shores of Bahia Del Sol, has become a popular dinning place for friends and cruisers. “Marisol” sits on the shores of the bay. They have a dinghy dock where you can tie your tender in front of the restaurant. The view of the bahia and yachts at anchor is pleasing. The food and service is simply excellent, well priced and proportioned. A few docks up from “Marisols” you will find the Agua-Fun floating dock. Agua-Fun recently opened and caters primarily to El Salvadoran water-sport enthusiasts. They rent jet-skis, boggie and surf boards, along with an assortment of other agua fun water toys. There is also a bar/restaurant on sight along with a modern mini-market similar to a 7-11. Every Saturday night Bahia Del Sol hosts a band and banquet party next to the pool. It’s a fun atmosphere of song and dance. The restaurant known for its spectacular seafood platters and giant fresh water shrimp is delicious. It can be pricey for the average nomadic voyager. However, with the 30% cruiser’s discount, it tastes even better and the music is terrific. For cheap-eats, one can walk 10 minutes up the road to “Pupuseria Emely” and enjoy a beer and pupusa for a few cents more than a dollar. The Galley Restaurant on the Island of Isla Cordoncillio has become a popular cruisers hang out. Mexican food is severed at good value. Owners Richard and Karla are hospitable and welcoming. If you plan on hanging out in Bahia Del Sol for an extended period of time, you will soon discover the estuary’s many secrets. During weekends, Isla Tasajara comes alive with vacationers. Half a dozen seafood restaurants on stilts line the beach front. For more information on Bahia Del Sol and cruising Estero de Jaltepeque
write to: Hotel Bahia Del Sol, 3ra. Calle Pomiente, Casa #3952-B, Colonia
Escalon, entre la 75 y 77 av. Norte San Salvador, El Salvador, C.A. Tel: (503)-2257-9463 or (503)-2257-9464 Contact: S/V Tarazed
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Vessels
are escorted into the estuary on an incoming tide near high slack water between
sunrise and sunset. There is no charge for the service. The entrance or “Bocana”
is approximately 100 feet (30 meters) wide with an average depth of 33 feet
(10 meters). The actual sand bar at its shallowest depth is 12 feet (3.6 meters)
at high slack tide.