A Santa Ana New Year and Beyond ⛰️

For New Years celebrations we chose a small city for a night in a hostel to make some friends and have a party. The hostel was sweet with a comunal courtyard and a few guests, the town itself a fair size with a big central plaza. Before getting stuck into it we went for a pizza date overlooking the cathedral and met another Brit couple looking for a party. Between us we hunted for bars and music and made calls to venues... not a single party to be had! Seems its a family affair here and also a Sunday so lots was closed.

We took it upon ourselves to send it, gathering the hostel guests and inviting our new friends we proceeded to get silly, the hostel bar closed but we reopened our own, played pool, shared rum and talked nonsense. I KO'd but caught the fireworks from the balcony while Jelly dragged what was left standing to the plaza before falling home shortly after midnight! Success and a very happy New Year to all!

It was understandably a slow morning, the city was a ghost town but we found some cold coffee and made a fry-up sarnie to get us out. By lunchtime we sauntered out the city saying farewell to new friends and headed to find some fresh air and nature. After an hours beautiful drive and roads hugging the rim of a huge crater we landed at the base camp for the country's biggest volcano. A crazy busy local vibe, we found where they were all hiding for family photos, bbqs and day camping to welcome a pretty wholesome NY.

We pulled into the campsite on a plateau between three peaks and parked under a tree to lounge for the rest of the day and let the business subside. As the sun set and the campsite cleared one of the bigger families who had been eyeballing us all afternoon waved us over. They had the fire going with mountains of pupusa coming off hot, with tea and wine that they insisted we partake in and they thoroughly enjoyed piling us up with all. We spent a couple of hours talking and eating with the whole family, took group photos and warmed by the fire until they packed up and left us to it with a pile of pupusa, just incase!

A great first day of the year and a cool night at almost 2000m. A bright and early start was upon us to get up the volcano and after hiking to the start point we were forced to wait for a group with a

guide as 'they were the rules'. A couple of groups went by ignoring our 'hey can we come play with you lot?' requests until the 3rd lot bit and we were away. Being with a group and guide on a well trodden trail it was a casual hike through forest then dry aloe fields until the vegetation gave way to lava fields and sulphur. The top had an amazing clear view and we were in good time as not many people were up there yet, though there was an ice cream man jingling his bell who must have been the first up! Views of the surrounding mountains, other peaks, the flat vertile lands around, the Pacific coast and the crater lake below as well as the bubbling turquoise sulphur lake in the pit of the volcano we were on. We sat a while and took it all in but the floods of people were coming so time to vámonos.

On the way down we saw some hostel friends stuck in people traffic and invited them to hang at our camp later, we got down without a fuss and reset our camp on a now empty plateau. Our friends came for a cuppa but otherwise we had a lazy afternoon enjoying the cool mountain air and views for days.

It was time to make some tracks the next day and run some errands but we also had a new plan. One of the hostel friends was to join us for a few days of chaos, a young 'crazy German' on a year long trip.

Armin was a great lad and we got along particularly well, and like a puppy he was full of energy and into everything so we figured it would make for a nice change to our own travels! We picked him up at a gas station near the city and left for the Ruta de las Flores or Route of the Flowers, a mountain pass road full of gardens, waterfalls, quaint towns and indigenous heritage. Plenty of mischief to be had.

What was left of the first day we drove the road to the northern start point and straight up the hill to the town of Ataco. Small, cobbled and lots of murals it was a pleasant stop but suprisingly empty place, we bumped into others from the NY hostel, poked about some craft shops and walked to the mirador cross overlooking town. The day was running out so back on the road towards the next town but with a back lane detour to make camp.

A few kms up a dirt track we found a small crater lake that would make the perfect first camp for three. Armin was sleeping in his hammock outside acting as guard dog so the tree lined lakeside suited well. We made a fire, cooked up a storm and drunk beers to welcome the first of what came to be nine nights on the road together. The most peaceful night we'd had for a while and a similarly quiet lakeside morning but again we hit the road. We had waterfalls to swim in!

First was a downhill detour through the overhanging forest, it was set in a manicured garden and well managed coffee estate but just us there sniffing flowers and some well needed washing in the small falls. A nice post breakfast dip but on we went. Next stop was another small town of Juayua where we found some yucca lunch and watched pickups full of tourists shipped off to the waterfall we were making plans to bust into on the edge of town! It was a popular seven waterfall guided hike but the last one was the show stopper. We parked close and hiked in reverse the last 2kms through working coffee farms, Armie was scampering about finding the trail while we followed on, finally getting to a locked gate and barbed wire/ living fence. Easy enough to slip through, straight down a hill track we found the second gate. An 8ft high 100ft long security fence with a padlocked gate and razor wire, no idea why a waterfall was so secured! But it made us want to get in more, so again

Armie went ahead, shimmying down the 100ft on the backside of the fence, under some bushes and through, we followed after the all clear!

The falls were set on the side of a hill looking over the enitre valley ahead. Cascadas were falling from the whole side of this sheer hill with a perfect infinity pool made at the base of the largest, with crystal clear water, views and watermelon, we lapped it up, giggling the whole time that we'd snuck in. On the way back we got chatting with some coffee farm workers, ended up helping them load coffee sacks for a lift up the hill and a tour of the farm house. The day was not quite over yet as we met some others back in town for a fancy rooftop beer overlooking town, sólo uno. Then skipped out towards the next village to crash for the night at a farm with mountain views that happily took campers in exchange for cheese purchases, an excellent deal in my opinion and a good end to a silly day on the road!