In the last few months we were fortunate enough to have rescued a parrot from a raided gang house in El Salvador. To our surprise, Pancho has quite an extensive vocabulary that he picked up while living with his former caretakers.
Visitors of the area as well as guests of our ecolodge have the opportunity to see Pancho the Talking Parrot in person. Take a look at the video and see for yourself. We are happy to welcome him to our beautiful beach resort in El Salvador.
As the weather starts to warm up, you are thinking about where to go on vacation. Look no further than La Cocotera. Our eco resort offers an extremely relaxing tranquil experience. If you are an eco friendly traveler or simply looking to enjoy a trip to El Salvador, La Cocotera has so many things to offer that you will be able to make the most of your experience in El Salvador.
At our eco resort you can go hiking in El Imposible National Park, bird watching, surfing, or enjoy our famous drink, the Coco Loco. It is served in a coconut and it is very tasty!
Be sure, while staying at our eco resort, to check out the “Behind the Scenes Eco Tour.” You will get a personal tour of La Coco
tera’s water treatment facility, turtle nesting area, and much more!
La Cocotera has been featured in Frommer’s Nicaragua El Salvador Travel Guide and in El Salvador: A Great Destination (Explorer’s Guide).
Frommer’s lists La Cocotera as a “find.” Frommer’s says, “Staying here is an unforgettable experience.” We are so pleased to be recognized by Frommer’s. Furthermore, we are so glad that Frommer’s identified what La Cocotera tries to achieve with the eco resort. Frommer’s describes the ecoresort and some of the eco-friendly features at La Cocotera:
This is one of the finest ecolodges in all of Central America and certainly one of the most luxurious hotels in El Salvador outside of San Salvador. It offers a rare taste of international style in a remote and beautiful part of the country. La Cocotera gets the balance right: utter comfort with a social conscience. It employs locals, uses sustainable energy, promotes nature conservation, and blends right in with its environment.
As an ecoresort, La Cocotera features solar-powered hot water and brown-water recycling, and it even incubates turtle eggs, gathered from illegal vendors around the country, for release by guests into the sea. The staff is gracious and friendly.
El Salvador: A Great Destination (Explorer’s Guide) describes Barra de Santiago as “one of the most remote beaches in El Salvador.” The guide then continues to talk about La Cocotera Resort and Ecolodge, “This outstanding ecolodge on the endless beach may be a bit upscale for folk really watching their carbon footprint, but it’s fantastic. Six spacious palapa-topped bungalows are hewn from natural materials, with exquisitely crafted bamboo detailing and gorgeous solar-heated showers with smooth black rocks all around.”
Be sure to check out these travel guides on your way to La Cocotera!
During the holiday season, taking a vacation to a tropical destination and staying in an eco resort is a great alternative to a “white Christmas.” Instead of being cold and surrounded by snow, why not go to El Salvador and have a relaxing trip on the beach and feel the sand in between your toes. While staying at an eco resort in El Salvador, you can enjoy fresh local food and there are a wide range of activities that you can do.
For breakfast, La Cocotera provides a delicious breakfast buffet. The breakfast buffet includes: fresh fruit, yogurt, granola, French pastries and breads, locally grown and roasted coffee and fresh juice. El Salvador is a major coffee producing country in the world and you will be able to taste how truly delicious it is when you able to consume El Salvadorian coffee at the source. Lunch and dinner is prepared with all fresh ingredients and local fresh fish and seafood are available daily. You can eat poolside in the open air dining area and enjoy the ocean breeze. The restaurant is has beautiful scenery and has a nice backdrop of coconut, mango, and almond trees that have inhabited the area for years and produce an abundance of fruit.
The Barra de Santiago is a nice relaxing beach in El Salvador. While you are staying at La Cocotera and on the beach, you will feel like you are in your own tropical paradise. The Barra de Santiago is a great place to go surfing in El Salvador because the beach is not crowded and you can surf without competing for a wave. You can also kayak, water ski, and go fishing.
Spending your holiday in a warm tropical paradise like El Salvador definitely beats the cold and snow and La Cocotera would love to have you for the holiday season. So when you are thinking about how to spend your vacation, why not go to El Salvador and stay at an ecoresort?
Barra de Santiago, El Salvador
There are many things to do in El Salvador; however, surfing in El Salvador has become increasingly popular in recent years. For one thing, the beaches in El Salvador are not crowded making surfing in El Salvador a nice tranquil surfing location. The best time to surf in El Salvador is during March to October when swells can reach 10 feet; however, surfing in El Salvador is remarkable year round.
El Salvador is set facing south so the country is arguably one the best place for waves in Central America for south swells. The right hand point waves are a dream for any surfer. There are over 200 miles of beaches in El Salvador which means that there are many possible places to surf in El Salvador. La Libertad and El Sunzal are probably some of the more well-known El Salvadorian beaches, but Barra de Santiago should not be overlooked at all.
At Barra de Santiago, you can look forward to consistent surfing in El Salvador year round. The sandy beaches at Barra de Santiago provide for a nice beach break rather than the point breaks at some of the other beaches in El Salvador. Whether you are an experienced surfer or have never surfed before and just want to try it, surfing in El Salvador is something that you should experience. While surfing is near the top of the list of things to do in El Salvador, at Barra de Santiago there are many things to do.
When you are staying at an eco resort in El Salvador, there are a variety of things to do when you maybe want to take a break from surfing but don’t want leave the beach. There is year round fishing in El Salvador which can provide for a relaxing experience. You can also kayak, sail, and water ski.
During the months of October through February the flowers are blooming on the Ruta de las Flores, or “Route of the Flowers.” The road, which is located near our eco resort, gets its name from the white flowers that blossom on coffee plants that are in region. The “Route” through its 36 kilometer road will take you through El Salvador’s coffee growing region and links five towns together where locals have kept their traditions and culture very much alive.
In the town of Nahuizalco, you will be able to admire the beautiful hand-crafted furniture and enjoy the night market that is illuminated by oil lamps, lanterns, and candles. Juayúa offers one of the largest food and artisan festivals where you will be amazed at the variety of local and international food that you can eat. A notable black Christ statue is located in Juayúa at La Iglesia del Cristo Negro or “Black Christ Church.”
Apaneca has two lagoons, Laguna Verde or Green Lagoon and Laguna de las Ninfas or “Nymphs Lagoon,” which provides for stunning landscapes. You can soar over Apaneca through forests while getting a bird’s eye view of the area with an Apaneca Zip Line Tour.
Every weekend in Salcoatitán, you can enjoy a large selection of food in front of the colonial church of San Miguel Arcángel. El Salvador’s first coffee plantation was located in Salcoatitán. Be sure to check out the local art galleries and eco-art.
The “Route” ends with the village of Concepción de Ataco. Concepción de Ataco is rich in history as it dates back to pre-Columbian times. There are viewpoints where you can gaze at the town and its surroundings. While driving, there are multiple viewpoints where you will be able to pull over and enjoy the scenic views that El Salvador has to offer. La Cocotera’s closeness to Ruta de las Flores makes this a must do activity for any eco-friendly traveler.
From popular beaches such as El Sunzal and El Tamarindo to lesser known spots like La Barra de Santiago, such ideal locations, have made surfing in El Salvador a must for the surfing enthusiast to the novice surfer. If you are looking for warm, tropical weather, unspoiled beaches and challenging waves, then El Salvador has everything you need.
The beautiful beaches and favorable geographical location of El Salvador’s long stretch of Pacific coastline provide some of the world’s best areas for surfing. With mostly vacant waters, El Salvador’s beaches are not only the perfect place to catch a wave, but to soak up the sun and explore the natural surroundings in serenity.
For the longest wave in El Salvador that’s perfect for both long and short boards, try El Sunzal. The waves are big and surfers are often found spending their time here. In fact, many wave seekers refer to El Salvador’s coast as a “surfer’s heaven.” The coast to the west of El Sunzal has many beach breaks and a few river mouths, and it enjoys some of the most consistent surf in the country of El Salvador.
El Salvador has a dry season (November - April) and a wet season (May-October). While the wet season is characteristic of rain, there is also plenty of sunshine and the biggest surf. Waves up to 8-12 ft are not uncommon! The dry season offers beautiful sunny weather and calmer waves, with more consistent surf. Depending on what kind of vacation you prefer, either season may have just the perks you’re looking for.
Experienced surfers may want to check out Barra de Santiago. It is a small coastal village with deserted beaches and consistent year round surf. Beginners can go down the beach towards village where the waves are much softer. When you’re not surfing, you can explore the estuary, observe the local wildlife or just enjoy the gentle breeze.
At just a short five hour flight from Los Angeles, surfing in El Salvador is well within reach for west coasters and a worthy vacation destination for those coming from farther away. At La Cocotera eco resort, you are only a few steps from the beach. Just roll out of bed, grab your surf board and go! Other water activities are also readily available, including kayaking through the Barra de Santiago estuary. La Cocotera is an all-inclusive resort, so leave the accommodations and meals up to us, and we’ll leave the surfing to you.
La Cocotera Restaurant
As an eco friendly resort, we constantly strive to ensure that our hotel and practices always put the environment at high priority. But what does that entail exactly? We wanted to take the time to share with you what makes La Cocotera truly an eco friendly resort.
La Cocotera was built following the “green leaf” system utilized by the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST). The planning of the resort involved mapping out how to carefully minimize footprints on the land and ensuring that structures were built around the natural landscape. Local natural materials such as palm fronds, sustainable teak wood, plant vines, natural stone and hand woven fabrics are used throughout. In fact, all the wood used in construction was derived from sustainable teak plantations.
Energy conservation and recycling are also important elements of our eco resort. We use solar energy, energy saving lightbulbs and kinesthetic power flashlights. We have a biological (not chemical) waste water recycling treatment plant and we utilize gray water recycling as well as black water recycling, which not many hotels do. All trash is presorted for recycling before it leaves the property.
At La Cocotera, we pride ourselves on the freshness of the food we serve. Mangoes, cashews, almonds and our own citrus trees are all grown on the property and we use them in our desserts. We will soon be buying Tilapia fish from the local elementary school, which is raising them, and will be adding a vegetarian menu. For drinks, we use plastic cups made from corn which are 100% compostable.
A few of our other eco friendly resort features are:
Being a green hotel is more than just having environmentally friendly practices in place. We also educate our guests by offering a free Behind The Scenes Eco Tour that shows you all we are doing to be green. We educate all our staff in the same way.
As an eco friendly resort in El Salvador, we are glad to offer world-class accommodations in a beautiful and unique setting. We encourage environmentally conscious travelers, nature and luxury lovers alike to visit our green hotel in El Salvador for a different vacation experience surrounded by nature, far away from the stresses of everyday life.
The estuary and mangroves next to our eco friendly resort in Barra de Santiago may have a little more magic than just the chirping of birds and rustling of wildlife. Popular among villagers is a myth called The Legend of Chasca, a tale about the goddess of fishing.
According to the story, Chasca was once a beautiful princess who fell in love with a Prince named Acayet. When Chasca’s father, Pachacuet, discovered their love affair, he ordered that Prince Acayet be killed. Devastated by the news of her lover’s death, Chasca threw herself into the waters of La Barra de Santiago, and was never heard from again. To this day, people say that Chasca still appears on some nights, sailing in a white canoe and that it is a sign of good fishing conditions. On these nights, the villagers recite these verses:
“Fisherman the moon is out
Unwrap your fishing net
This night is of good fortune
Since the beautiful white canoe is coming,
Fear not, Chasca is good,
There is nobody like Chasca.”
Source: http://elsalvadorturismo.gob.sv/ingles/ahuachapan.htm
You too can paddle through the enchanted waters of Barra de Santiago when you stay at our eco friendly resort. To learn more about La Cocotera and our beachfront accommodations, visit lacocoteraresort.com
A corner stone of our tropical El Salvador eco resort is, of course, a great concern for the environment that is shared by many of the patrons and guests here. Beyond booking an eco-friendly resort for a vacation, an organization called the World Heritage has put together an online Responsible Travel Pledge, a list to help travelers remain mindful during their journey. By signing the Friends of World Heritage, the list hopes to empower others and help preserve the natural and cultural attributes that make places you visit, like El Salvador, unique.
Actions that visitors can take to alleviate any ecological footprint are understated but important. The Responsible Travel Pledge challenges travelers to incorporate three basic tenets when planning a trip and when traveling to a World Heritage site:
By signing the Responsible Traveler Pledge, travelers can take small but important steps to preserve more than 850 places that the international community has recognized as World Heritage sites, and help ensure that these natural and cultural treasures remain for generations to come. Visit www.globalproblems-globalsolutions.org to learn more about World Heritage sites and to sign the Responsible Traveler Pledge.
