There is something special about small mountain towns.  They feel so secluded from everything else and typically are rich in culture when compared to the major cities.  Each one seems to have its own unique thing and rarely is it obvious.  Maybe it’s a certain family you meet or a secret nature spot that the internet barely knows about.  But we have now found one mountain town that tries to shout to the world its specialty.

It’s called Juayua, El Salvador.  Surrounded by volcanoes & mountains, & just like all small towns, everything is based around the main square & giant cathedral.  In the case of Juayua, that includes their weekend food festival.  The whole town, with surrounding El Salvadorian tourists, get together every single weekend for a festival of food.  Communities gather together to eat, drink, & have fun while a great number of food vendors have food stands to share their amazing plates.

From grilled shrimp to armadillo to homemade juices, this place has it all.  The plates are rather cheap for how much food you get.  About $4-$6 per plate that is loaded down with meat(s), salads, & bread.  With other vendors selling juices, beer, & other fruity alcohol drinks, there is no need to go to a restaurant in town.  All the food we tried was delicious & everything else that I just saw looked mouth watering. I am sure there was some extravagant vegetarian dish but with all the grilled bunny rabbits & gelato ice cream, I wasn’t paying attention to that type of stuff.

It amazes me how Juayua can deliver a legit food festival every single weekend.  I feel like most towns of a similar size would struggle to have a single event a year like Juayua’s Food Festival.  With different concerts, dance performances, & some true El Salvadorian culture, this is a secret gem up in the mountains.  If you are ever in the area, I would highly recommend checking the festival out.

And now for some truck porn. While camped in the frond yard of a family, we also met some pretty cool germans in their Mercedes 917 who are also traveling south.  It is always great to meet fellow mercedes big rig travelers!