Volcan Izalco, Volcan de Santa Ana and Cerro Verde

This photo is a fairly basic shot from the balcony of the Hotel Cerro Verde at “Parque Nacional Los Volcanes”. It shows Volcan Izalco, which used to be called the “Lighthouse of the Pacific”.

Volcan Izalco was erupting continuously every 45 minutes for about 200 years, hence the nickname the “Lighthouse of the Pacific”. In the middle of the last century, some investors thought that it would be a great idea to build a hotel on top of Cerro Verde, an extinct volcano vis-à-vis, which featured a grand lobby and rooms with views of the erupting volcano. Everything went according to plan and there was a grand opening ceremony. I have actually have met someone who told me that is mother attended the event in 1957. It must have been a great party, sipping Gin and Tonics and dancing to the sound of the eruptions. I can just imagine, me ordering G&Ts to the rhyme of volcano…

Unfortunately, three days after the opening party the volcano stopped its eruption pattern and it has not erupted ever since. The hotel is now in a state of neglect but the magic of the opening ceremony can be felt with a little imagination.

Speaking of magic, doing my research I stumbled upon another great story of the same volcanoes. In the French novella: “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the Prince’s and Rose’s planet Asteroid B-612 most prominent features are three minuscule volcanoes (two active, and one dormant). Volcan Izalco and Santa Ana Volcano are the two active ones, and Cerro Verde is the dormant volcano. The Rose is a metaphor for the wife Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry who was raised in a village at the bottom of Izalco.