January 31st, 2009
Santa Lucia Suchitoto is the most cordial and welcoming city I have visited in El Salvador. The name "Sochitoto" comes from Nahuatl meaning "place of parrots and flowers." 43 kilometers from San Salvador, it is one of the most interesting places in El Salvador. Between the cobblestone streets lie old homes with character, history, magnificent balconies, and a beautiful church, Santa Lucia, That contains unique porcelain saints of San Pedro and Virgen Maria
Lake Suchitlan
With Suchitoto´s unique location, high in the mountains, it allows for spectacular views of Lake Suchitlan. Lake Suchitlan is formed by the Lempa River. In the 1970s the government dammed the river for hydroelectric power. Sochitoto is also called the “Key of the Lempa.”
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January 30th, 2009
Catedral..Santa Ana, El Salvador
Teatro de Santa Ana
Camino del autobus
Leaving the central bus station in Santa Ana can be really amusing. The bus station is in the middle of the main market. The road exciting the market is packed with people and vendors. The vendors set up their kiosks in the middle of the road. They have umbrellas attached to the booths to keep out the sun. As the bus approaches, a curtain of umbrellas close and the vendors move their stands out of the middle of the road. After the bus passes, the curtain of umbrellas close in behind the bus. Without missing a beat, the vendors wipe away the bus tracks with their portable stands and continue selling their products. Some vendors wait until the last minute to move their booths. Its common to see an overweight vendor finishing their greasy chicken and tortillas before moving their booth.
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January 28th, 2009
Ruta de las Flores
The Ruta de las Flores is a wonderful stretch of towns where the climate is nearly always perfect with waterfalls, picturesque views and buganvilias growing along the roadside all year long. The buganvilias are a variety of colors such as: orange, pink, red and purple. Coffee plantations skirt the mountain ranges littered with banana trees, citrus trees, and palms. Fincas support the local economy along with basket weaving and furniture making.
Ruta de las Flores
The ruta runs through strange named towns dating from the Maya. Towns such as Juayua (hhwhy-you-ah) and Ahuachapan have indigenous names, but the culture, language and traditions are lost due to oppression mainly from rich land owners dating back to the 1930s and of course the Spanish conquest.
Los Chorros de la Colera
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January 28th, 2009
Tunco, El Salvador
Tunco is the beach towns of all beach towns before the infestation of capitalists, condos, hippies, dorks, and surfers. The sand swept cobble stone streets lead to a beautiful beach with cool Pacific water, great waves, and wonderful sunsets. The seafood is great, and the oysters are caught off the shore behind the enclave of rocks. El Salvador has a beautiful coastline full of banana trees and palms. Like all of El Salvador it is peaceful and a wonderful place to relax.
El Salvador Pacific Coast
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January 26th, 2009
Alegria....centro
Alegria is a great little town to relax and take a deep breath. It is high in the mountains with great views and wonderful adobe architecture. It is a good idea to walk to the volcano lake around mid-morning and spend the afternoon sitting in the park reading a book or in a cafe enjoying Salvadorian coffee.
Crater Lake in Alegria
The crater lake is about a 45 minute walk south of town. It is full of sulfur and tastes really weird, but it is said to have healing capabilities. I felt great after a swim across the lake. The water is beautiful.
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January 25th, 2009
Perquin is an interesting, peaceful, and beautiful town. It is in the north east part of El Salvador. During the civil war, the people in the area were extremely affected due to their opposition to the government. One night during a celebration of the patron saint, everyone was gathered in the centro for music and festivities including, eating, drinking, and music. I noticed there was no one my age in crowd. I asked a few people where are the people around 30. The said they were dead from the fighting in the 1980s.
In the nearby town of Mazote, there was a memorial established for the massacre of December 11, 1981 where the government killed the entire town. During the massacre, the government killed approximately 1200 people. 748 of those people were children from the ages of 3 days old to 18 years old.
Memorial in Mazote
Ninos en jardin
Rio Sapo
On a lighter note, a few miles north of Mazote is the Rio Sapo. It is a wonderful beautiful place. The water is supposedly some of the cleanest water in El Salvador.
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January 24th, 2009
City of Corinto in the valley
Corinto is famous for an important archaeological site known as, “Gruta de Espiritu Santo” or The Holy Grotto. The caves contain a collection of over
200 colorful rock paintings that date back 10,000 years. The paintings portray humans and animals made from blood and natural dyes. The caves are 1.2 miles north of the town of Corinto. Walk down Calle Pable Escobar and follow the signs “Sitio Arqueologico Repestre Gruta del Esperitu Santo”. Ask for directions as there are a few turns that will lead you away from the caves. When the locals are asked when the cave paintings were painted, they all say “antes de los epanoles”……….really.
Two Human Figures
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January 24th, 2009
El Salvador is a beautiful country. It is one of the prettiest countries I have seen in Latin America. The picturesque landscape of mountains, valleys and volcanoes can be breath taking. The people are very friendly, and they go out of their way to help.
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