Sprawling across the Valle de las
Hamacas at the foot of the mighty
Volcán San Salvador is the urban
melee of
SAN SALVADOR , El
Salvador's chaotic, frenetic and
polluted capital. It's a city which
is unlikely to win many hearts - on
first impressions at least - with
its crumbling buildings, raucous
traffic and surrounding fringe of
shantytowns. Earthquakes have robbed
the city of most of its colonial
architecture and under-investment in
public buildings is often painfully
obvious, while the legacy of war has
left large slices of society without
employment or opportunity. The daily
theatre that passes for street life
in the city centre reflects all of
these factors, showing the public
face of a metropolis that goes about
its business without recourse to
many of the advantages of Western
cities.
For all that, San Salvador is a
modernizing city, and the
authorities are making a determined
effort to create a more attractive
environment in the old centro
histórico . The plazas and
parks have all been renovated and
many of the city's street traders
moved into indoor markets in order
to free up pavement space and aid
traffic flow. Extra police have been
deployed on the streets and,
although much work remains to be
done, the city is a more pleasant
place to visit than just a few years
ago. A stay, however short, in El
Salvador's capital is probably
inevitable, and many people find it
easier to get used to the place than
they imagined, appreciating the
diversions and services it offers -
restaurants, bars, shopping, cinemas
- that are unavailable in the rest
of the country.
San Salvador is also a
surprisingly green city, with a
canopy of lush vegetation shrouding
even the most unlikely of
neighbourhoods, and a ring of
encircling mountains that seem at
times close enough to touch.
Dominating the skyline to the north
is Volcán San Salvador ,
accessible via the town of Santa
Tecla , 13km from the city,
while in the hills to the south lies
the lush, extensive Parque Balboa
, from where there are vistas right
across to the Pacific coast. Beneath
the park to the east is the
predominantly indigenous village of Panchimalco
, with its splendid colonial church.
Fifteen kilometres east from the
city is the country's largest crater
lake, Lago de Ilopango ,
stunningly beautiful and with views
on a clear day across to the peaks
of Volcán Chichontepec, whilst to
the west are the natural gorge,
waterfalls and pools of Los
Chorros, a favorite weekend
retreat for harrassed city dwellers.
The City
San Salvador is never going to win
any prizes for elegance, and the
rough edge to life here can come as
a shock to those used to the more
tranquil and colonial atmosphere of
other Central American cities.
There's a singular lack of museums
and galleries,...
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