My El Salvador page has a...
by MarcG
My El Salvador page has a description of activities and places of interest in San Salvador. The National Museum of Anthropology and Archeolgy is a good starting point. This museum set in a modern and spacious building showcases the history, tradition, religion and culture of El Salvador, from it's early days to the present. San Salvador is at an altitude of 800-1000 mts above sea level, providing a warm summerlike temperature all year long. I have a special preference for the rainy season (may-october) when everything turns green and the vegetation is very lush. The tropical afternoon downpours are very refreshing, and make way for clear and fresh nights. Tropical rains are an experience in their own right and I find this time of the year the most attractive.
Local Fauna
by mikey_e
El Salvador, as a jungle country with a fair amount of open and undeveloped spaces, has a rich diversity of fauna. While there are numerous mammals that live in the jungles, one of the most common aspects of this fauna that visitors notice are the birds, which fly about the city of San Salvador and chatter away. Many of the birds congregate around pools and sources of water, as the country’s heat undoubtedly leave them thirsty. Some of the hotels in the city also keep caged birds and domesticated ones, which was the case with the Sheraton Presidente.
Guatemala City
by CLillard
You can take a weekend trip to Guatemala. It is a 4 hour bus trip, using Pullmantur (pickup point is 7am or 3 pm (M-F) or 8:30 am Sunday at the Marriott Hotel in San Salvador and dropoff point is Holiday Inn in Guatemala City). You can return to San Salvador any day, leaving Guatemala Holiday Inn at 7 am or 3 pm. It costs $47 roundtrip for Second Class plus the $10 you will have to pay for tourist visa to reenter El Salvador (bring your passport). Or you can buy a package deal including the hotel cost, which will be a little extra. This includes meals and the bus is very nice (footrests and reclining seats). They show 2 movies on the way there and 2 movies on the return trip. The only problem is the bumpy road the entire trip. And I would not suggest eating the food they provide, as it is served room temperature. This website for pullmantur is pretty good, if you need help translating from Spanish to English, please drop me a note. They also offer first class for $77 roundtrip
The National Cathedral
by SESM
The cathedral's blue and yellow zig-zag dome is visible even before you reach downtown. The exterior mural by Fernando Llort is the visual highlight but visiting the tomb of Romero who was brutally murdered for his outspoken support of human rights during the civil war is the most moving feature.
Basílica Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
by mikey_e
Thanks to the fact that the country lies on a very active fault line, and that the Civil War deprived the church of much of its support during the 1970s and 1980s, El Salvador is actually pretty poor in interesting and inspiring religious architecture. There are a few churches that were rebuilt in Colonial style, but most of them are rather drab and ugly, blending into grimy sections of the city that are otherwise unremarkable. La Virgen de Guadalupe shrine is clearly an exception, as it stands back from the street in an area that is devoid of other structures. While the building lacks the sort of Spanish Baroque grandeur that one might expect, it nevertheless is a pretty white and salmon structure that recalls memories of missions in California. The simple but pleasing interior, with its white and black tiles and various chapels, is also quite inviting, perhaps because of the relative peace and quiet that the Church offers, in contrast to the hustle of the Panamericana just outside. The Virgen also attracts a fair number of people asking for help, with messages posted on a smaller shrine outside the church showing the popularity of a Catholic figure generally associated with Mexico and her indigenous peoples.
The view from the tower
A bust of Beethoven at the Teatro
The approach to the monument
The interior patio
