Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 108, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 May 1918 — Beauty Spots of El Salvador [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Beauty Spots of El Salvador

EL SALVADOR, the little republic on the southern coast of Central America, is not behind any part of the world in the matter of the picturesque and the interesting. It has its natural phenomena, its beauty spots for tourists that should he double starred in travelers* guide books, its relics of ancient races, its quaint and busy cities with their artistic wofks of architecture, writes Hamilton M. Wright in the Bulletin of the Pan-American Union. In the world there is not a more wonderful volcano than Izalco, which, more than four generations ago, ascended from -the plains and has since remained active. There is not a more wonderful lake in the world than Ilopongo, distant about ten miles from San Salvador,' the capital, and connected with It by a splendid highway. A fine national road which, at one point, cuts the mountain side 800 feet above the surface of the lake also comes in from San Vicente. Hopongo is an alluring spot for- bathers, for the people of * the republic thoroughly appreciate the charms and advantages of their own country. It Is the watering place for • San Salvador. with hotels, bath houses and launches. The surrounding ridges and mountains, are beautiful and colorful and dip into the lake steeply., Viewing this superb sheet of water, with the nearby eminences verdure-clad or colored by past volcanic eruptions, with drifting clouds casting their fleeting shadows upon its surface, one has a feeling that he is far from the haunts of man, until perchance his eye lights upon a launch far below, sending its ripples over the expanse of waters. Fine Mountains and Climate. There are in the world no finer mountain peaks than those of El Salvador. The volcanoes. Santa Ana, San Miguel, San Vicente, Usulutan, Zatecoluca, ,and San Salvador, rising from Santa Tecla, and half a hundred others have all the characteristic

beauty of' the symmetrical volcanic eminences elsewhere in Central America. In the healthful Uplands or mountain basins, where a larger part of the population ‘ lives, 2,000 feet or more above sea level, are to be found treeshaded cities and rich country districts that in charm and interest will repay richly every moment the traveler will spare them. The healthful climate gives rise to a vigorous and enterprising population. This little country has a record of having produced 75.000,000 pounds of coffee in a single year. 1916, perhaps more in earlier periods. We did not stop long at La Union, but continued from, the port up the coast to La Llbertad, the nearest seaport to San Salvador. There we anchored out in the' open roadstead, a mile and one-half from shore, and took ' a coffee barge to the pier, where we arranged for a conveyance to San Salvador. 40 miles distant by automobile road but less than 30 for mules. It is a very short trip up to the capitol. but . the traveler beholds the varied re- * sources and climatic changes of an entire continent within the brief Journey to the uplands. This part of the coast 4s a center for Peruvian balsam, a remedy for pulmonary complaints and so called because in early days it was • first shipped from Salvador to Peru before being reconsigned In through packets to Europe. The tree is found over an extended strip up and down the coast Highway* Are Excellent The Journey from La Libertad to San Salvador is .a fine one and the road is good, tn fact there are 1.800 , miles of through national highroad* of San Salvador are national

institution. Great work has been done in grading and bridge-building. Some splendid permanent concrete bridge have been constructed. La Llbertad, which is also reached by road from San Vicente in the east central part of the republic, is the seat of the cable station between North and South America, where messages are handled with great dispatch. The roads leading into La Llbertad are much traversed by oxcarts, as La Libertad is a great port for San Salvador. The mountain scenery on the way to Santa Tecla, 2,650 feet above level and but 11 miles from San Salvador, is inspiring. The great coast range of mountains sends out giant spurs and hogbacks to the very shores of the Pacific, and between these lie numerous watercourses that run to the sea. The region, of which the extinct volcano, Quetzaltepeque, is a magnificent feature, is very mountainous and rugged and is Intercepted by magnificent and fertile valleys. Santa Tecla, also known as Nueva San Salvador, lies at the base of the mighty volcano San Salvador. It is connected by railroad and also by a fine avenue with the nearby capital; It will be the most Important city between San Salvador and La Libertad when the railroad spur to that port has been constructed. The city is well Illuminated at night, has attractive drives, fine public buildings, churches, barracks, hospitals, beautiful residences, villas, and suburban homes and estates, magnificently kept up, with fine lawns and gardens and all the appurtenances of fashionable country homes. From a social viewpoint it is almost a part of San Salvador. The city has a population of about 12.000; it owes its origin to an earthquake which overwhelmed the capital about two generations ago. San Salvador a Handsome City. There is nothing of the “dolce far niente” type about San Salvador which, with its environs, has a population of

65,000. With the exception of Panama City, San Salvador has more automobiles than any other Central American city. Moving pictures, too, are popular in the capital and throughout the republic. The city attracts by its beautiful, shaded parks with their fine sculptured monuments, the splendid national palace, the cathedral, the -National universlty % and the Polytechnic Institute.- * The cathedral presents perhaps more the typical French renaissance style than the typical cathedral In the capitals of the new world, though it is a most ornate and beautiful work of architecture. Altogether San Salvador has a distinct European note in the air of i|s shops and stores. The broad streets, fine cement curbs, the ornate, low-lying buildings with their handsomely grilled and latticed windows,the beautiful, semitropical parks with their luxuriant foliage and comfortable seats, where the visitor may watch the parade of fashion and the many cosmopolitan elements of the city, engage irtsedtal chats, make new acquaintances, and listen to an excellently rendered concert —all these render a stay in the capital a pleasant event. Forty miles to the northwest is Santa Ana. second city of the republic and rightly accounted one of the leading cities of Central Aiqerica. Santa Ana will be the first important city of Salvador to be reached by rail from the north when the line to connect with the Guatemalan systems is built. The city has a population of between 45,000 and 50,000 and an elevation of 2,100 feet. It is a lively, prosperous, well-ordered community, with an air of assured stability. Its business' houses are many. -X

Lake Ilopango.

The Volcano Izalco