Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 140, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 June 1918 — Beauty Spots of E1 Salvador [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Beauty Spots of E1 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 indent races, its quaint and busy cities with their artistic works of architecture, writes Hamilton M. Wright tn 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 abdut 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 djp into the lake steeply. Viewing this superb sheet of water, with thd nearby eminences verdure-clad or col-* ored 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 ot the symmetrical volcanic eminences elsewhere In Central America. In the heaithful 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 an£ rich country districts that in charm and interest vyfll repay richly ..every moment the traveler will spare * The hearth fill 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, Jbut continued from the port up the coast to La Llbeftad, 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 mutes. It is a very short trip up to the capitol, but the traveler beholds the varied resources and climatic changes of an entire continent within the brief journey to the uplands. * This part of the coast ■ <s\a/ center for Peruvian balsam, a remedyror pulmonary complaints and so called because In early days It was first shipped from Salvador to Peru before being reconsigned tn through packets to Europe, The tree is found over an extended atrip up and down the coast Highways Are Excellent The Journey .from La Llbertad to <San Salvador is a fine one and the road is good. ' In fact there are 1.800 miles of through national highways in the republic of Salvador. The roads of San Salvador are a 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 Llbertad is a great port for San Salvador. The mountain scenery--on the way to Santa Tecla, 2,650 feet above sea 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 betweeh 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 Llbertad 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 nlente” type about San Salvador which, with its environs, has a population of

65,000. With the exception of Panama City, San Salvador has more an-, tomobiles 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, {fog cathedral, . TKe’'Ni?tTonal university 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 its shops and stores. The broad streets, fine cement curbs, the ornate, low-lying buildings with their handsomely grilled and latticed windows, the beautiful, semltroplcal 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 in social chats, make new acquaintances, and listen to an excellently rendered concert—all these ren--rfer 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 lead* Ing cities of Central America. 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 ”she 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.

Lake Ilopongo.

The Volcano Izalco