EL SALVADOR, LAND OF PRECIOUS THINGS

The coast of Salvador runs east - west

El Salvador is situated between 13 degrees north and 13 degrees 43 minutes north and lies 1,100 miles almost directly south of New Orleans and is in the Central Time Zone. It is home to 5.7 million people. At the time of the Spanish conquest, El Salvador was known as Cuzcatlan, which means “land of precious things” in the Pipil language. The Spaniards mistakenly thought that the meaning referred to gold but the real meaning was about the fertile land and lush jungles.

View from Isla Cordoncillo

The country converted to the American dollar in 2001. Unlike other countries that converted to the dollar El Salvador also uses American coins. Many Salvadorians have relatives working in the United States who send money back to Salvador. In 2004 over 2.5 billion dollars was sent into the country. Some foreigners think that it is still dangerous in Salvador but forget that the civil war has been over for 18 years. Crime should not prevent people from traveling Central America any more than it does from traveling San Diego or San Francisco. Crimes involving tourists are rare but, as most cruisers know, you need to take commonsense precautions wherever you travel.

Tourist police in San Salvador

Travel in El Salvador and through out Central America is inexpensive and easy. El Salvador has many things to offer like national parks, twenty-three volcanoes to explore, colonial towns, lakes, and artesian villages. Of course, the best things about El Salvador are the warm and friendly people.

Salvadoran family

Easy bus transportation to the capital city of San Salvador or other local communities is located just outside the hotel gates. The hotel will call a taxi service if you prefer. A few of the locals have automobile transportation and often take others with them into San Salvador for the price of sharing gasoline. The international airport is located 40 minutes away so it is very easy to have family and friends join you here.

It is safe and inexpensive to leave your boat in Bahia while you travel around Central America. Most tourists travel by long distance busses which are very comfortable. Traveling from San Salvador to Guatemala takes only five or six hours and almost all destinations within El Salvador are just a couple of hours. You can plan your own itinerary and make travel arrangements through a number of travel agents or you can employ the services of a tour guide.