El Salvador
El Salvador is a tiny tropical country about the size of Massachusetts, located in the heart of Latin America. Bordered by Guatemala, Honduras, and the Pacific Ocean, it’s the only Central American country that does not have a coastline belonging to the Caribbean Sea. With the exception of a centrally located plateau, most of the land rises and falls to form steep mountains and low valleys. Twenty-four volcanoes reign over its rugged terrain, and most of the country is carpeted with lush, bright green vegetation. Several lakes are nestled among the mountains, tiny rivers flow from the heights of El Salvador down into the ocean, and the coastal regions are crowded with coconut palm trees.
Temperatures vary little from season to season, staying around 85°F during the day on the coast, and cooling off more as you rise into higher elevations. Nights can get a little chilly during the dry season, or summer, as locals call it, from November through April. Winter, or rainy season, starts in May and ends in October, and usually brings the warmer conditions. Ocean temperatures are pretty constant as well, staying around the mid-eighties most of the year, with a couple summer months descending to the lower-eighties and upper-seventies. The national language is Spanish, but Nahua is also spoken, and many people are familiar with English.
San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, is a large, bustling city that is home to several malls, office buildings, clubs, churches, restaurants (many American), bars, schools, specialty shops, and countless other businesses. The streets are busy with a kind of seamless traffic that flows through the metropolis disregarding most traffic laws known to man. Horns are heard constantly in warning of a near-collision, and bright graffiti-style art covers the buses used in public transportation. There is no limit to how many Salvadorans will fit into a moving vehicle, so seeing people toppling out of trucks and hanging on the sides of over-stuffed buses is the norm for any location in this country. Small towns and tiny villages spread out around the larger cities, and corn and coffee plantations are abundant.
El Salvador achieved its independence from Spain on September 15th, 1821, and from the Central American Federation in 1839. A ruthless 12-year civil war lasted from 1980 to 1992, diminishing the population by some 75,000 lives. The government and the leftist rebels signed a treaty agreeing to both military and political reforms in 1992. Since then El Salvador has been on a road of constant improvement, rebuilding both the countries government and economy. About two years ago control over monetary policy was renounced and the American dollar was adopted. Today, the government is currently striving to stimulate the sluggish economy by opening new export markets, encouraging foreign investment, and rehabilitating the tax and healthcare systems. The justice system is also taking part in the reform by cracking down on crime and violence encouraged by gangs and drugs, making the streets safer for both citizens and tourists alike.
Check out the Scrapbook to see what El Salvador has to offer!
