German businessman Herman Hecht arrived in El Salvador in 1880 and soon set his eyes on the fertile lands just outside Izalco. Sprinkled with freshwater springs and tropical vegetation, this place was named Nacimientos de Cuayuncúat by the indigenous. A Cuayuncúat is a mythological animal, half-snake, half-toad that, according to legend, lived here because of the abundance of water.

A volcanic eruption in the western region of El Salvador thousands of years ago created a deep blue and seemingly bottomless lake known today as Lago Coatepeque.

Coffee growers from the highlands of Western El Salvador once dreaded the transport of beans from their fincas to the port of Acajutla. In the middle of this journey, the arrieros encountered a tumultuous pass known as El Imposible, a narrow patchwork of logs tied together over a murderous precipice that fell straight down on both sides. The arrieros blindfolded the mules hauling the coffee as they crossed the pass so the animals would not be spooked by the bridge and the gaping abyss it precariously spanned. Many merchants and even more unsuspecting mules lost their balance on the pass and plunged to their certain deaths.

text & photos by Lena Johannessen

Fishermen in dugout canoes

Barra de Santiago is a protected wilderness area in western El Salvador consisting of a 2,200-hectare mangrove forest (one of the best-preserved in the country) and an estuary bearing the same name. The local population is mainly fishermen, many of whom still use the traditional ways of fishing by casting nets from the beach and dug-out canoes.

text and photos by Jose Roberto Suarez

Each time I visit the cove and community of Los Cóbanos, I fall more and more in love with its inhabitants, most of them fishermen. From their homes in front of the coral white beach, they offer us delicious plates of fresh seafood. On the quiet waters of their cove, their fishing boats await the next departure to obtain the day’s catch, and the gentle waves make perfect conditions for sea kayaking.

Starting this month, there is a new cultural meeting point in San Salvador. “Culto a El Salvador” is the name of an area in the lobby of Hotel Real Intercontinental San Salvador where each month the works of local artists will be displayed. “And as the name suggests, the emphasis is on exhibiting works that reflect the typical Salvadoran,” explains Ramiro Zepeda Roldán, manager of public relations of the hotel.

by Lena Johannessen

The Salvadoran Museum of Natural History was founded in 1976 in the casco (main house) of Finca Gloria, inside the Parque Saburo Hirao. The Hirao Park is a collection of native and imported plant species that was created by Japanese citizen Saburo Hirao and later donated to the government. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch heavily damaged the building, and the museum had to close to the public; then in 2001, earthquakes damaged the building even further, leading to the museum’s permanent closure.

The valley north of Sonsonate is surrounded by impressive volcanoes and blanketed in coffee groves; the bean was introduced to the area in 1838, and today the region produces a large part of the coffee exported from El Salvador. Beautiful indigenous villages, striking arts and crafts combined with a fresh climate and natural beauty have made this region a favorite among tourists. Ruta de las Flores, as this area stretching all the way from Sonsonate to Ataco in the north has become known, recently experienced a tourism revival in the form of several new hotels and restaurants.

Earlier this year during a flight over Lake Atitlán, Guatemala an Ecuriel B-3 helicopter had technical problems and plunged into the lake. Thanks to the skill of the pilot, who maneuvered the helicopter for an emergency water-landing, none of the passengers were injured.

I made a wonderful discovery recently — the Photo Café. From the outside it looks like an ordinary coffee shop but the minute you walk inside you know you are in a special place. Amazing photographs cover the walls, there are stacks of excellent magazines and current newspapers to read, and the bar area feels more like you are in a friend’s living room. The coffee menu offers something for everyone, from ice coffee to espresso!