My wife and I just visited El Salvador in June '98 and found it friendly and safe if you just do a few simple things. The first thing we did was buy tee shirts that said "Viva El Salvador!" and wore them everywhere. Non English speaking natives (we're from the US) would come up to us on the streets, smile, and say "Americanos!" The natives are stoic looking, but don't mistake this for unfriendliness. Learn just a few words of Spanish, and speak first, and they'll respond with a smile and speak back. My simple Buenos Dias! brought many a friendly response.
Tom Waring - US - (Jan 99)
This is a hidden spot that doesn't want to hide any more. This place is a municipality-owned park/reserve called Laguna de Alegria. The lagoon is beautiful; an emerald green lake situated in the dormant crater of Tecapa Volcano in the department of Usulutan. The lakewater is tepid, but is fed by boiling-hot water which seeps from the ground and collects in the crater. Locals say that the sulfur-rich water is medicinal. Also inside the crater is a primary growth forest teeming with wildlife including agoutis, ocelotes, coatis and an impressive number of birds. Above the forest and the lake rise 350 m cliff walls, partly covered in vegetation and partly bare rock.
The community of Alegria, situated just outside the crater, is managing the lake and forest for ecotourism, and has frequent bus service from the Pan-American Highway 30 minutes away. There are wonderful guides available to take tourists to the lake from Alegria or to show the way along the trail around the rim of the crater. Few foreign tourists come here because it is not listed in any guidebooks and on behalf of the community of Alegria, and the US Peace Corps, I invite you to visit this beautiful site. Don't miss it.
Denise Williams - US - (Nov 98)
EL SALVADOR
