ZacatecolucaPersonal travel impressions in stories and pictures from Zacatecoluca, El Salvador. Click on the pictures to enlarge, send as a free e-card, or download for personal use. You can locate Zacatecoluca and navigate the world using Google Earth Show on map
N 13° 30.330
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On a few hours stopover between two flights, I decided not to stay at the airport to wait for my next flight, but to try and get a glimpse of the country. As soon as I was outside, I asked a taxi driver if there was any town nearby worth visiting for someone who only had 2 hours time. I knew San Salvador would be too far, also because with these rapidly growing cities, there is always a real risk of traffic jams and therefore of missing my flight. He was a little surprised by the question, a customer who did not have a clue where to go. 
So I clarified, any place with a colonial church, a nice central square, colourful houses, or a market perhaps? He thought a little, and then said Zacatecoluca (just try to pronounce that name a few times in a row - the stress is on the "u"!). We agreed on a price, and off we went. Quite soon, he suggested to take the old road, which allowed us to visit small villages on the way. Apparently, he got the idea, and got always more enthusiastic, thinking out aloud where he might take me on my next visit. The other villages were nothing special, and we merely drove through them.
We saw the towers of the Zacatecoluca church before we saw the first house of the town, two white arrows pointing up to the blue Salvadoran sky - or heaven? - from the intensely green landscape, with a volcano towering above it. We took a turnoff, drove through a market and then, the arrows reappeared, contrasting with the deep blue afternoon sky. The visit to The Santa Lucia Cathedral was rather short. The building seemed out of proportion compared to the surrounding low buildings, which made the cathedral stand out among the town's buildings. the inside was wood, rather clumsily decorated statues, a place to confess which was nothing more than a wooden panel and a curtain. Then, we had to return to the airport, and I was in time to catch my flight to Tegucigalpa.
