San Vicente to San Miguel
Beyond San Vicente, the Carretera Interamericana continues
through low mountains and coffee plantations before crossing the
Río Lempa , 30km past the city. This formidable natural
boundary once afforded the Lenca inhabitants of the eastern
territories some measure of protection, first against the Pipils
and then against the Spanish. The Pipils called the area east of
the river Popocatepetl, or "the land that smokes", presumably
because of the number of active volcanoes.
The first section of the highway gives bus drivers ample
opportunity to fine-tune their high-speed cornering technique
before crossing the mighty Lempa on the brand-new Puente
Cuscatlán , which replaced the old bridge bombed by the FMLN in
January 1984. The remains of the original bridge lie slumped in the
river, a sobering reminder of El Salvador's recent history. At the
village of Mercedes Umaña, about 45km from San Vicente, a road
heads south to the rough town of Berlín , the scene of much
activity during the war and today the location of an important
geo-thermal power plant. From here, hourly buses run along a road
around the Volcán Tecapa to the more pleasant town of
SANTIAGO DE MARÍA , which has a couple of simple hotels.
Halfway between the two towns is Alegría, from where paths lead up
the volcano to the sulphurous crater lake Laguna de Alegría
, an energetic walk of about one hour. This area is predominantly
coffee-growing country, with plantations lining the slopes of the
rolling mountains. From Santiago, buses run up to El Triunfo
on the Carretera Interamericana, then continue on to San Miguel;
from both Berlín and Santiago there are also regular connections
south to Usulután.
Beyond El Triunfo the scenery changes: coffee pastures give way
to dry plains dotted with the cones of volcanoes; to the south the
land falls away to pasture lands and coastal mangrove swamps. A
major crop in this area is henequén (sisal); fields of
serried ranks of the distinctive, spikey grey-green plants line the
highway into the distance.
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