Brian Hancill

Under the volcano

Roberto the guide had promised us the most spectacular church in Central America — so why had he brought us to a concrete ruin? Smiling at our confusion, he shooed us through the door and suddenly we were inside a rainbow. Row upon row of stained glass give the arched interior of Iglesia El Rosario a dazzling impact. And if the crumbling facade needs attention, well, the young mayor of San Salvador will have it fixed before long.

There’s a big programme of improvements underway in the capital of El Salvador. The square outside the church is full of bulldozers and the dangerous tangles of wires that snake over every street are being re-routed underground; a lost photo opportunity for tourists, but a clear sign of a country accelerating away from the past.

We spent three days in El Salvador and three in neighbouring Honduras. The people here are so young (the median age is mid–twenties) that most were not even born during the turmoil and war of the 1970s and 1980s, though both countries suffer with the criminal gangs that flourished afterwards. You see a lot of guns; mainly pump-action shotguns slung across the shoulders of guards who protect everything from city jewellers to countryside restaurants. There’s a debate about whether such precautions are still needed, but even on a short visit it was apparent that none of this affects tourists unless they are stupidly reckless. Whether you hire a driver–guide or make your own way, it’s possible to go almost anywhere and find nothing but smiling hospitality.

Our first day began at Joya De Cerén, an archaeological site 20 miles out of town. The first thing we saw was a turquoise-browed motmot, the national bird, which swings its extended tail like a pendulum as it sits on a branch.

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