An Unlikely Tourist Spot

Up until about 1980, when things heated up. El Salvador's ministry of tourism vigorously pushed the beauties of the country. Travel brochures featured a beautiful and evenly tanned couple walking along the tideline on El Salvador's Pacific coast.

But a burutal, bloody war has broken out in many parts of the country, and the old image of a sleepy little Latin American country beckoning Yankee tourists has given way to a new view, one shaped by nightly TV footage and features in newsmagazines.

Ironically, although the El Salvador ministry of tourism no longer operates its office in New York, travel to the country remains popular. Flights are packed for the upcoming elections in El Salvador, but more important, many of the beach clubs, the inns and the hotels remain open. Apparently the old image of Salvador survives the civil war.

In one gift package the size of Massachusetts, this Central American country offers everything for the vacationer: sleeping volcanoes, shimmering lakes, lush countryside, Mayan ruins, a bustling, sophisticated capital, miles of unspoiled Pacific beaches and a revolution gracious enough to stay out of the prime tourist areas.

If you're careful and heed the advice of the bellboys at the Sheraton El Salvador or the Camino Real in San Salvador, a fabulous spring or summer vacation is waiting for you. "I was down there in December, and I swear--if you didn't read the newspapers or listen to the radio, you'd never know there was a war going on," reports Gloria Malloy, a manager for TACA, the El Salvador an airline. "It was so peaceful in the city."

The discos in the capital--Sahara Lounge, El Bigote, L'Objet--are teeming with partygoers until 4 a.m.; the craftsmen and street peddlers at Plaza Barrios are hungry for foreign cash and are willing to give you up to 375 colones to the dollar instead of the official rate of 250 colones; and the Pacific beaches along Costa Del Sol--with its gnarly surfing at La Libertdad--and Barra de Santiago to the South of San Salvador put Lauderdale and Nauset to shame.

San Salvador, the second largest city in Central America, sports a variety of attractions, all within walking distance of one another. Founded in 1524, the capital boasts the traditional Spanish architecture of the Shrine of the Virgin of Guadeloupe and St. Ignatius Loyola, as well as the resplendent National Palace and Archbishop's Palace.

Laid out like a cross, San Salvador's four broad avenues meet at the Plaza Barrios, the heart of the downtown shopping area, where the hawkers sell a colorful variety of woven crafts, baskets and other goods.

Most of the countryside's beauties are less than an hour from the capital, and reachable by a coastal highway which stretches 35 miles. Many golf and beach clubs remain open despite a drop in tourism because of the war.

Although rebels control mountainous Chalatenango province in the north, and major portions of the eastern part of the 8000-square-mile country, skirmishes have not been reported near one of the most exciting spots--the volcano west of San Salvador, Izalco, known as the "Lighthouse of the Pacific" for its minor eruptions every 15 minutes.

In mid-August, the country stages a massive celebration--the Marimba Fiesta. Summers in El Salvador stay temperate and dry, with late-afternoon showers lasting just long enough to bring the temperature down from the low 80's.

TACA makes daily flights to San Salvador from Miami for $359 round-trip, and also flies to the country from Houston, New Orleans and Los Angeles.

Once inside El Salvador, you'll find comfortable--and relatively inexpensive--places to stay. The biggest and best are the 213-room Sheraton El Salvador, at $65 for a mountain-view room and $61 for lower floors. Or you can mingle with the world press corps at the 237-room Western International Camino Real, which journalists have just about taken over.

Down at Costa del Sol, you can find very American-style condos, with beach rights and golf courses and tennis courts.

"I don't think the present times are the best times to go to El Salvador," says Julio Martinez, cultural affairs officer at the country's United Nations mission. But despite an ongoing brutal war, El Salvador remains--if you're careful about where you go and pay attention to residents' warnings--a vacation spot full of natural wonders.