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ZACATELUCA |
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 Heading east from La Libertad, the Carretera Littoral swings inland,
running north of the international airport to the small city of
ZACATECOLUCA , with its impressive whitewashed Catedral Santa Lucía, in
front of which stands a monument to the city's most famous son, José
Simeon Cañas - if a priest is around he may let you climb the tower to
see the marvellous views over the town and its volcano. Zacatecoluca was
a pre-Columbian Nonualco city with about two thousand inhabitants when
the Spanish first arrived. No records of conflict exist and in 1594, Don
Juan de Pineda reported to the Spanish court that "there are three
pueblos next to each other that are good, called San Juan and Santiago
Nonualco and Zacatecoluca. In Zacatecoluca there is a corregidor who
administers in the name of your majesty." In 1833, however, the
indigenous revolt led by Anastasio Aquino from the nearby village of
Santiago Nonualco posed a serious threat to the newly independent
country. Supported both by local tribes and poor mestizos, and meeting
with little effective resistance, Aquino at one point looked capable of
marching on and taking the capital. Instead, his army contented itself
with sacking Zacatecoluca before moving on to San Vicente, giving
government forces time to regroup.
Apart from its big daily market, there's little of interest in
Zacatecoluca except its proximity to the nearby beaches, but it's a
pleasant enough place, with a couple of acceptable hotels . Just across
the street from the bus terminal, Hotel Primavera (tel 334 1346; US$5-10),
at Av Juan Viacortez 23, has tidy rooms with bath and hammock, while
round the corner Hotel Brolyn (tel 333 8410; US$5-10), at 7a C Ote 25,
is similar but slightly more expensive. Buses run every fifteen minutes
from San Salvador's Terminal del Sur to Zacatecoluca, while bus #193
from Zacatecoluca runs all the way along the Costa del Sol.
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