- El Salvador is known as the Land of Volcanoes. It has frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.
- El Salvador is the only country in Central America that does not have a coastline on the Caribbean Sea.
- Coffee, sugar, corn, rice, shrimp, and beef are the main agricultural products in El Salvador.
- High in the mountains, at the 7,931-foot (2,417-meter) summit of Monte Cristo Mountain, is a cloud forest in the international nature preserve of El Trifinio.
- Theindigenous language spoken in El Salvador is called Nawat or Pipil and is spoken by the Pipils that still live in El Salvador, though the language is becoming extinct as each generation passes.
- El Salvador has the third largest economy in Central America (behind Costa Rica and Panama).
- Four species of sea turtles make the coasts of El Salvador their home such as Olive Ridley, Leatherback, Green and Hawksbill.
- The country has declared five national parks such as El Imposible, Cerro Verde, El Boqueron, Conchagua and Montecristo.
- The national soccer team has attended the FIFA World Cup two times. First was in1970 and again in
- International surfing competitions have taken place in El Salvador because of its beaches. It is common to see people with surfing boards at the international airport.
- Carnival festivals in El Salvador are being held regularly.
El Salvador – COOL, FUNNY AND FUN FACTS
- The government offers free education to children up to the ninth grade
- El Salvador’s major food production is Rice, beans, and tortillas.
- In El Salvador, they are fond of different kind of sports such as Football and Surfing. But Salvadoran’s very popular sport is Soccer.
- Salvadoran women often pat each other on the right forearm or shoulder, rather than shake hands.
- In El Salvador, only close friends may hug and kiss on the right cheek as a sign of respect in greeting others.
- In El Salvador, Men always shake hands with other men and with women, although they wait for the woman to extend her hand when greeting others as a sign of respect.
- In many ways El Salvador is a formal culture where only close friends and family use first names.
- Never arrive on time when invited to a home. Although it may sound strange you should arrive a little later than invited, i.e. 30 -45 minutes late.
- In El Salvador, Guests are always served first.
- Salvadoran’s prefer business cards with translation in Spanish because in El Salvador, the most common language that they used is Spanish.
El Salvador – HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL FACTS
- El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America and is smaller than the state of Massachusetts.
- El Salvador is bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, and Honduras.
- As part of El Salvador’s culture, it is polite for guests to try some of every dish that is served.
- El Salvador’s national bird is known as the torogoz (turquoise-browed motmot) which is a colourful, medium-sized bird of the motmot family, Momotidae. It inhabits Central America from south-east Mexico (mostly the Yucatán Peninsula), to Costa Rica, where it is common and not considered threatened.
- Salvadorans are called ‘guanacos’ rather affectionately by some, perhaps disparagingly by others. Most Salvadorans are proud of the name.
- Joya de Ceren is one UNESCO World Heritage Site in the country. This site was buried in ashes by a volcanic eruption and it is considered the “Pompeii of the Americas.”
- Metrocentrois owned by Grupo Roble, which is based in San Salvador, El Salvador and the shopping mall is the largest shopping center in Central America. It was the first Metrocentro and opened in 1970.
- In 2014, El Salvador Int’l Airportwon the 3rd place as the Best Airport in Central America and Caribbean region named by air travellers at the 2014 World Airport Awards, held at Passenger Terminal EXPO in Barcelona, Spain.
- The national dish in El Salvador is the famous Pupusa which is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of a thick, handmade corn tortilla that is usually filled with a blend of the following are cheese, cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency, and refried beans
- Magico Gonzales is considered by many critics and journalist as one of the best football players in history which He received the first of his 62caps for El Salvador on 1 December 1976, in a FIFA World Cup qualification match against Costa Rica.
- Santa Anais the second largest city in El Salvador, located 64 kilometers northwest of San Salvador, the capital city.
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The Spanish took over in 1525 and forced the native people to become servants. El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821 and full independence in 1841.
About 90 percent of Salvadorans are mestizo, descendants of Spanish and Indian ancestors. Nine percent claim Spanish descent.
The traditional cuisine consists of food from Native American cuisine, indigenous Lenca, Maya, Pipil and European Spanish peoples. El Salvador’s most notable dish is the pupusa [photo below], a thick handmade corn flour or rice flour tortilla stuffed with cheese, chicharrón (cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency), refried beans or loroco (a vine flower bud native to Central America).
The tourism is one of the biggest resources for economic development of El Salvador.
Coffee, sugar, corn, rice, shrimp, and beef are the main agricultural products in El Salvador.
Along the coastal plains, there are palm trees and tropical fruit trees, such as mango, coconut, and tamarind. Armadillos, snakes, and iguanas also inhabit the warm, humid coast.
The cloud forest is home to orchids, ferns, spider monkeys, jaguars, anteaters, and many bird species.
The leatherback turtle, the olive ridley, the hawksbill and the green sea turtle are the four species of sea turtle nesting on the coast of El Salvador.
International surfing competitions have taken place in El Salvador because of its beaches. It is common to see people with surfing boards at the international airport.
El Salvador is one of the countries with the highest murder rate in the world.
Football is the most popular sport in El Salvador
El Salvador has the largest mall and airport in Central America.
Salvadorans are known as “guanacos.”
So yeah that’s a little bit of fun facts about the 3rd country on my 11 country tour! Please remember to donate!
til next time your fellow sister in Christ,
Gumshoe Bakewell
(in case you are wondering about the title of Gumshoe that I have bestowed on myself for this series, its a reference to a computer game turned TV show back in the 90s (ok I’m showing my age there, hahaha) that I loved to both play and watch called “Where in the World is Carman SanDeigo”- and you were given the lowest rank of Gumshoe, and the point was to solve theft crimes committed by Carman and her V.I.L.E henchman, and the more thefts you solved over time got you a promotion in the station. I was pretty good at it plus it helped me to learn Geography too.)
