San Salvador, El Salvador (February 2007)

San Salvador, El Salvador cover page.	Map of El Salvador with the star indicating San Salvador.	View of the Metropolitan Cathedral with a statue of the Salvadoran military hero, Gerardo Barrios in the foreground.	Statue of Gerardo Barrios (1813-1865) was both a military hero and served several times as President of El Salvador.
The façade of the new Metropolitan Cathedral which was completed in 1999 (the old one burned down in 1951).	Pope John Paul II visited the site of the cathedral (since it was not yet completed) in 1983 and 1996.	Statue of Christ with his arms uplifted over the doorway of the Metropolitan Cathedral.	People were hanging out and sitting on park benches in Plaza Barrios on the day that I was there.
View of the National Palace in San Salvador which was the seat of the government in the early 1900's and is now a museum.	View of the 90 meter clock tower of the Church of Maria Auxiliadora (Don Rua) in the Zona Norte of San Salvador.	Another view of the church which is known as "Don Rua."	A large red cross adorns this domed part of the church.
There are also nice gardens at Don Rua Church.	View of the Anthropological Museum of El Salvador located in San Salvador's upscale Colonia San Benito.	It traces El Salvador's history from prehistoric through pre-Hispanic Mayan times, to post-Hispanic colonial to modern times.	I was impressed by this modern sculpture of a horse at the Anthropological Museum.
Side view of the horse sculpture.	I took this picture of this building across the street from the Anthropological Museum, because I liked the colorful sign.	Close-up of the colorful sign which appears to be a logo of some kind.	This statue of Omar Torrijos Herrera also stands in front of the Anthropological Museum.
He was a Panamanian army officer who negotiated the treaty to return the Panama Canal. He is renowned in Central America.	View of the Church of the Virgin of Guadalupe San Salvador with a traditional Spanish colonial façade.	Close-up of the fountain which sits in front of the Church of the Virgin of Guadalupe.	A side view of the church with a cobalt blue sky in the background.
Close-up showing architectural details of the church.	The beautiful interior of the Church of the Virgin of Guadalupe.	A view of the alter with stained glass windows in the background.	This golden image of the Virgin Mary is over the alter.
One of many wonderful stained glass windows inside the Church of the Virgin of Guadalupe.	When driving to the airport, I passed these police cadets jogging. As I took this picture, I got some friendly waves!