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East of Zacatecoluca, the Carretera Littoral crosses the Rio Lempa at San Marcos Lempa before running through lush, green coffee country to the city of USULUTAN , on the southern slopes of the volcano of the same name. Usulutan is of little interest to tourists except as a transit point; La Posada del Viajero (tel 662 0217; US$5-10) close to the centre on 6a C Ote between 2a and 4a Av Nte, is a clean and friendly place to stay . The bus station is about six blocks east of the centre, on C Grimaldi, which leads down to the Parque Central. The Telecom and a number of banks are clustered around the square, and there's Internet access at Tipo's Cyber Cafe on 6a Av Nte and 4a C Pte. About 20km southwest of Usulutan, down a road lined with sugarcane fields, is PUERTO EL TRIUNFO , a small village and port set on the shore of Bahia de Jiquilisco, separated from the ocean by the San Juan del Gozo peninsula - this area was badly hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and much rebuilding work continues. Formed by coastal mangrove swamps, the beautiful bay features 12km of waterways and a number of islands. Passenger boats cross to hamlets on the islands and to the village of Corral de Mulas on the peninsula; if you miss these - they tend to leave early in the day - boats can be rented for a return crossing or for a few hours exploring the waterways around the smaller islands of Tortuga, Madre Sal, Los Cedros and San Sebastian. A long, fine sandy beach forms the ocean-side of the peninsula; a road runs its length, branching off the highway at San Marcos Lempa. You can camp on the islands and the peninsula, and there is a small, basic and apparently nameless hotel (up to US$5) in Puerto El Triunfo, with a restaurant serving huge fish dishes. At the far eastern end of the Bahia de Jiquilisco is one of El Salvador's remotest - and finest - beaches, Playa El Espino , whose wide expanse of soft sand backed by coconut palms is virtually deserted, even at weekends (though rumours persist that much of the land around the beach has been purchased by developers and will soon be covered in resort hotels). There's a slow and infrequent bus from Usulutan (2-3 daily; 1hr 30min-2hr) to the beach, though, obviously, things are much easier with your own transport.
Cascos de burroFernando says "There´s a great place where you can eat "cascos de burro", which are like HUGE "conchas" and other great seafood with good, cold beers. It is called "Merendero el tular". Their phone number is 77959103. Good service. A boat can take you from puerto el triunfo."
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