Jack Treby Online

Transport links have improved in recent years but roads in San Doloroso are notoriously poor. There are a handful of daily flights from Mexico City to Toronja International Airport. Esperando and Air Mexico both run regular services. The Pan American Highway passes close to the capital and is perhaps the best land route available. Train services are limited, but rail lines connect the three biggest cities, Toronja, Ausente and Escote.

Foreign nationals require visas to enter San Doloroso but these are easily obtainable at land borders or on arrival at Toronja International Airport.

Modern Toronja is a lively and vibrant city that is perhaps under appreciated as a tourist destination. There is a thriving night life and many charming squares still redolent of the colonial era. The Plaza Mayor (Avenida 43 Este) is a good place to start, with the impressive two hundred year old Catedral proving a popular destination. The Ayuntamiento (City Hall) is on the eastern side of the plaza but more impressive still is the Independence Monument, a statue of Simón Doloroso, the famed revolutionary leader, whose stern visage dominates the surrounding area. The transmission aerial of Radio Libertad can also be seen from the plaza. One of the most familiar sites on the Toronja skyline, Edificio Libertad itself (on Avenida 58 Sur) is a striking art deco building not dissimilar to the BBC's Broadcasting House in London. It was partially destroyed by a terrorist bomb in 1990 but has since been completely restored. The National Museum on Avenida 19 Oeste - itself rebuilt after a devastating earthquake in 1993 - is a treasure trove of ethnic art and culture dating back literally thousand of years. The Archaeological Museum, on Avenida 55 Este, is smaller but still contains many important items. Matanza Park is the largest area of greenery in Central Toronja and the Plaza de los Mártires is also well worth a visit (though it is inadvisable to take photographs here as the Metropolitan Police Headquarters is situated nearby on Avenida 31). Further south, there are boat trips to be had on the Rio Verde, San Doloroso's longest river (though watch out for unscrupulous touts selling tickets for non-existent boats) and there is usually something to watch at the National Football Stadium, which played host to the World Cup Final in 1998.

The small city of Escote on the Pacific coast also has a lively night life. There are many bars worth visiting in the area surrounding the Plaza Mayor. A trip to the local monastery of Santa Maria La Virgen is a must for the culturally minded, and for the athletic there are hikes to the top of Mount Izquierda and Mount Derecha. Historians might like to visit the birth place of Miguel Vicente Ladrón and spend an hour or two in the El Hombrito museum. A notable port town, Escote has some superb restaurants and the best fresh fish in San Doloroso (which is available to buy directly every Wednesday at the weekly market).

Those who would rather hang out at the beach might prefer to head north along the coast to El Paraíso, a popular resort town for the young, the trendy and the beautiful.

A colonial city just north of Sierra Sangrienta, Ausente has a faded grandeur certain to appeal to the more romantically inclined.

The mines of Cerro Pobre - on the outskirts of the city - are of particular historic interest. Organised tours are available most afternoons but they are not for the faint-hearted.

A visit to the Royal Mint in the city centre gives further insight into the tragic history of this once famous city.