San Salvador, 05.03. (Prensa Latina) In El Salvador, there is a “ghost” river that flows for weeks at a given time and then disappears without a trace for years, intriguing experts studying the phenomenon.
It is the Santa Lucía River, in the western department of Sonsonate, where technicians from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) study samples taken from the river to assess their quality by analyzing their physical, bacteriological and chemical characteristics.
Experts are attempting to determine its age, identify priority areas for refilling, and understand why wells form and then dry up. They also took samples from the spring to assess the isotopic status, i.e. the composition of the water.
The big mystery to be solved is the sudden disappearance and the reasons behind this phenomenon. Out of curiosity and who knows what belief, hundreds of people, Salvadorans and tourists alike, visit the river, which locals say can be seen every seven years.
This number tends to do everything because of its hidden virtues, said Hippocrates. It is the giver of life, source of all transformations and influences all exalted beings. Even the moon changes phase every seven days.
Many of those who come to the site to see the phenomenon carry containers to collect the vital fluid as it occurs during the dry season. “It tastes like coconut water,” said one tourist. Others attribute miraculous properties to him and wash his face.
Now it’s a place of Catholic worship, local traditions and fun. This is how the bed of the Santa Lucía river became in Juayúa.
Marta Rodríguez, director of the Casa de la Cultura, said that it is believed that an effigy of the aforementioned saint, the patron saint of the community, was found there. For this reason, masses are held, attended by hundreds of believers, while others bring flowers, which they put in the wells where the water comes out.
(taken from orb)