Bienvenido a El Salvador

Although we were anxious to get to the beach and filled with joy to be in 80° F weather in December, we took one day to experience the capitol city, San Salvador. The city is about a 45-minute drive from the international airport. Taking the public bus costs 25 cents. A private driver with a van was $12 per person. Our energy was low from the early morning flight so we saw less than we could have. The many political billboards prompted questions so our driver introduced us to the woes of the upcoming election. It seems the past president embezzled about $350 million and enjoys retirement as a political refugee in Nicaragua. The current president isn’t much better but at least there is law that no president may succeed himself/herself. Elections are controlled by the right or the left but both we were told that parties are corrupt and there’s little hope for better. The current frontrunner is a wealthy businessman born of immigrant (Lebanese) parents who isn’t affiliated with either party. Speculation is that he’ll check the polls and, as the February election approaches, he’ll make an alliance with one of the two parties to dominate. Later, our 30-year old Airbnb host told us she doesn’t plan to vote. I couldn’t help but think of the current situation of American politics and how many people feel similarly disengaged.

The Nico Urban Hotel was perfect — charming, clean, affordable, friendly and almost empty except for staff.

It cost about $100 per night for two people including a full breakfast in a tropical courtyard.

The hotel is situated in an area that’s perfect for strolling. We settled on a terrace cafe for margaritas and dinner where we were the only gringos.

Sunday morning we walked to the nearby National Art Museum, bought frozen, chocolate-covered bananas from a street vendor, and admired graffiti along the way. Again, I noticed no other American tourists. This continued throughout our trip.

The drive back to the coast to our Airbnb home for the next week was again about 45 minutes and $60 for a private driver and van. No doubt a local bus would have been less than a dollar.

The roads and towns are largely indistinguishable from other underdeveloped countries near the equator (El Salvador’s latitude is 13°-15° North). At La Libertad beaches the poverty is intermixed with a couple upscale hotels and a considerable number of smaller hotels and hostels catering to surfers.

Our gracious Airbnb host offered us to jump in a friend’s pickup and go to a nearby beach with a spectacular vantage to watch the sunset.

It’s December and 38° F back home but the surfers, sunset, music, and party-vibe on the beach create the mood of the proverbial “endless summer.”

Give me a sunset over the ocean to share with someone I love and I’m a very happy girl.

On the way back to the house, we stopped at a little cafe for pupusas, the local specialty, which is a fried corn tortilla filled with your choice of beans, cheese, meat, and/or vegetables. They cost a dollar a piece, are made fresh to order, and are delicious.

Our first full day was spent on the beach — surfing (board rental is $25/day or $15 for a half day) and tanning. The national currency is the U. S. dollar and the electrical outlets are the same as back home which makes it very easy for us.

The Sunzal surf break is world famous and it did not disappoint. There are a number of other good surf spots but, with just a week, we stayed close. The guys surfed here 3 days and each day the surf was nice.

It’s hard to top a day walking on the beach, soaking up sunshine, and a lunch of ceviche, shrimp & avocados, and sangrias.

Tired from the sun, we stayed in for the evening while our lovely host made us a healthy, tasty dinner of mahi mahi grilled in banana leaves.

Fun fact: In addition to being a great host, Fatima, a native Salvadorian, is an excellent surfer, yoga instructor and former member of the national fencing team.

To be honest, we’ve stayed in every night. Our Airbnb home is spacious and comfortable plus we’re ready to relax after a long day of rising before sunrise, exploring, hiking, surfing, beaching, and sipping tropical drinks. The calm beauty around us is the perfect setting for quality time with family or personal reflection. Our evenings focus on good food & drinks, watching movies, playing games, and resting.

Early Tuesday morning, we took a two-hour drive then a two-hour hike to the highest point in the country — the top of the Santa Ana volcano (7,749 ft). The two-hour, hot (about 90 degrees) hike is rewarded by a gorgeous view down to the crater lake. The steam coming off the water is actually sulfur.

En route back from Santa Ana we passed the Izalco volcano and stopped at a lakeside restaurant for a well-earned dinner break.

Every day begins with a colorful, peaceful sunrise at about 6:00 AM; more than an hour earlier than the sunrise in Virginia this week. At dawn, Venus is still bright in the sky. Brightly colored birds sing and fly around the property. We’ve seen red hummingbirds and bright yellow birds that, sadly, I can’t identify.

Each evening at 5:30 PM we get an orange, tropical sunset. This is the week of the winter solstice so the days are short but they are a couple hours longer than at home.

At night the stars are vivid. Mars shines brightly as a brown planet and the three stars of Orion’s belt are easy to identify. We sleep with the sliding doors open listening to the sound of the ocean without worry about mosquitoes. There are few bugs other than tiny ants and an occasional fly. At every turn I see colorful, tropical flowers.

Alternating days of activity and surfing/sunning on the beach works well. If you look closely, you can see 15 – 20 surfers out on the Sunzal break.

Our dining has been a huge array from little pupusa stands to upscale restaurants overlooking the Pacific. Lunch one day was in a dried-up riverbed with dogs and chickens walking around. We loved it, of course.

This is a typical stand selling fresh corn tortillas and pupusas that we find in great multitudes.

Our favorite restaurant is Beto’s that offers both delicious food and drinks and a great vantage for sunsets over the Pacific.

Everywhere we’ve been, seafood is abundant and the service is excellent. The cuisine is uniformly good, fresh, and very affordable but it’s not as cheap as Thailand or some places we’ve been. Clearly, the average Salvadorian citizen earning approximately $350 per month can’t afford to eat out often. Much worse, gas costs $2.85/liter or $10.78/gallon yet the roads are very congested. Our host tells us that the buses aren’t safe due to gangs so people buy cars but there are insufficient roads. She says El Salvador has better roads than Costa Rica (and we agree) but Costa Rica has better schools. Traffic jams with no traffic signals to control the flow are common and almost comical. A trip to the grocery store took us 15 minutes one day but more than an hour another.

Friday, the winter solstice, we visited pre-Columbian Mayan ruins (900 BC)  at the San Andres and El Tazumal archeological sites.

Each day is about 85-88° and the evenings are in the 70s; no clouds, no rain, only a light breeze.

It’s so great having time together. We’ve shared a lot of laughs but also endless interesting conversations. For example, we discussed the obstacles third-world countries face. The economy can’t grow sufficiently and people can’t advance their standing without infrastructure to support growth. An example of how that restricts is found in home ownership which is typically a person’s greatest asset. Real property that has been handed down for generations without proper titles and official government recordation system is impossible to leverage.  The inability to leverage these assets limits access to capital needed for the growth of small business and access to higher education, thereby limiting the increase in income taxes and real estate value. All of this has a larger economic impact on the country as a whole forcing people to operate outside the government’s control to support their families. Everywhere you look you see small, entrepreneurial efforts. Citizens are incentivized to vote for leadership that protects the status quo. Micro-financing works to a limited extent but doesn’t address the bigger issues. No doubt, this is only a small part of the challenges but it’s meaningful to learn from travel and terrific sharing thoughts. We have no desire to see the entire world turn into the United States, still, one can’t help but think about the opportunities in the U. S. versus the severe limitations facing much of the world.

One afternoon we were sitting at a cafe by the ocean and Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” was playing. Andrew brought up an interview he saw with Bob. In response to a question asking if he was rich he replied essentially, not if you mean money in the bank, but I’m rich in peace of mind, love, community, and respect. Work as hard as you like, folks, but you can’t buy those things.

El Salvador has been perfect for an 8-day trip. It’s easily reached, full of natural beauty and warm, welcoming people, and is very affordable. Too bad so many travelers see it as unsafe. At all times I’ve felt surrounded by good, kind people. True, our Airbnb is in a gated-community. Also true, it’s common to see security personnel (private, police, or soldiers) armed with big guns but I haven’t had an uncomfortable moment or felt in any danger whatsoever.

Flying back home just in time for Christmas. I’m not sure when or where my next trip will be but of this I’m confident … the world is big and life is an adventure. Time is the ultimate limited resource.

“A very Merry Christmas
And a happy new year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear”  John Lennon

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” Helen Keller

“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.” Henry David Thoreau