My wife and I have our flights and lodging all arranged for our trip. So looking forward to it. What do folks do about cell phones/sim cards in El Salvador? How about airport pickup? I'm guessing I should DM Jeremey for that. Happy New Year!

 

Beef tongue or lengua. Has anyone tried the beef tongue in ES? It is a delicacy in all the parts of Latin America I'm familiar with. I never ate it growing up and was leery but now it is the first thing we eat after slaughter. We've been enjoying it for days. I would love to hear feedback about the Salvadorean cuisine good and bad. Good surprises or things that didn't cut it. Thanks in advance for anyone describing ES dishes and their impressions.

 

We have been in ES for almost a year now ......and I haven't much of an an opinion of the cuisine yet.

We love to stop for pupusas ....we love the atmosphere and the kindness and the delight of the Salvadoran people and the fun of ordering in our pigeon spanish. Everyone becomes involved in helping us and there is usually a round of hugs when we leave.

Full stop - we love La Libertad - to us that is the real El Salvador. We love the hustle and bustle and the street vendors and the markets. The businesses that we patronize are so very helpful and generous with their help and advise. They always remember our names and can't do enough for us.

We can't leave here now because I have found the best hairdresser I have ever had They take care of Tony as well and it is so much fun.

When we lived in San Salvador for a couple of months we loved watching the Salvadoran ladies making pupusas along the side of the streets.

Just down the street from our airb&b was quite a little pupusa enterprise.
The would boil the corn in a huge pot over a wood fire on the side of the road.
The ladies had quite an assembly line going for making the tortillas. They are ever so skillful.
Then they would grill them over a wood fire. The smell was wonderful.

We have had a few very average restaurant meals and one meal at a highly recommended outdoor cafe where Tony got very sick so we have been pretty hesitant to eat out since.

We have had wonderful Japanese food at the restaurant that Jeremy used to work at.
We would love to go back. It is pretty pricey when paying in Australian $$$

Other than that - I can't really get a grasp of what Salvadoran cuisine is all about.

I understand now, when we were looking at houses for sale, why the kitchens were very spartan and looked pretty unused and some downright derelict. I get the feeling that they don't cook much.
Why would you when you can buy pupusas for $1.00?

Along the coast there are beautiful cliff side restaurants with the most amazing views.
We have had a couple of delicious things but the other food we have had has been ordinary.

We haven't had much time yet to venture out and explore ....soon

 

Heidi and I will be there next week. Can't wait. We're in La Libertad. Hoping to meet some of the tribe when we're there. Cheers.

 

El Salvador passed the securities law paving the way for the volcano bonds today

 

We've been here just over two weeks and starting to find our feet.

Adjusting to the weather has been interesting but amazing at the same time, i was always too much of a wuss to have cold showers in Melbourne (it was so cold most of the time) however here we really dislike the indoor shower (way too hot) and have been showering outdoors and loving it - no going back.

Note there is no hot water here in most houses!!!!! That was a real surprise.

Learned more about bitcoin uses here in reality and downloaded the MUUN wallet, transferred money from an Australian exchange as well as loading money onto the wallet via a Chivo ATM.

Went to El Zonte - surprised at how small and run down it was but there has been and can see the improvements over the last twelve months with plans for new roadways to be built and accessibility to increase exponentially once these roads are finished.

Last two days have been into El Tunco daily and love it!!!! Took Vince yesterday and he was blown away by it all. So many opportunities there and really everywhere you look.

Have found organic produce and eggs and kombucha (excuse me please!) along with organic coffee, its all there if you're prepared to venture out of your comfort zone and explore and find things and ask questions.

Have google translate on hand at all times and people love when you try and talk to them, as Caroline says they are very kind, friendly and willing to help.

Have found a few language schools that we will vet next week and start Spanish lessons but trying to speak with locals is a fantastic crash course as well.

Been to two beautiful cliff top eateries, Beto's was pretty good, Olar de Mar - US prices not worth it for the quality of the meals however fitout and position is brilliant both in El Zonte and Atami and well worth a drink there overlooking the ocean just don't buy the food.

Sadly for someone scared of crawling things there are lots of geckos (I could probably live with those) and some freakin really creepy looking black spiders (this is a downright 'hell no/never/not in my lifetime' situation) that has left me unimpressed but have reconsidered my 'no pesticides' lifestyle and will have our caretaker Isiahs spray the perimeter of the house and around doors and windows outside to see if that puts a stop to them - i would rather deal with pesticides than spiders!!!!

Having Audrey/Tony and Tom/Nancy has been amazing for advice and support to have an instant like minded network that is constantly growing.

Tom was adamant he would build a ramp for Vince to access the top part of our property and he enlisted Tony and did exactly that, above and beyond and friendships forged based on kindness, compassion and mutual beliefs.

Have already worked out many ideas for businesses and for residency.

Has it been difficult having Vince in ES - not really.

Yes there are many places he cannot go yet but in time they are improving everywhere. Our house is pretty great and he has no issue manoevering around it just the roads in Atami that are unmade but that too is changing and has changed in parts.

Can we build a house that is suitable - hell yes!!!!

The one thing we have found and i suppose we headed over here exhausted both with challenges to our health that being here will start to address but we are finding that its an amazing place to unwind and really truly relax and just be - great places to have a holiday and really rest and enjoy the beauty of the natural landscape here.

Looking forward to sightseeing and finding places we like in the coming weeks and months. So grateful for the journey and the ability to be here.

 

Thank you for describing your experience.
Check variety of doctors specialties and hospitals, available there.
Especially types that your Vince may need.
In my time in Brazil (1979- 1980), you could buy variety of medicines at pharmacy without the need of having doctor's script, just (minimal amount) of money. Wonder how that part is in ES?

/////

 

https://twitter.com/Hue76607542Hue/status/1613580259932409856

 

Have you quit on yourself? Can you be successful by quitting your way to the top? Why haven't you made yourself your top priority? If you aren't good enough for yourself why can you be good for others? You have to persevere your way to the top no matter the obstacles life has for you! Perseverance allows us to get where we want to go. Talent provides hope for accomplishment, but perseverance guarantees it comes to fruition.

In what areas of your life do you need to have perseverance? Keep going and give it all that you have!

In this new podcast, I will talk to you about obstacles and how perseverance can and should operate.

In this new podcast episode you'll learn:
- Similarity between Circadian biology and Bitcoin
- What does a neurosurgeon do?
- The precaution principle
- The \/ as an example of the precaution principle
- Rationale for moving to El Salvador
- Economic concentration camps
- Centralized entities being paid to tell you lies

 

https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1613714037094715392

 

Two Ozzies living in El Salvador ......Our bitcoin experiences in El Salvador so far..........

Our first mistake was to put most of our money into Bitcoin before we left Australia.
Since we knew that Bitcoin is legal tender here - we assumed that we could buy a house with bitcoin.
Never assume anything is my new motto.

It is probably a little more possible now......but almost a year ago - it was a no go.

Nobody would help/facilitate this transaction. A couple of people seemed to be slightly interested but their fees were very high $9,000.00 and we were definitely not comfortable with how they would complete the transaction.

One of Jeremy's realtor friends said they would give us cash for our bitcoin........totally not interested in that scenario. Would it have all been in $20.00 notes????

The one man who should have and could have facilitated this let us down at the 11th hour and left us somewhat stranded. BTW - he is a realtor here and the face of bitcoin.

Fast forward to this past weekend.........

We got a muun wallet and were able to get a prepaid sim card and a dedicated phone.
Happy about that .....so when I buy bitcoin on a KYC exchange - I can move the BTC to our muun wallet.
Our current plan is to spend bitcoin for everyday expenses.
We have taken such a beating on our Aus$$ and then all the transfer fees and associated costs.
So we are buying bitcoin and trying to use it for all of our daily expenses.
Of course if bitcoin drops even further.......

And now the problem ...once again - BTC is legal tender here - but not many businesses will take it.

We have been in San Salvador for a few days getting our car repaired at the garage where we bought it.
Geremias is a friend of Jeremy's - but doesn't take bitcoin so we arranged with Jeremy to pay him in BTC and then Jeremy would transfer USD for the repairs
Worked like a charm - everyone is happy.
Jeremy was happy because he would be my first experience.

The day before - I thought I would be a smarty pants and prove to Jeremy that I could pay for something using btc on my own.
I decided to buy some lovely wine glasses [in case a neighbor who drinks Malbec stops by]

I was taken to a dedicated cash register in the credit department area [major department store]....

It wasn't going too badly - it really is pretty easy - but I am a newbie [virgin] after all.

We did the necessary steps and then, after a few minutes, The young woman said that it didn't go thru.
She said we needed to do it again.
In retrospect - this is a huge mistake for a variety of reasons.

So - we did it again ....once again - no joy. She said the transaction did not go thru.

Soooooooo - I used my debit card to pay for these now less than lovely wine glasses.

Later that evening I was talking to Jeremy and he asked to see my muun wallet.
I have now paid for these wine glasses three times!

Can I just say OUCH!

We figured there was a huge delay in the transaction being completed. There was wifi problems in the whole mall that day. It is possible that when I went to an area where there was wifi - the transaction completed X 2

I went back to the store the next morning and showed them all the transactions.
They still haven't been able to confirm my transactions in their system - so it is a waiting game for now.

Next we went to Price smart and paid with BTC.....it went pretty well but they still had to call a manger and wait about 20 minutes to confirm the transaction. For some reason the guy at the cash register had to ring thru our purchases again .....but we were eventually set free.

Next we went to Super Selectos for groceries ....we said we wanted to pay with btc. The girl said no - there are 2 cash registers that take bitcoin and they are closed, so I used my debit card.
The girl and guy at this register were laughing and snickering and I wanted to smack them ....so we asked to see a manager.
She said Yes - we just have to ask for a manager when we want to pay with btc.

Most importantly for us ...there are four stores we shop at a lot and they take bitcoin.
We will just have to persevere.
It is slower and sometimes you have to seek out a dedicated cash register.

We now ask in every store we go into if they take bitcoin Our mission now is to find a gas station....

To be continued.....

 

Maybe a stupid question.

Can you use PayPal?
If you are able to use PayPal, it may possibly be easier to transfer some of your Bitcoins to PayPal.
That could possibly be used as arrangement for your daily/monthly living expenses.
==
With PayPal you are just sending money (US$ or Bitcoin) to the e-mail of person or store that you are buying from. In USA it is practically instant transfer.

In USA there is a limit of less than $600.
For receivers there are some USA tax implications for a payment of $600 or more.
...

On this topic.
There is a
vimeo.com
Similar to PayPal, but I have no info on that at all.

..........

 

Love the updates. Looking forward to finding out for myself in a few days.

 

Hi Daniel ....we will be in touch

 

El Salvador is a dissipative nation-state for health and wealth.

Health is a process where solar energy is pumped into cells and stored and entropy decreases. This is the blueprint of what a dissipative system does (cell). Bitcoin is a dissipative structure and acts to store energy and reduce financial chaos in your life
https://twitter.com/DrJackKruse/status/1615541744635973634

 

We’re here! Jeremy is awesome!

 

Welcome! And yes Jeremy is pretty awesome!

Look forward to meet you soon, Jeremy tells me we are neighbours!