messy wanderings in san salvador

just stepped off the plane in san salvador and the sky is that weird mix of humid and cool i just checked and it's...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing the map below shows the rough spot i am staying



if you get bored, soyapango, santo thomas, and san marcos are just a short drive away and you can hop over to ilopango for a quick lake vibe

someone told me that the pupusas here are life changing and you gotta try the curtido with a side of hot sauce

the city feels like a mashup of colonial churches and graffiti covered walls and the air smells like coffee and fried plantains

there is a giant crater at boqueron that you can stare into and imagine the whole country sitting on a giant egg

the streets are hilly and the traffic is a mess but you can catch a bus or use uber to dodge the chaos

the weather is kind of tropical with a wet season that pours rain like it has a personal grudge and a dry season that makes you sweat in a different way

i love the way the city lights up at night with neon and street vendors selling yuca frita and sweet corn drinks

the local market is a sensory overload and someone told me that the best pupusa stand is near the cathedral but you have to ask a local for the exact corner

the people are mostly mestizo and speak with that voseo thing where they say vos instead of tú and it sounds cool even if you dont understand it

the archdiocese of san salvador is right in the historic center and the cathedral metropolitano looks like it has seen a lot of history and maybe a few earthquakes

the volcanoes around are always watching and you can see boqueron and picacho from almost anywhere

the city covers a lot of the country and everything feels close enough that you can walk to a beach in under a hour if you catch a ride

the bit about bitcoin being legal tender is weird but you can pay for a coffee with it and it feels like the future

the biggest thing to watch out for is the occasional earthquake that shakes the ground and makes you hold onto your coffee cup

the rainy season can cause flooding in low spots and the roads turn into mud pits

the air quality sometimes gets bad because of volcanic ash and traffic

the tap water is not safe so you end up buying bottled water and feeling a bit guilty about the plastic

the altitude keeps the temperature mild which is a nice break from the heat elsewhere

the city is compact enough that you can fit a museum a park and a coffee shop into a single afternoon

the vibe is a mix of old world charm and new world hustle and you can feel the history in every corner

someone told me that the best view is from el picacho mountain at sunrise and you can see the whole valley lit up

if you get bored, soyapango, santo thomas, and san marcos are just a short drive away

the food scene is all about pupusas and fried stuff and you will get addicted to the crunch

the nightlife is quiet compared to bigger capitals but there are bars that play reggaeton and locals dance

the city is a place where you can feel the pulse of a small country with big dreams

the map below shows where i am and you can zoom out to see the whole area

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