Here I am sitting beside the pool at the NOVO hotel. My mother and I were here in January. I had no idea at that time I’d be living in El Salvador half a year later. So, why am I poolside at a hotel? I remember having a massage here and had saved a business card. Now I brought my wife to enjoy. We had lunch at the hotel restaurant and then she went for her massage while I relax in the shade and wait. I have a couple medical appointments today and that explains our trip to the capital, so here we are. It’s interesting to note the various costs of things. I saw a doctor this morning (a specialist) for an initial consultation. We sat in his office for 15 minutes talking then he examined me for another 5 minutes and we returned to his desk to discuss a plan. We paid cash on the way out: $30. That’s not a copay, that’s the total cost. Not everything is cheap here, though most things are. Housing and beach real estate is cheaper than in the Washington, DC metro area, but not necessarily cheap. Plus, many, though not all, houses are smaller than what Americans are used to. A larger home would probably be 80% of the cost of a similar home in the US, however, this is changing all the time as real estate prices have increased rapidly here in the last few years since the President stopped the gangs from terrorizing the people here. El Salvador feels safe to me. I was here before (my first trip was in 2014) and never felt like I was in danger perhaps because generally tourists were not targets. However, I always had a local guide (my wife) and she knew where not to go. Regardless, you can see the change. In 2014 there was only limited nightlife. Many shops closed at sunset unless they were in a secure area. Now there is nightlife. You can see couples strolling together after dark and people seem more relaxed. Yesterday I went to get ice bream on the town square with my wife’s nephew. We walked the two blocks along cobblestone streets with a few people passing and greeting us. On the square we got ice creams and sat people watching. I saw a weaver bird nest (nido de oropéndula) hanging from a nearby tree. A truck full of soldiers drove by. An acquaintance of my wife’s nephew chatted with us for a few minutes and fist bumped me goodbye after meeting me. A few other interesting things I have seen recently include a man and woman riding a motorcycle, with the man holding a bunch of sugarcane and the woman on the back on her cell phone. I have also seen many “moto taxis”, which are what I would call a tuk-tuk. They’re very common in the rural areas, but I don’t see them in or near the capital. The other day, one drove by with a mannequin sticking out the side!
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