From Lisbon>London>NYC>Miami>San Salvador

In the span of 37 hours…

• we crossed paths with countless diverse faces bearing passports from all around the world
• we mindlessly ate and drank from a blur of mood-saving airport lounges
• we attempted trying-to-sleep Kama Sutra in a variety of contorted positions
• we trucked more than 15k bearing the full weight of our backpack houses as we scooted through the sterile expanses of four different airports
• helped a panicked Guatemalan lady who was paralyzed at the sight of a downward rolling escalator
• endured shoulder pain, nerve tingling, hip bursitis, swollen feet, and bloody noses thanks to arid cabin air
• and a huge silver lining, when a cheery British airline angel emblazoned the words “enjoy your upgrade” on our trans-Atlantic tickets, a first for us. 😁

Yes, this was the travel “day” of a harrowed modern budget traveler and following this experience, as per normal, we felt like we got hit by a bus. No, this lifestyle is not for everyone and is getting increasingly harder on us too. This is why you can’t wait to travel! But it’s soooo worth it!

So, what about our plan to slow down, you may ask?!? The problem is, we have seriously itchy explorer genes, so if we’re going all the way to Central America, you can damn well be sure we’re gonna check out a new country, (which has radically changed for the better in recent years.)

In other words, our next slow month starts January 20. Until then….Bienvenidos à El Salvador! 🇸🇻 

Lisbon>London>NY>Miami>El Salvador. Our flight from Lisbon to Miami had a cash value of $432 for both of us. We used our Capital One Venture X annual travel credit to pay for it, as well as 13,000 additional points. The flight from Miami to San Salvador was a terrific redemption of 15,000 miles, with a cash value $429. 

We arrived to our first lounge in Lisbon around breakfast hour. Thus, we were granted with a choice between carbs, carbs, or meat AND carbs. Then, in London, the lounges were so packed we barely got a place to sit. But we were more than content with the fuel, and last slurps of wine to line our bellies. 

And then came the surprise of the day…British Airways upgraded us to Premium Economy for seemingly no reason other than our cuteness. Since we’ve never flown anything but economy, the leg space, extra recline, and little goodie bag filled with socks, a toothbrush/paste and lip balm pretty much made 2026 so far. We also got lots of extra attention from the flight attendants including hot towels, and glasses of Prosecco and water. 

And for the first time, instead of the usual “chicken or pasta”, we were also presented with a hoity toity menu of elaborate food choices with words like “slow-roasted” and “charred” and “beet” in the bougier-than-reality descriptions, as well as bar choices all served with real glassware which made us feel like big kids!

When we got to JFK at 10:30 pm, we bypassed any humans and presented our faces to a camera to announce our arrival back to the motherland. (Note: we also noticed the fact that no exit procedure was done in Miami when we left the States again 15 hours later. We think this is normal but are gonna start paying more attention to it.)

Although we had managed to get at least two hours of sleep on the plane, at JFK we were ecstatic to get in the “Minute Suites” to rest for…a minute. So, we trucked literally 45 minutes from Terminal 8 to terminal four where we discovered, naturally they were full. We didn’t know you needed to reserve in advance and all spots were taken until 8:00 am. It’s ok. It would have only helped for one hour, which is the allotment Priority Pass gives you in New York…a true reflection of the city where other international sleep suites we’ve been in give you 3 hours.   

We then tried to get into the flagship Capital One lounge. But because we were more than 3 hours away from our 6 am flight, they wouldn’t let us in due to “policy” which the host motioned at like Vanna White with a fake smile. Welcome back to the States indeed. You can shove your “policy.” 🙄

Blessedly, the phone scrolling 20-something guy at “Hello Sky” lounge saved us from sleeping on the airport floor, but all in all I’d say our overnight experience at JFK was a bit sour. 

After Hello Sky, we caught siestas wherever we could. Here’s me attempting to sleep at the gate, which I couldn’t do because every five minutes there were overhead announcements on what you are allowed, and not allowed to do, with your firearms while at the airport. Needless to say, we’ve never heard an announcement like this anywhere in the world. The culture shock is still real, folks.

Welcome to Miami. Bienvenidos a Mee-ahm-mi! We loved it because the air was suddenly filled with chattering Spanish speakers of all different accents. 

The Priority Pass lounge was stuffed with people. This seems to be how US lounges generally are these days. It will be interesting to see if this changes as the new guest policies go into place next month.

Bienvenidos a El Salvador

And at last…we made it to El Salvador….one of the most rapidly changing countries…for the better…in the world! It was also the only country in Central America that 22-year-old backpacker Greg didn’t make it to because it was unfortunately a very different place back then. Sadly, at that time it was known for gang violence, but since 2022, the government has launched a massive crackdown from which crime rates have dropped dramatically, heavy police and military presence is the norm, and tourism has increased sharply. So yes, we’ve been eager to get here! 

Even before we left the San Salvador airport, we were reminded that we’ve not only entered El Salvador, but we’ve entered Bitcoin Country. It’s the first, and only country in the world to adopt it as legal tender in 2021, which exists alongside the U.S. dollar, adopted in 2001. In reality, locals still use mostly cash dollars, but it’s obviously of interest to many tourists.

When we exited the airport, we were met with a barricade of hundreds of enthusiastic locals holding balloons and teddy bears to welcome us…or probably their loved one’s home. It was quite a sweet scene. We were also met with the delicious blast of heat we’d been waiting the last 7 weeks for. We had to wait awhile to get an Uber to our hotel, but were impressed to see the level of organization and order. 

Because we knew we’d be moving like indescribable zombies, we decided to grab an overpriced airport hotel, which was only about five minutes away. (The city itself is nearly an hour away.) 

We still can’t believe we paid $69 for this room at Argueta Hotel. To be honest, the only reason we did was because we (should) be rewarded 2800 Capital One points for booking through Agoda. (40x) But alas, it served its purpose and allowed us to sleep in a dark and quiet room from 5 pm until 5:30 am.

And we got a decent morning swim in, as well as our first El Salvadoran typical breakfast, which featured coffee which made us foam at the mouth, and the most tongue curling bundle of refried beans we’ve had in years. 

We then slept some more, and had lunch at their restaurant, which offered $6 tacos, which looked and tasted pretty authentic. (Note: Yes, I realize it’s lame we had tacos as our first meal in Pupusa Land, but we’ve been that desperate for Mexican food.)

From here, our original plan had been to hop on the local bus for the two hour adventure into the city. But, still haggard and wiped, we reluctantly dug out another $21 for the Uber journey. Definitely not a cheap way to start, but in this instance comfort wins. 

We moved into another Agoda find, our second hotel in San Salvador which was $32/night. It featured someone’s DIY project…a woven plywood headboard adhered to the wall. Clearly targeted in the Millennials favorite color. It was also quite cave-like, except for that one annoying window that always lets the outdoor night lighting flood in, and had no view. Fortunately, binder clips saved the day…again. An absolute must in any traveler’s pack.

One of the twenty volcanoes in a country the size of Massachusetts could be seen from the back of our hotel. Strangely, none of the rooms were facing the view and all seemed like caverns. We did have a nice outdoor seating area and a kitchen to make some meals. 

Our first order of business (after more sleep 🤣), was finding a supermarket which involved wandering through a packed shopping mall, à la 1980s USA, until we arrived at Super Selectos. We spent $28.77 on basically four meals, which we felt was quite steep for Central America. But then again, it’s been five years since we were last here. So we would see how all of it evolved.

Our remarkably chatty and smiley cab driver, Jorge. He is a student studying industrial engineering at the university doing Uber on the side. It was a terrific opportunity to hear the local accent which fortunately didn’t seem overly challenging. He also told us the story of how safe he now felt in San Salvador in the last couple of years. This included sharing a scar on his arm where he’d gotten stabbed at his university just five years prior. The country’s turnaround is absolutely astounding.

Exploring San Salvador

San Salvador, with about half a million people, is dropped in a valley encompassed by volcanoes. It’s also conveniently situated on the Ring of Fire so earthquakes are as common as clockwork. Combining these geographic realities, and historical challenges, it has produced some seriously resilient people. It may also help that they’re quite religious and that “El Salvador” itself means “the Savior,” which of course refers to Jesus.

Like other Central American capitals, it’s a city that’s an itty bit gritty, but it’s also easy to see that things are clearly improving quickly. There are brightening art projects, lush parks, bustling markets, pedestrian areas, street sweepers, lots of construction and a general buzz of development. But the “tourist” spots are all pretty much packed in a five-block radius. We had exactly one day to check out a literal hidden gem of a church, chow down on some mouth-watering pupusas, and see the notable sites, which was more than enough time before we were ready to get into something significantly more tranquillo. 

As we ambled through a street of lively market stands steadily broadcasting their offerings through interminable bull horns, we were immediately reminded we were back in Latin America.

Plaza Libertad, or Liberty Plaza, is one of the oldest public spaces in San Salvador dating back to around 1545 when the city was first platted by the Spaniards. Its central monument honors the beginning of the independence movement in 1811, although it didn’t become its own country until 1841.

A pupu-pro in action

Because it’s common for religious facilities to blend in with one another, we always love to find one that dazzles in a different way. The parabolic Iglesia El Rosario is considered one of the finest examples of modern architecture in El Salvador. It was created by Ruben Martinez for this radically avant-garde cathedral in just six days. It was both so important and controversial (naturally) that the pope at the time popped over from Rome to oversee part of its construction (Atlas Obscura).

Crazily, this rainbow of stained glass called “the Stairway to Heaven,” is concealed entirely from the outside by this Brutalist concrete countenance. It’s a $2 donation fee to smash through its starkness. I’m guessing this is Pope John XXIII who arrived to manage the PR for this campaign. Anyone else think he looks a bit like Eugene Levy?!

A more run-of-the-mill Latin American cathedral in the Plaza Capitan General Gerardo Barrios. The monument, sitting in a giant puddle of concrete, honors this guy who was clearly so special he got two titles to his name in the mid-1800s. Post-independence, Barrios was a modernizer who pushed hard for liberal reforms like expansion of public education, separation of church and state, and promotion of coffee as an export crop. 

Also on the square through a sprinkling of the usual pecking pigeons, sits the Palacio National, as if Capitan Barrios was drawing a clear delineation between church and state. 

For most of the 20th Century until a severe earthquake in 1986, the palace housed the government, which witnessed coups, regime changes and the hardening of authoritarian rule. At one point the palace had color-coded rooms where each hall was assigned to a shade which correspond to a function of government, a visual filing system to promote separation. Today it stands as a museum. 

We’ve never seen a city sign turned country. Also, the back of the Metropolitan Cathedral. I stood there a good 5 minutes waiting for the flag to unfurl and it stubbornly refused. 

Anyhow, here’s what Chat GPT says the flag represents: 

• The two blue horizontal stripes stand for the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Although El Salvador is this only Central American country that doesn’t touch the Caribbean, it symbolizes unity with neighboring countries. 
• The white represents peace
• The center coat of arms has five volcanoes which represent the original Central American states, and a rainbow which is only found in the Nicaraguan national flag otherwise, both projecting optimism and hope, unsurprisingly not LGBTQ rights.

Ugh. This guy again?! I think he’s stalking us!

The National Theater was finished in 1917 and is an opulent reminder of a time when El Salvador was flush with coffee cash. Speaking of cash, the Cora Store was our first introduction to what the Salvadorans called $.25 US quarters. It puts Dollar City to shame!

A wider boulevard as we headed toward the Central Market

The Central Market is massive covering several city blocks with multiple buildings. The entrance we slipped through was being drizzled in these fun geometrics as we arrived up a stark white staircase.

One of the many farmacias packed into the Central Mercado. We had visited a pharmacy the day prior to pick up some small bottles of sunscreen and bug spray, which came to a total of $33. Ten pills of Naproxen(o) were $6. So, not exactly a bargain in this department either.

Colorful offerings at the market. Anyone have any good radish recipes? And of course, the cornerstone of El Salvadoran cooking was available at every other vendor. Mmmm…I love bean countries!!

Alongside the lesser desirable plantains! What’s with the MAGA creep in the background?! Also, the sign of an idyllic fruit and vegetable country….you can buy strawberries and tropical fruits in the same sweep. 

Real life….real faces.

Time for some lunch, so we headed into the highly recommended Pupuseria Doña Isabel, where you can pick up larger versions of El Salvador’s edible main event. It was not even 11 and jammed with locals anticipating their favorite messy habit.

Pupusas are thick masa corn tortillas stuffed before cooking with fillings, and tossed on a flat griddle until lightly crisp outside and soft inside. Doña Isabel had an extensive menu of options but we settled for the standard frijoles con queso and pollo. 

You eat them piled with curtido, a lightly fermented cabbage slaw with carrot and onion, which provides acid and crunch, as well as salsa roja, which disappointingly, for us, only offers warmth and not spice. Fortunately, after offering the usual “Buen Provecho,” the local we shared a table with pointed us to the heat, which is what we’ve been longing for. He also assured it was okay for we gringos to eat it with the provided knife and fork though we bypassed it for the full five-fingered experience. Yum. They were just extraordinary, really. Definitely the best we’ve ever had. There are also notable flashes of smiles towards us. We haven’t felt so welcomed in a country in some time.