Comfort Food

Visitors to El Salvador will often times have the misconception that the mere act of staring at a plate of food for too long will make one gravely ill in the stomach. 

While caution should be taken, there are many exaggerations and urban legends surrounding the topic of food and dining in general, so relax and enjoy yourself.

As I mentioned in a previous post, San Salvador offers a wide breadth of cuisines for your dining choices. 

To recap, some of those include:

• Italian
• Chinese
• Argentine
• Middle Eastern
• Brazilian
• Peruvian

Now, much like any other city you might visit, the fact these options are available doesn't mean that any given restaurant provides quality meals. So, to help you along, allow me to introduce you to some of my favorites. But before I do so, you should be aware that my criteria was mostly based on the quality of the food, not the view or ambiance. All are reasonably priced, with the most expensive coming in at around $15/plate. In addition, all are casual. Alright, lets begin.

Argentine

Las Pampas Argentina is one of the more popular steakhouses in town, and for good reason. Great cuts of meat and other grilled options, such as chicken and shrimp, all cooked to perfection for you. If you are a carnivore, don't miss out on this spot. There are a couple of them around town, with one of the more popular locations situated on Bulevar Orden de la Malta, directly across the street from the U.S. Embassy, in Santa Elena.

Chinese 

If you are in the mood for Chinese, check out Royal. Pretty much anything on their menu is good, so you can't go wrong. Take note that it does tend to get crowded on weekends. Royal is located on the corner of Calle Padres Aguilar and 87 Avenida Sur in Colonia Escalon.

Italian

El Rosal is one of the best places in town. It has been around forever and was founded by some guy from the old country. I would recommend the lasagna or other handmade pastas. A lot of folks are also fond of their pizza, but I would consider it average. El Rosal is located on the corner of Calle Del Mirador and 93 Avenida Norte, a few blocks away from Torre Futura and Crowne Plaza hotel. 

Papers Please

One thing I always advice people not do while wandering around El Salvador is to not carry their passport, a tip I learned from my dad. Instead, carry a photocopy of the page where the picture is displayed. You should actually do this even if your destination is not El Salvador.

Doing so helps avoid potential problems that might arise should you misplace your travel documents, or worse, if your belongings are stolen. Better to lose a photocopy of your picture, than the actual passport. Another option is to carry a photocopy of valid identification cards issued to you by your local government. For example, a photocopy of your license. 

Photocopies will suffice for most situations where you need to show identification, but for certain transactions, originals are necessary. A good example of such a transaction would be cashing a check or paying with a credit card. While your originals may suffice for some of these transactions, there are others that specifically request one show a Documento Unico de Identidad (DUI). In short, a national identification card.

Some transactions that require it include:

• Obtaining a Salvadoran Passport
• Voting
• Purchasing a mobile phone (pre-pay or otherwise)
• Opening a bank account (also has other requirements)

By no means is that a comprehensive list, but obtaining a DUI is a worthwhile venture. 

Most expatriates take the opportunity to obtain their passport while in El Salvador, because it is significantly cheaper than doing it abroad. The cost usually hovers around US$15, whereas abroad, it can set you back nearly 7 - 8 times that amount, depending where you live. Of course, to do so you must first get a DUI.

Obtaining a DUI is a rather simple process, but does require some patience. 

Eating Out

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San Salvador is an interesting city in a number of ways.

Although I was born there, I've spent the vast majority of my life in Los Angeles, a city whose population and geographical size easily dwarfs San Salvador many times over. Sometimes these differences subconsciously cause me to be at least mildly surprised by some of the things I see around San Salvador, especially when I also compare it to other similarly sized cities I've visited during my life.

One of these things relates to the dining options available in San Salvador. 

Living in Los Angeles, one gets spoiled by the diversity of options one has available. After all, Los Angeles, is home to the largest population of expatriates from a variety of nations, including El Salvador, Japan, South Korea, Armenia and others. This translates into one being able to sample aspects from a lot of different cultures, including their foods.

San Salvador also offers a wide assortment of quality eats, perhaps even more diverse than some smaller cities in the States or Canada. I theorize the reason for this relates to the diplomats that are in town, and local businesses needing to cater to their needs. Lets take a moment to highlight some culinary styles you should expect to see, and continue on to share some important tidbits relating to the dining experience in San Salvador.

As you make your way around town, don't be surprised to see these culinary choices:

Japanese

Italian

Middle Eastern

Peruvian

Argentine

Taiwanese

Chinese

Mexican

American

Spanish

And various others...

Internet Access

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I know you are all dying to know about the difficulties you might encounter in your attempts at staying connected. Of course, it wouldn't be for work, but instead, to post pictures of pupusas, views of San Salvador from Los Planes de Renderos and a ton of other beautiful things in El Salvador. Or perhaps you just want to brag via Twitter to your fellow expats that you are sitting at the beach taking in some rays, while they are clearing snow from their respective driveways in New York or Toronto.

Regardless of your intentions, there is no need to worry, all that fun can be had without any real complications. Internet access is easily had even in the most remote areas in El Salvador. Some municipalities even offer free WiFi in public places such as parks. 

For the purposes of historical reference, commercial internet access initially became available to most Salvadorans in the late 90s, but costs involved for the connection and computer equipment kept it beyond the reach of much of the population. Over the past decade, however, things have changed dramatically. Prices have gone down, both for equipment and connections, which in turn has made internet access much more prevalent than back in 1998 when I first visited. 

Much like with mobile phone service, a number of affordable options worth discussing now exist. Lets begin with the free options. 

As mentioned earlier, some municipalities offer free WiFi access in public places. For example, free WiFi access is available at the central park in Antiguo Cuscatlan, although I can't speak to its quality from personal experience. The same is true for areas of Santa Tecla, although, I again cannot speak to its quality. It is an option worth keeping in mind, especially if you are in a bind and in desperate need of a connection. However, please be careful when using such connections as they are open to everyone, including hackers and other malicious users. By careful, I mean, at the very least, do not logon to sites that do not use HTTPS or a secure connection -- assuming you must logon to something.

On a related note, many restaurants also offer patrons free WiFi access. This is true for both the more established restaurants and the mom-and-pop coffee shops. It is definitely worth asking. I have spent hours at a time at some places using their WiFi without anyone bothering me or harassing me to buy something from their menu (although I always do anyway). This seems to be the norm at the places that offer it and makes the experience pleasant.

I've used the connections at Pizza Hut and Viva Espresso (a local coffee shop) extensively and can tell you from personal experience that they are more than adequate for anyone's needs. They are fast and reliable. Sometimes they require a password, other times not, but if they do, you can easily obtain it from your server.

Now, if you want something a bit more private, you can get a USB modem with pay-as-you-go service for your laptop. A USB modem is a device that looks like one of the popular USB memory sticks, but rather than providing additional space for you to store files, it instead provides wireless internet access. Note this is different than WiFi access. What this essentially translates to is that you can get internet access on your computer anywhere you can get a signal for a mobile phone. That includes the beach and just about anywhere else in the country.

Crime

It is difficult to participate in a conversation pertaining to El Salvador without someone in the mix eventually bringing up the subject of crime -- and for good reason. 

Most news about El Salvador that expatriates receive leave the impression that the country is fraught with indiscriminate and violent crime. Add to this a recently released report putting El Salvador at the top of the most violent nations on Earth. I am not going to get into debating the merits or flaws of the report, but the reality of the situation in the country is not as dire as what many outside the country might think.

Danger definitely exists, as it does in Los Angeles, my adopted home. Prudent behavior goes a long way both in San Salvador and Los Angeles. Much like I wouldn't walk around a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles wearing a thick gold chain around my neck, I don't do the same in San Salvador -- unless I wanted undesired attention.

While my example is a bit of a hyperbole, it serves to illustrate where many people go wrong. 

The behavior that keeps you safe wherever it is you call home as an expatriate will also help keep you safe in San Salvador and other places in El Salvador. Unfortunately, some people tend to forget this point when they jump on the plane taking them to El Salvador (or any other place for that matter).

Much like in major cities within the United States, violent crimes are often associated with specific areas of San Salvador or other destinations in El Salvador. And much like in Los Angeles, this fact doesn't mean the possibility of something occurring outside those areas is eliminated, it merely means the chances are reduced. To give you an example, there are many small towns in El Salvador where violent crime is completely unheard of. 

Petty theft or vandalism is a different story, which brings me to another important point. Violent crime may be concentrated in specific neighborhoods, but petty crimes aren't, and this is something that is quite a bit different than what you may be accustomed to in your current place of residence.

Cash Is King

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A prior post made reference to the fact that the U.S. dollar is the official currency in El Salvador. I won't get into discussing the pros or cons of this matter, as that's not what this blog is about, but suffice it to say, the old Colón currency is long out of circulation.

For those of you travelling to El Salvador from the U.S., it means you no longer have to exchange money, which had a tendency to be a hassle. Those of you travelling from other places just need to be aware you won't be receiving local currency in exchange for your currency, so don't be surprised.

Side note: I am not entirely sure where one exchanges other currencies, but I am assuming local banks are the appropriate place for those transactions as that's where one used to exchange U.S. dollars. That's also the norm in most countries. I will investigate the matter and append the information to this post.

Alright, now lets discuss some useful tips pertaining to your cash. 

First, avoid larger bills as much as possible, and by larger, I mean anything over $10. Unless you go to the mall or a good size restaurant/supermarket/store or the like, it is unlikely you will be able to get change for anything bigger than a $10 bill. 

Local convenience stores are notorious for this. Whenever possible, save whichever $5 and $1 bills you come by as they will be very helpful, especially for cab rides. Note as well that the $1 bill is being phased out and being replaced by the gold colored $1 coin. Pay attention to any that you might receive as some folks claim to have received gold colored $0.25 coins in their place. 

As with any other place you might visit, it is not wise to carry large amounts of cash on your person. Bear this in mind when you go out. If you intend to do a lot of shopping in the neighborhood shops, mercados (markets) or restaurants, credit cards won't get you very far. Cash is king at these places, as it is with street merchants. It is better to make multiple trips than be sorry later for any loses you may incur due to theft or other unfortunate circumstances.

Can You Hear Me Now?

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Those of you that do not live in the United States are probably a bit puzzled by the title of this post. I extracted it from a famous marketing campaign executed by a large wireless carrier based in the States. At the core, its message was to promote the carrier's reliability and widespread coverage.

As you may have guessed, many folks travelling to El Salvador often have similar questions of the wireless coverage in the country. In a nutshell, there is a wide variety of available options, enough to suit anyone. Lets talk about this in more detail.

First, the question of whether or not it is possible to take one's phone. It is possible to take your current phone and activate it, given you meet certain rules. The first of these rules is that CDMA networks no longer exist in El Salvador. In the States, Sprint and Verizon are the primary CDMA providers. If you have a phone with either of those carriers, you won't be able to activate your phone in El Salvador.

So which phones can you activate? Those that use a GSM network such as AT&T, and usually contain a replaceable chip. That chip is your key.

Side note: If you are unsure if you have a CDMA or GSM phone, contact your wireless provider before heading out to El Salvador as locals will be of limited assistance in helping you answer that question.

Once you are in El Salvador you'll be able to purchase a chip that corresponds with one of the various local carriers and away you go. Note that your phone's contact list and other goodies you are accustomed to when you are at home are stored on your chip. Thus, replacing it means you lose access to that information, at least for the meantime.

The chips themselves are easy to replace and run about $5 a piece. In addition to the chip, you'll also want to buy airtime, which is sold in any denomination you like, starting at $1. Both are readily available at local neighborhood convenience stores and shopping malls. If you go to the latter, you can usually find places where they will help you replace the chip.