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This is the place to buy in El Salvador, says Roving Editor Lee Harrison.
Dear Latin America Insider Readers,
Perverse pleasure. This is something those of us who live in Latin America know something about. Wish that I were, but I am not referring to pleasures of a corporeal sense— but to pleasures of another kind altogether…
There is a twisted pleasure that I take, for instance, in spending far less money on what I consider to be a far better lifestyle than that of my friends in the States. I can well satisfy my stomach at the local taco stand—and spend less than $2. I revel in spending less than half as much for my health insurance here as I did in the U.S. And the cost of my home, and my annual property taxes of less than $100 leave me grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
The evil grin becomes a sympathetic smile when my friends in Nebraska tell me what they spend for a massage, a pedicure, a haircut. The smile disappears altogether when they talk of metal detectors in government buildings, hospitals, sporting events…and schools.
Yes, life is good here in Latin America—where you can go to the movies for $3 and to a guitar concerto for free, buy a ticket on the luxury bus across country for the same price as an 8-mile taxi fare at home…where there is no price of admission to go to the beach, and you can still pack your shampoo in your carry-on.
There’s something very satisfying, too, that comes from learning to make your way in a foreign world. Learning which tortilla factory is open on Sunday and which mercado has the sweetest sandias (watermelon). Discovering which side of the bullring to sit on (the shady side) and which tailor can make an exact replica of a favorite dress (for pennies on the dollar of its original price).
I started thinking about all this as I read Lee Harrison’s article about El Salvador for this month’s issue of Latin America Insider. Not only did Lee find a few (literal) surprises, he found a town that reminds him of one of his (and my) favorite little towns in Ecuador— and he found better prices for beach property in El Salvador than he did on his last trip to Nicaragua. “In some cases,” he writes, “you could have a beautiful home on a nicely landscaped lot for what the lot alone would cost you on the coast of Nicaragua.”
And to make my point about the small overlooked pleasures of living in Latin America, Lee writes this, about his drive through frenetic San Salvador: “I took some perverse pride in the fact that I could actually drive more obnoxiously than the locals—due to my years in Ecuador—frequently incurring the horn blasts, shouts and obscene gestures from my fellow drivers.” Now that’s real fun and that’s what being an Insider is all about…
Enjoy this month’s issue of Latin America Insider. We hope to see you soon in our part of the world. Until then and always, remember to find pleasure in the little things.
Regards,
Suzan Haskins, Editor
Latin America Insider
Latin America Insider
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