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• El Salvador ..... Que Pupusas!!!

  963Trips,Feb 27, 2024

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Just returned to Vancouver Canada after 12 days in El Salvador, I'm native to the country and this review is some what bias I must admit. The place holds a special place in my heart. The ugly / Lo Feo We'll the place still dirty, not by the way of garbage, pollution. Black smoke from exhaust fumes that settle in buildings and that makes the place look dirty compounded with limited water not much more to say here, except this in the city center downtown. Traffic is horrific, caused by small streets and poor driving culture/habits, a ten kilometer drive can take you up to and 1:30mins. and not rush hour based or 10/15 mins. The Bad / Lo Malo No much in this area, simply because as mentioned before I have context of where all the ugly comes from and not the topic here, so when I mention the ugly is simply to let you know what to expect and the good hopefully will let you make choices that will make your visit enjoyable and unforgettable and possible make you return. The Good / Lo Bueno The country is coming out of almost 70 years of war in general, (bla, bla, bla, it happened). Against all of this, today you can walk the streets, I was in downtown checking out the historic buildings, the cathedral, etc. and at some point I couldn't figure out where I needed to head next and then I was approached by a police man, Policia Civil, I noticed he had no gun and as he approached me he smiled and asked me if I was lost, he spent 30 mins helping me find directions to where I wanted to go next. This happened to me twice while I was in the area. Once I left the city and wondered about the small towns, Panchimalco, Suchitoto an Ilobasco, the scenery changed and I was in the middle of paradise with beautiful people going about their business and rarely not smiling and wishing you a Buenos Dias, Buenas Tardes or Evining greeting as they pass you by. The food, I'll let you be the judge of that, but I went to seafood market in La Libertad and found shrimp that without the tail were about 3/4 the length of a dollar bill and about 3/4 inch in diameter. ( The best seafood restaurant I found, Chepe Aleta, KM 50 on the LItoral the highway heading west along the beach ). The cost, like every else the chains corporations are there now and investing like gang busters, no pun intended, - If you stick to the basic local eatery is really good I had two pupusas ( 4/5 inch diameter), two beers for $5.50 USD and I was stuffed, pupusas only $1.60. You can visually tell the hygienic places, yes there those that you don't want to even think about eating at. If you prefer the chains expect to pay 10 to 15% higher than you do at home, western style food is for the "rich". Moving around the city, I recommend Uber, very affordable but as always most of it goes to Uber, once you've spend a few days there you'll get your bearings and most of public transportation is in the range of $0.20 to $0.35 per trip, don't expect much for this, but most buses and minibuses are like a night club on wheels when it comes to music. Maps and other apps alike, can't figure out places by standard address, so most places you need to enter a landmark place and you let the driver know the exact address, it works every time. I will make this a two part review, let's call this part one, but the summary is - Go, enjoy, still affordable and help the locals, don't barter as the prices are low enough and if you do like to barter hopefully you can do what I like to do, what I get in price reduction I give to the person that helps me as a tip. Just Saying/Solo Digo Yo!!! - Do you barter at home??? Photos and videos on Part Dos.