You only get one first impression so here it is:
Upon officially completing my first 24 hours in this lovely little country, I just wanted to record my initial thoughts. As some of you know, I have spent the past five winters in La Paz, Mexico. I have made many great friends in La Paz and regard it as one of my favorite places in the world so it was a tough call to forsake it this year in favor of new adventures. Initially, my plan was to head for Santa Marta, Colombia which I have been told is sort of the La Paz of Colombia: a small city that is a bit off the radar, having a vibrant music, art and culinary scene and surrounded by incredible natural beauty. Santa Marta is also reputed to be a sailing mecca, like La Paz, and sailing is probably the thing I most love to do; either that or making music, anyway… It seemed like a good call. More on my second thoughts later…
To be quite frank, I’m more or less done with big cities. If I’m going to live in a city, it’s going to be a small, culturally vibrant city where I can visit a friend on the other side of town in 15 minutes. Either that, or I’m going to live in New York, my home. Spending the past two weeks in Denver confirmed that large non-NYC cities are not for me. Denver is a cool city, and people whom I love live there, but I just hate having to hop in a car and drive 20 minutes in traffic to fetch a loaf of bread. The near total lack of pedestrians who are not homeless crackheads turns me off, but absolute dependence on a car for every stupid little thing is just… not my bag.
If I’m going to be dependent on a car, I’m going to live in the woods and only drive into town once a week for supplies. Yeah, I’m weird. Proudly so. Small, energetic cities like Sevilla, Spain, La Paz, Mexico, Ithaca, NY and many others float my boat. Highwayland is not my native land.
Anyhoo…
Santa Marta seemed to fit the bill as a small city with a rich cultural life and proximity to nature, but security concerns kept me away. A lot of Venezuelans live there, and it is close to Venezuela. I’m sure it’s as safe as La Paz in normal times, but it seems that some animosity toward Americans might be present with the USA sinking and seizing boats while threatening to invade the country right next door. Apparently, kidnapping is an issue there in normal times (it is in parts of Mexico too but can be avoided easily), and I’m not crazy about the idea of being kidnapped by some Latin American cult/gang and tortured for more money than I have. Being judged/hated for being a gringo, while understandable, was part of the reason I avoided Mexico this year: There is a lot of (well founded) “gringo go home!” energy in Mexico lately. Who needs that?
So here I am in El Salvador which a couple of locals have proudly proclaimed as the safest country in the world now. It does feel very, very safe, I must say, especially where I am, in a bungalow on a cliff above a private beach somewhere between El Tunco and El Zonte. All I hear here is the waves and the occasional impossibly loud bird, and the view is fantastic. I feel like some kind of king waking up in the morning and not even having to raise my head from the pillow to enjoy an expansive view of the Pacific, framed by almond and palm branches.
Last night I slept for ten hours, and I needed it after a 14-hour overnight journey. Sleeping to the sound of surf is the best you can do in life — full-stop, point-blank, period. Aside from a brief disturbance when a coconut thunked on the tin roof, it was a flawless slumber session. The WiFi is good, and I had a highly productive day at work this morning. The dueña of this place, a very sweet lady named Vilma, prepared a delicious breakfast which I ate whilst I worked, overlooking the mighty Pacific in fresh, clean, downright victorious air.
It is incredibly healthy being so immersed in the natural flow of things. I am planning a side trip this winter to explore points south. (It will be required to leave the country to renew my visa after 90 days anyway.) Peru and Colombia are both of great interest to me for different reasons. At the moment, I am extremely content where I am while looking forward to enjoying the nearby gringo surf beaches, the mountains, the lakes, and even the (shudder) city of San Salvador at some point.
It feels like my creative energy is supercharged by this environment. If you’re one of my “fans,” you will definitely find some new, inspired work in the 4.0 version of this site. I am equipped with a real camera, tripod, decent recording device, guitar and plenty of books and notebooks and intend to use them to create new music, new videos, new writings and ramblings, perhaps even a drawing or two. It should be pretty good so check back regularly!
Thanks for reading,
Chuck
