Walking the black lava sands of Bitcoin Beach in El Zonte

Visiting El Salvador

We decided to visit El Salvador for one reason. El Salvador made Bitcoin a national currency. We wanted to learn for ourselves how it was working. We wanted to experience it for ourselves.

When we told our friends we were visiting El Salvador they voiced concern. Was it safe? A look at the State Department site says, “Reconsider travel to El Salvador due to crime.” Safety concern is sensible. We took reasonable caution in being aware of our surroundings and felt safe during our visit. We spent 5 days at Bitcoin Beach in the village of El Zonte and 2 days in the capitol city of San Salvador.

We experienced El Salvador as a country filled with wonderful people living in a beautiful country with volcanoes, rain forests, coffee and beaches perfect for surfing.

El Salvador - Bold Experiment in “Money”

In 2019 Nayib Bukele took the reins as the new president of El Salvador and chose a unique, bold financial path. This new direction is daring! Why you ask? Why not! They embraced a new technology called Bitcoin and gave every resident owning a cell phone, a bitcoin wallet with $30.00. Entrenched legacy power players view acceptance of Bitcoin as a currency with suspicion. Young people appear curious and more receptive to the Bitcoin experiment.

What is undeniable is the country of El Salvador has a colonial history. First, as a colony of New Spain from 1525 to 1821, then plagued by endless civil wars in the 1900’s and under the thumb of the US since the middle of the 20th century, the government has decided to go in a new direction. They want to chart their own course and become less reliant on the whims and decrees of Uncle Sam. Becoming a sovereign nation has never been easy.

Close to 7 million people reside in this small Central American country. While the country exports 1st class coffee, tourism offers another revenue stream and opportunity for young people to improve their quality of life. Bitcoin offers visitors and vendors an alternative payment method.

History Snapshots

Angel of El Tunco

Pro surfers managed to keep a secret for years. But around 2000, the secret got out and the surfing world shared the waters in and around El Tunco are a year round surfing Mecca. Strolling along the boardwalk, you will hear a variety of languages and see surfers young and old take to the waves. Late in the day, restaurants and bars serve locals and guests local grown vegetables and fresh fish. Sleep, eat, surf and repeat.

On 3/22/21 at El Tunco beach, the beautiful, talented Olympic hopeful, Katherine Diaz, prepared her board and planned to surf as she did most days. Her life on this earth ended that day with a lightning strike. Something seems serendipitous with this end to an energetic young woman. The 22 year old local died while training for a qualifying tournament for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. No one embodies the youthful hope of El Salvador more than Katy. Her memory serves to inspire the Salvadoran youth. A statue commemorates her spirit at El Tunco beach where she lost her life. You can read about Katy in Surfline.

Saint of San Salvador

The country of El Salvador means “The Savior”. The capital city of San Salvador means “Saint of Salvation.” The vast majority of El Salvador is Catholic. Imagine the horror of the government assassination of a Catholic priest performing mass in downtown San Salvador. In 2018 Archbishop Oscar Romero was named a saint by the Catholic Church. Today he is revered in El Salvador as a martyr and saint.

Saint Oscar Romero is revered inside the national cathedral of El Salvador

Thousands gather outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador as the casket of slain Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero is carried into the church for funeral services, March 26, 1980. The Catholic archbishop was slain as he officiated at a Mass at a San Salvador hospital. (AP Photo/Valente Cotera) Image from here.

The USA played a role in the Salvadoran Civil War which lasted from 1979 to 1992. Prior to his murder, the Archbishop had written an open letter to President Jimmy Carter requesting that the USA discontinue supporting the government which was oppressing the people. Romero is remembered as a human rights crusader.

“In the bright morning sunlight of March 24, 1980, a car stopped outside the Church of the Divine Providence. A lone gunman stood out, unhurried. Resting his rifle on the car door, he aimed carefully down the long aisle to where El Salvador’s Archbishop, Oscar Arnulfo Romero, was saying mass. A single shot rang out. Romero staggered and fell. The blood pumped from his heart.” - Tom Gibb, The Guardian

Days later Oscar Romero was memorialized at the Metropolitan cathedral of San Salvador. There was a massive show of respect with a tremendous turn out as 250,000 people attended his funeral. During the service a bomb exploded in the crowded Cathedral square. Then shots were fired into the crowd. Between 30 and 50 people lost their lives.

Civil War of El Salvador

Visiting the Memorial Wall dedicated to the people who died in the El Salvador civil war in the Central Park of San Salvador

In the center of San Salvador is a beautiful park with lawns, trees, paths and walkways. It is a vibrant and beautiful place that our guides were proud to show us. This lovely park is also home to a memorial of a dark time in El Salvador’s history. From 1979 to 1992 the country was at war with itself resulting in 75,000 people killed or disappeared. The war impacted every family in this small country.

The names of the people that gave their life as part of the civi war are recorded and permanently remembered on a granite wall in the Central Park of San Salvador. More names than on the Vietnam Memorial wall in Washington DC.

Bitcoin Beach History

The beach town of El Zonte is a small coastal community also known as Bitcoin Beach. This surf destination in El Salvador is a 1 hour drive from the capital city of El Salvador. There is a bohemian, beach vibe that permeates the community, as more tourists discover this great destination.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency based on a revolutionary technology called blockchain. Blockchain technology creates an open and immutable ledger on a decentralized network. The blockchain ledger is independent of any third party (individuals, companies, banks, or governments). Bitcoin transactions are recorded in the blockchain ledger as a digital currency, like your credit card transactions are recored in a ledger at the bank.. All bitcoin transactions are permanently recorded on the blockchain. This allows Bitcoin to be used in transactions like any other currency, but without government or banks being involved. and without the 3% fee that credit card companies charge. All you need is an internet connection.

Unlike other currencies issued by governments (dollars, Euro, Yen) there is a limited number of Bitcoins to be created. There will eventually be 21 million bitcoins. As of today (June 2022) there are roughly 19 million bitcoins with a price of a $20,000 each at the time this was written.

One of the concerns rasied with respect to Bitcoin is volatility. How can people build a financial system on a volatile asset? Certainly, the price of Bitcoin has been volatile over the past few months going from $40,000 in April to $20,000 in June. But then again, there has been volatility in many other financial assets such as stocks. This is certainly an experiment. Who know what the future holds. But it is an interesting and bold experiment we can chose to watch from afar or take part in ourselves.

Why is Bitcoin important in El Salvador?

If you live in someplace like the US or the EU then you are probably used to easily buying things with credit cards which make commerce easy.

You don’t carry cash. It is safer. You can’t lose the cash or get robbed.
You don’t have to think about how much money you need when you leave the house.
Credit cards are small and don’t take much space.

But, if you are one of the 70% of the population in El Salvador that are unbanked…then you can’t use a credit card. If you run a business like a pupusa place, you probably don’t have a bank account so your customers can’t use credit cards either. So business at your pupusa stand is more difficult than if you could accept easy transactions… like with a credit card.

Enter Bitcoin. In the little town of El Zonte there is a man named Jorge who grew up in El Salvador during the civil war. El Salvador was a dangerous place back then. He lost all his childhood friends. All are dead. Instead of being bitter and resentful, Jorge wanted to find a way to bring hope to his community. He put his energy into a positive direction. Jorge created a place for kids in his neighborhood to learn helpful skills like language, computers, and business. He started Hope House in El Zonte. In 2018 Jorge met someone surfing that told him about how bitcoin could be a cash financial system but with the “ease of use” use like a credit card. This surfing friend showed him how to set things up using bitcoin as an exchange currency. Jorge then helped the local shops set up a payment network with bitcoin. Because the bitcoin system made it easy to do business, the local economy grew. More businesses started coming, because commerce was now possible. Today most little shops and restaurants in El Zonte take Bitcoin. Jorge’s mom has run the local pupusa shop for 60 years. She also takes bitcoin.

As the conditions in El Zonte rapidly improved, the El Salvador government noticed. The president came to Hope House to learn from Jorge how bitcoin transformed this little beach town. The success in El Zonte convinced the president to use bitcoin as a national currency for the country of El Salvador.

This is me with Jorge, the founder of Hope House that told me this story.

Buying with Bitcoin

Lots of people ask us how you can purchase things with Bitcoin. It really is quite simple. Below is a step by step description of everything you need to know before visiting El Salvador.

Step 1: Get a Lightning Wallet

To purchase things in El Salvador you need a Bitcoin Wallet that supports the Lightning Network. The Lightning Network enables bitcoin transactions to be completed in seconds like a credit card transaction. Bitcoin transfers used to take a few minutes to complete. But with Lightning, they take seconds. So everyone uses Lightning for commerce. There are many options to choose from like Strike and Blue Wallet but we used the Cash App.

Many of these wallets have a sign up requirement that requires a KYC (Know Your Customer) process. This involves uploading images of your ID and a selfie. They also require a phone number. We found some of the wallets did not allow a signup in El Salvador with a US phone number because the location did not match the country code. So it is best to install your wallet in before you travel. Cash App did allow us to install in El Salvador with a US phone number.

Step 2: Load up your Wallet with Bitcoin

There are multiple ways to load your wallet with Bitcoin.

You can connect the wallet to a bank account. We connected the Cash App to our bank account using the ATM card and PIN. Once the account is connected you can transfer $$ to the Cash App, then purchase Bitcoin inside the Cash App. This worked well.
You can transfer bitcoin from an exchange or another Bitcoin Wallet. There is a “Deposit Bitcoin” section on the Cash App where you can view the bitcoin address for your Cash App. This bitcoin address is then shared with the wallet you wish to send the bitcoin from. Many people use an exchange like Coinbase to purchase Bitcoin. Transferring the bitcoin from the Exchange is as simple as copy and paste of the Bitcoin Address from the Cash App to the wallet or exchange where the Bitcoin is coming from.
Load your wallet with Bitcoin ATM. These ATM’s take currency, then send the bitcoin to your. wallet. They are simple to use and easy to find. There is a Bitcoin ATM in the Hope House in El Zonte. We also found Bitcoin ATM’s in El Tunco and San Salvador.

Step 3: Buy something with Bitcoin

If you are in El Zonte or in the nearby beach town of El Tunco, chances are very high the place you are buying coffee or a beer or a pupusa will accept bitcoin as payment. If they accept bitcoin they will create a QR code invoice for you to scan on a phone or payment terminal. Review the QR code invoice. It will probably be in dollars. If the invoice is correct, use your lightning wallet and scan the QR reader. Approve the transaction. And in seconds both you and the vendor will receive confirmation of the transaction being completed. Simple and fast. You can see me buy a beer with Bitcoin here on YouTube

Things to do

Visit a Volcano

There are 23 active volcanoes in El Salvador. We visited one of them just outside the city of San Salvador. The view into the crater is breathtaking. There was a lake inside the crater that disappeared in the most recent eruption in 1917. The most recent eruptions of volcanoes in El Salvador are in 2005 and 2013.

Play in the Waves

The water is amazing. Clear and warm on a beach of soft sand. You can go surfing or simply play in the waves for hours on end.

Guided tour of San Salvador

We booked a tour with Bitcoin Life of San Salvador. We met them at the Bitcoin conference in Miami Beach. They are young guys that are building an eco-system for bitcoin tourism in El Salvador. We highly recommend Mauricio and Diego! Along the tour they took us to the volcano, El Tunco, the National Cathedral, a restaurant with a big colorful slide, a walking tour in the downtown market, clubs and bars in San Salvador.

Club La Dalia

Open since 1937, La Dalia is the oldest billiards club in El Salvador. This was and continues to be a popular hangout for locals and tourists. This stylish social space has its own authentic atmosphere, with a community of people who enjoy events, a jukebox, billiards and a classic menu is always available. Rumor has it, that years ago there was a barber on staff so men could get a hair cut before dinner. The 100 year old floor tile work is impeccable.

Open Market in San Salvador

Our tour included walking through the crowded open market of downtown San Salvador. Before we entered the market our guides were very clear that we should stay together in a tight group for safety.

Where to Stay

El Zonte

The view from the infinity pool at Gartenzonte overlooks the smooth sand beach.

Gartenzonte and Michanti are 2 locations offering private rooms with air conditioning (a must!), a pool (a must) along with a restaurant. Gartenzonte has direct access to the beach. For Michanti the beach is a short 5 minute walk away. Both venues offer surf classes, excursions, yoga, cooking lessons, etc. We stayed at Gartenzonte and loved it. The people of Gartenzonte went out of their way to make us feel at home in their home. We enjoyed a nice lunch at Michanti by the pool and made some new friends there.

Hostels in El Zonte are very economical alternative.

San Salvador

In San Salvador we stayed at the Nico Hotel. This is a small boutique hotel with an impressive restaurant and bar with a nice breakfast in the morning. The hotel is in an upscale part of town so it is safe to walk around to the other restaurants and clubs near by. You can even walk to the McDonalds and buy a Big Mac with Bitcoin if you want.

Closing Thoughts

We came to El Salvador out of curiosity. What would we find? Would it be safe? Was Bitcoin really being used? What was really happening in this small nation in Central America.

El Salvador is a poor country. And where there is poverty, there is hardship. But it is a country with great natural beauty and locals that are proud to show off their country.

Our visit exceeded expectations. We found a country blessed with natural beauty of beaches, volcanoes and forests. A place where people were friendly and optimistic about their future. There is a vibrancy that was unexpected. We look forward to returning soon.

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