How Patriotism and Positivity Can Be Found Just About Anywhere
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
By the time I arrived in El Salvador, it was late. We pulled down a side street through a big arch that read El Tunco. Streets were full of people milling around, beers in hand, laughing and chattering. It felt like Tamarindo, Costa Rica mixed with Seaside, Oregon — a surf-town energy with a rustic edge and pupusa shops next to coffee and smoothie bars.
Las Palmas Hostel welcomed me with a pool party, beers, and a crowd mostly in their twenties and thirties. Things were hopping. I found my way to reception where I met Nico from Oakland, California, who had big plans to ride his motorcycle from his home state to Brazil, but he stopped in El Tunco a little over a year ago and decided to create a hostel instead. On Instagram, he began sharing about their remodel. Soon curious onlookers showed up to see the progress and then the police and politicians popped in to collect fines and to get in on the action.
Not all attention is good attention. He shut down Instagram to keep things on the down low until he finished the remodel.
My room was exactly what I booked — ten bunk beds stacked like sardines, one on top of the next. They were wooden shells, completely enclosed like a cave with one opening at the end. I was pretty sure they got their inspiration from the newly designed prisons of El Salvador. The hallway was tiny to get to the one bathroom at the end of the hall.
I sighed, questioning my decision. Then I reminded myself that this was an adventure and I was lucky enough to be on it.
I rented a lock and threw my bags in a homemade plywood locker. Then, I headed out to grab a late dinner. Pupusas are basically a corn base pocket stuffed full of deliciousness. I ordered two cheese pupusas and a banana-papaya smoothie. The best $6 dinner of my life.
The next two days in El Tunco fell into a perfect rhythm: pupusas, smoothies, coffee, beach, REPEAT. The beach isn’t postcard perfect, but the waves were consistent and the surf vibe was cool.
It was Super Bowl weekend and since the Seahawks were playing, this Washingtonian wasn’t missing it. Bars were packed, some for football, but mostly for the halftime show. I ended up at a rooftop bar where I met William — a surfer, climber, camper van enthusiast working in El Salvador. He was very social and introduced me to everyone. Soon we were all drinking beers and cheering on our favorite team. I called my boys to share in the victory of our Seattle Seahawks when we won!
It was a really fun night where I felt proud and connected to my hometown, my country, and my kids. I was thousands of miles away and yet I was connected by watching the same thing at the same time, something millions of Americans were also viewing. I may not have eaten chicken wings, mozzarella sticks or been snacking on a veggie tray from Costco, but I was cheering at a bar with a community of people from all over the world.
I thought about Nico driving his motorcycle from California across the country and opening a business in El Salvador, I thought about William from Pensacola, Florida and his camper van as he plucked his way through Central America, meeting people along the way and connecting them. Then I thought about my own life and how grateful I was to be American. I don’t know too many women who have the freedom, time, or money to travel like I do.
That blue passport is a green light for adventure and I don’t take it lightly. Sitting on that rooftop bar, cheering on my state’s football team, FaceTiming my kids was a moment for true gratitude. And in some ways, a moment to feel patriotic. I also reflected on the fact that I was in El Salvador. Just a few years earlier, this place was too unsafe to visit and now I was there, a woman, alone on this wild adventure.
I know that things aren’t perfect, the world feels unsteady and chaotic at times, but it’s also full of beautiful people and moments. Research estimates only about two to four percent of the global population flew internationally in a typical year. So if you have the freedom to travel and the passport to do so, be grateful. Look around at all the people and moments that make life special.
To see what happened next…and the biggest travel mistake I made in El Salvador make sure you are signed up here for my next blog on waterfalls and sunrise hikes to volcanoes.
I know that not everyone can travel right now and I covet your prayers and support for me on this journey. Please continue to pray for me here
Also as a token of my gratitude I’d like to offer you a free lesson on the Girls Love Travel online class.
Dust off that passport and start looking for your next adventure!
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