The air in El Zonte hangs heavy, thick with salt and sun, sticking to your skin like the stories it holds. At 6:17 a.m., surfers are already pulling out of the water, their boards dripping as they shuffle to beachfront cafés. By sunset, kids splash in the shallows while fishermen haul in their last catch of the day. This isn’t your cookie-cutter, white-sand paradise. El Zonte’s rugged, dark-sand beach and rocky cliffs offer a different kind of beauty—untamed and untarnished.
El Zonte
Photo by Natalie Stoclet
The small fishing village in El Salvador has long been a haven for surfers chasing right-hand breaks, with waves that can climb to 10 feet. It’s what brought New Jerseyan Matt Schapiro—the man behind Al Suave House—here some 22 years ago. Back then, Mateo, as locals call him, would camp out on the plot of land he’d bought, sleeping in hammocks strung between palm trees, surrounded by friends. Today, that same land is home to one of the most design-forward properties in El Zonte.
Al Suave’s curving roofs mimic the waves just steps away, while a flowing pool cuts through the property like the creek that divides the two sides of town. Sheer ivory curtains flutter in the sea breeze, and touches like slippery-soft duvets and sun-bleached wood complement all of your modern comforts. Its design doesn’t scream for attention. It’s the kind of space that makes you linger and forget what time it is.
Al Suave
Photo by Natalie Stoclet
The house itself is a tribute to both the landscape and art. The architecture, designed by Cincopatasalgato and Pepe Cabrera Homesis influenced by Richard Serra’s sculptures, with an open-air design that respects the space’s natural contours. When I ask Mateo about it, his response is straightforward—there’s no grand narrative here, no flourish, no gimmicks. “It’s just about making sure the land speaks for itself,” he adds, “We didn’t cut down trees, we wanted to honor what was already here. There’s a ceiba tree on the property, which, in Mayan culture, is considered a bridge between Earth and heaven.”
The mezzanine level offers a front-row seat to surfers carving up waves. My swimsuit hangs limp over the edge, drying in the warm embrace of the Salvadoran sun. The next phase of Al Suave involves a yoga studio, wellness areas, and a café. “The house will remain a private space for personal connection. The new center will be designed for communal connection,” says Mateo. “It’s about building something meaningful. I want to create a space where people can connect, heal, and be part of a community.”
El Zonte
Natalie Stoclet
On the night after I leave, Al Suave would be hosting a community cryptocurrency event. It feels fitting for the town—once an unassuming spot on the map, El Zonte is now at the forefront of the global cryptocurrency conversation, earning the nickname “Bitcoin Beach.” President Nayib Bukele even cited the town as the inspiration for El Salvador’s “Bitcoin Law,” which made Bitcoin legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. The project allows locals to use Bitcoin for business transactions and salaries. Despite its pioneering reputation, Bitcoin adoption here remains a mixed bag. Some residents embraced the digital currency as a step toward modernity, while others remain wary and concerned about its volatility, dependence on internet access, and lack of tangibility.
Town shops and stalls are flanked with signs that read “Cash or Bitcoin Only.” But there’s no flashy cryptocurrency ad in your face—no Silicon Valley-style chest-thumping. It feels like a subtle integration of tech into a place that’s anything but tech-forward. Locals like Alex Novoa, my surf instructor and founder of Surfing Your Fearsaccept Bitcoin as payment for classes but laugh off the crypto hype. “It’s helped tourism a little, sure,” Alex told me. “But what’s changed the most is safety. A year and a half ago, you wouldn’t see families here. Now, you see kids running around without fear.”
Al Suave
Photo by Natalie Stoclet
Of course, El Zonte is much more than a surf destination or a Bitcoin experiment. It’s a microcosm of El Salvador itself, a country that’s been through more than its fair share of pain and upheaval. For most of recent history, the country has been defined by war and gang violence, its beauty overshadowed by its turbulent instability. “People always ask about safety,” says Kimberly Ariella, a local entrepreneur who brings visitors to El Zonte through her company, Turismo Restaurativo. “When travelers see the change in El Salvador for themselves, they’re amazed. This country is healing, and it’s powerful to witness.”
Kimberly’s family has deep roots in El Salvador. Her father, who fled to Los Angeles just before the Salvadoran Civil War and later returned to farm cacao and corn, embodies a diaspora of Salvadorans returning and a nation rebuilding itself. “There’s a lot more hope now,” Kimberly says. “People are starting businesses, imagining a better future. Tourism can help us rewrite this country’s story, but it has to be done thoughtfully.”
El Zonte
Photo by Natalie Stoclet
As I sit with locals like Kimberly, I hear optimism and frustration in equal measure. There’s a palpable desire for things to get better, to finally heal. The wounds may be deep, but there’s hope—perhaps for the first time in a generation—that El Salvador can find its footing. It was evident from the locals I spoke to that there’s a sense of possibility, a vision for a future that doesn’t seem locked in a cycle of violence.
El Zonte, like the country at large, is a place of reinvention—one in search of its identity amid the shifting tides of tech and tourism. Whether Bitcoin, design, or travel can truly sustain this new narrative, only time will tell. One thing’s for sure: its beauty isn’t just in its untamed cliffs or pounding surf—it’s in its people, carving a path forward with the same persistence as the waves that reshape the shore.