When I reached the coast a month ago, darkness, a storm, and the kindness of strangers quickly introduced me to what life would be like here. Arriving at night during "load-shedding" (South Africa's infamous scheduled power outages), I was welcomed by our family's property manager. She was quick to take on a motherly role to make sure I felt right at home.
It’s winter here; sunset at 6pm and it's surprisingly chilly. Houses aren't insulated in SA like they are in Canada so, when the temperature drops, it bites. Apparently, it's not uncommon to see snow on the nearby hills this time of year. You may be surprised to hear that it gets this cold in South Africa. I certainly have been.
You may also be thinking that winter weather is not ideal for motorcycle life. It's true. While warm clothing and good planning go a long way, waiting until noon for the morning thaw, combined with 13 hours of nightly darkness, can be quite limiting. That's a long time to sit in your tent.
Storms, of course, halt motorcycle travel entirely. They pass by routinely along the Western Cape coast this time of year and one happened to conflict with my original date of departure. Along with some registration admin that had to wait 'till Monday, all plans were delayed by almost a week. This is what I meant when writing last week about the days leading up to grand departures. Things come up, time oscillates between infinity and zero, and nervous energy accumulates.
Two days ago, all was released. While sad to say goodbye to new friends in town, it sure feels good to be on the road again since my cross-Canada-to-Newfoundland journey in '20/'21.
June 6, 2023 marks day #1 of this journey, and I've already found myself in a whole new world.
Bitcoin Witsand
I arrived in Witsand soon after sunset with no particular campsite in mind. Lucky for me though, a big orange bubble was waving at me as I zoomed past the entrance to this (very) small town.
I was having such a hectic day getting my motorcycle registered the day I left (yet another last-minute necessity) that I didn't have the time to check my messages. This town seemed to have an active bitcoin community on Twitter so I let them know I was coming, but I didn't realize they had responded while I was on my way.
Edwin, wearing a big orange down jacket, had the foresight to anticipate when I would be arriving so made sure to catch me by the roadside.
I was expecting to set up camp somewhere in the darkness. Instead, I soon had a beer in my hand as a participant to a small gathering at "Ellie's on Main". All these people were bitcoiners. I quickly introduced myself, explaining repeatedly (four times), to everyone's growing amusement, why I can speak Afrikaans despite growing up in Canada. We all shared a delicious meal, all paid in bitcoin through the restaurant's POS system, and I was later even provided with my own hotel room where I'm still staying now. The bitcoin community is like nothing else.
Considering that I wasn't even expecting to have a decent meal, this turned out to be an incredible start to the journey.
I've learned a lot from this community already. In a nutshell, Bitcoin Ekasi in Mosselbaai inspired the confidence for a resourceful Witsand bitcoiner to take action on their vision for this town. What's interesting is that the model for adoption here is much different than the one applied at Bitcoin Ekasi.
This brings me to where I left off in last week’s post.
El Salvador
Back in June 2021, El Salvador became the first nation in the world to make bitcoin legal tender (currency). I happened to be there in November 2021 to attend a conference and see what a bitcoin economy looks like.
I learned that bitcoin is a grassroots movement whose history in El Salvador started in the impoverished beach town of El Zonte, known as “Bitcoin Beach”. By teaching the local youth how to surf, and paying the instructors in bitcoin, bitcoin was steadily injected into El Zonte's local economy. With time, educational support, and ongoing onboarding of El Zonte’s merchants, the community has blossomed. Establishing a model for future communities, El Zonte now exists largely as a self-sufficient, circular economy.
President Bukele, El Salvador’s current president, understood bitcoin, liked what he saw in El Zonte, then put the whole country on the bitcoin standard.
El Salvador's Bitcoin Beach led to a nationwide shift, and Bitcoin Ekasi is following the exact same model by teaching local kids how to surf, paying instructors in bitcoin, providing community support, and onboarding local merchants. Thanks to their initiative, South Africa's garden route has quickly become a bitcoin hotspot with active communities in Witsand, Wilderness, and Swellendam.
How is Bitcoin Witsand different?
While Bitcoin Ekasi services a low-income township, Witsand is largely a white-collar community. However, what all the people of South Africa share is a deteriorating economic and sociopolitical environment. Corruption abounds, the power grid is failing, and the currency is inflating out of existence.
What seems to be on every South African's mind is, "what if we become like Zimbabwe?". It's a conversation that keeps coming up. If South Africa does become like Zimbabwe (or Ukraine, if you will), and as long as you've stored your bitcoin properly, then all you would need to do is leave the country. You can always trade your bitcoin for the relevant currency wherever you end up, if need be.
For those with nothing, bitcoin is an avenue to escape poverty. For those with everything, bitcoin is a superior wealth preservation vehicle. For everyone, bitcoin is a long-term plan, and a means to bypass South Africa's failing government-laced infrastructures. Not to mention bitcoin’s many economic and societal incentives, it’s a "plan B" for the worst case (Zimbabwe) scenario.
For Bitcoin Witsand, I learned that the vision is for this community to become like Monaco within South Africa. I thought this was an elegant idea. Monaco is a nation-state known for its prosperous and exclusive economy, but it still has it's flaws. It's known for being a money-laundering hub. Can Monaco on a bitcoin standard disincentivize money laundering? I think so, but that’s another chat for another time.
How exactly is bitcoin helping?
I've found that it's rare that I can answer this question for anyone in a single sitting. Bitcoin is a simple idea reliant on complex technology, typically requiring a spark of passion to persist with the necessary education. This recent resource summarizes everything anyone needs to know about bitcoin really well.
Few people understand how the internet works, but it's easier to grasp when you've experienced what it's like to access all the world's knowledge in the palm of your hand.
Few people understand how bitcoin works, but it's easier to grasp when you've experienced what it's like to sleep at night with your money decoupled from whatever might happen in the world.
Living in Canada over the last three years has made the benefits of bitcoin more desirable to me than ever. For the people of El Salvador and South Africa, they've long since been sick and tired.
What's next?
I'm leaving Witsand today. I have a date with a stingray at Cape Agulhas before I start heading North for Namibia. I have a quick stop in Robertson to pick up a camera (discounted price thanks to a generous bitcoiner I met on Facebook Marketplace) before I cross the mountains to enter South Africa's Karoo desert.
Updates to come.
G
Sounds like a great start to your journey Gerrit. Good luck and enjoy !