TULUM, MEXICO. 20:09 EST, THURSDAY 12 JAN.

Lotta construction out here. But not many people. Who will live in the fresh concrete hives? Maybe nobody, as we’ll explore…

I’ve escaped to the Americas to dodge the short days and grim weather back in ‘Mudder Yoo-Rop’. (If I ever retire, it’ll probably be on the equator. I can’t be assed with seasons any more.) Cancun and Tulum, Mexico’s finest gringo-rinsing mills, offer many unique experiences to the Airbnb Hobo(TM) community. Ever been propositioned with anabolic steroids by the cashier in a pharmacy? One cycle of Winstrol coming right up, amigo. You want 30 caps of Ritalin on the side? Or maybe some Valium? Treat yourself senor - you can pay in bitcoin!

And let’s take a moment to appreciate the quality of the Authentic Mexican Goods(TM) peddled on every street corner. The finest fridge magnets, the most immaculate machine-stitched bracelets… you can even get a Mayan headdress, perfectly replicated, with the logo of your favourite NFL team emblazoned on the front. Go Chiefs!

(How much of Alibaba’s success was driven by tourists buying worthless kitsch on holiday?)

Every demographic inside ‘web3’ is catered to by the tourism sector in Mexico: the code-monkeys seeking a psychedelic escape from their screens, the hippie libertarian types, the crypto influencer chicks, the coke-addled VCs, the quiet rich expats seeking a bolt-hole in a sunny clime.

How much commercial development here has been driven by crypto booms? I’d wager a fair whack. But both Cancun and Tulum feel mighty short of the tourists the town feeds upon. Maybe 3AC, Terra and FTX have finally demonstrated how crypto can have an impact on the real world.

I’m currently staying in an enormous apartment complex designed for gringo tourists during peak season, and there’s barely any residents. An almost identical complex is being built next door. Billboards nearby advertise fresh condos for just over 5 BTC (95k USD) apiece.

Will these be filled with gringos come Spring Break?

I have no idea. But maybe it doesn’t matter to those funding these gringo-pods.

When inflation will nuke your debts, borrowing to acquire real assets (in this case, borrowing to fund real-estate development) that resist inflation is a tried and tested strategy.

Provided the country doesn’t get fed up of your landlording (a la Weimar), you end up owning a neighbourhood that’s worth far more than you borrowed to build it. Who cares if nobody lives in it?

But enough property chat. Let’s get to the good stuff: are you a gringo?

The meaning of ‘gringo’ shifts depending on who is saying it. But have no fear: there’s room for almost everyone in the bracket.

(Don’t get me started on the numerous creation myths surrounding the word - even the Irish claim to have invented it.)

In Mexico, the word only applies to Americans - which would rule me out.

Argentinians, meanwhile, use ‘gringo’ as a label for any European who is not Spanish.

But in Brazil, a gringo is literally anybody who is not from Brazil - including other Latin Americans (especially Argentinians).

So unless you’re Brazilian, you are a probably a gringo.

Hasta la vista!

Jim Hawkins