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Surfing
Travel |
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El
SALVADOR
Surfers are constantly in search of new adventure,
uncharted coastline, warm waters, consistent
swells, and uncrowded line-ups. El Salvador
offersall of these things, but anyone who
travels to this tiny, Central American country
will soon realize that the waves are uncrowded
for a reason.
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| In
El Salvador the tube is the safest place
to be. |
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When
we arrived we made friends with the only other
gringos at the airport — two Midwest
girls who were volunteering for the Peace
Corps. They had been in El Salvador for over
six months and flatly informed us that during
our visit we could expect to be robbed by
gun or knife and get diarrhea from the food/water.
This wasn’t the reassurance we were
hoping for. Booking a trip to ES raised a
few eyebrows with friends and family with
reactions ranging from "Are you insane?"
(Family) to "Should be good waves"
(Friends). It turns out that friends and family
were both right. Not to sound cliché
but El Salvador is a land of contrasts. The
country is filled with natural beauty and
tremendous poverty. The people and country
have been getting kicked around between a
12 year civil war, Hurricane Mitch, a devastating
Earthquake, and record drought this year.
Considering half of the population lives below
the poverty line the people are guarded, suspicious
and armed (the wealthier have guns, the poor
carry big machetes).
When considering El Salvador as a surf trip
destination one must consider the pros and
cons:
Pros: Surf, Cost
Cons: Safety, Food, Nightlife
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crowd!!! |
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Pros:
SURF — El Salvador may be the smallest
country in Central America (about the size
of Connecticut) but has miles of south-facing
coastline that seems designed for surf. Numerous
world-class point breaks dot the coast but
most surfers congregate to those closest to
the capital city San Salvador. The most striking
part of the breaks was not the shape or consistency
(both great) but the lack of crowds. At the
peak hour (8:00 AM) there were less than 15
guys in the water and by 9:00 it was often
just me and my friends. There are a handul
of local surfers who are aggressive and try
to dominate the peak and a few aggro spongers,
but compared to So Cal it's more like a ghost
town. After a solid morning session we would
paddle out (wind normally isn’t a factor)
to have the point to ourselves. We’d
ask ourselves "How many surfers would
be out on 4’-6’ Rincon? 100? Here
we are all by our lonesome letting perfect
4’ rights roll by because they aren’t
set waves." Of course now that we are
home, fighting over 2’ slop in the South
Bay we are kicking ourselves for letting any
of those waves pass by unridden.
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and dangerous |
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First
let me preface this segment by not only recommending,
but insisting you see El Salvador under the
care of a professional guide. Our group never
came into harms way, but if you're stupid
or careless there is serious danger around
every corner. On our adventure we surfed only
3 breaks. The first being Los Flores, which
is just North of a small town called El Cuco.
Although considered a point break the bottom
is mostly sand and the wave is very forgiving.
This spot works best on a low tide and can
dish up some long, fun right handers. If you're
not on it early, be advised, you will be overrun
by a small army of El Salvadorian Groms. While
they are nice, affable kids, they become annoying
surprisingly fast. I recommend taking a panga
(from the beach at Los Flores) to Punta Mango,
which is a 20 minute boat ride to the North.
This secluded spot offers up a much higher
quality wave that reels across a cobblestone
reef (much like San Miguel, North of Ensenada).
This wave
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bucks for eggs and beer after a good
sesh |
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is
steeper and faster than Los Flores and offers
up some barrel opportunities if you're looking
for them. We surfed there 3 days in a row
and on the most crowded day, there were 7
of us out there. Mind you there were 5 of
us on the boat. We scored perfect wave after
perfect wave, uncontested, unmolested and
the water was 85 degrees. It really seemed
like heaven on earth.
Lastly we voted to go check out La Libertad
(The famous point that was filmed in Big Wednesday)
and stay there for the last 5 days of our
trip. The drive from Las Flores to Libertad
is about 3 1/2 hours and well worth the haul.
Upon arrival you feel as if you've reached
some sort civilized world again (even though
it's a 3rd world). Upon reaching the point
there are several restaurants and hotels to
choose from. The wave itself was phenomenal.
Every day was glassy, overhead, hollow and
absolutely perfect. The crowds were never
even a factor, in fact on several occasions
guys from our group would get 2 hour, afternoon
solo sessions. We're talking a world class
point break all to yourself. I can't promise
the same for everyone but if you watch the
point all day a window of uncrowded opportunity
will most likely arise. Logging 6 hours or
more of water time was commonplace. Afterward
cold cervesa's and a big meal at Bob's were
on tap. There is no night life so enjoy your
day and party with your bros at night. Definitely
bring a couple of good books with you. If
you are a hardcore surfer, this trip is for
you. Hook up with your buddies and set up
a trip but leave the wife and kids in the
states.
COST
— The most expensive part of a trip
to El Salvador is the plane flight. For those
considering a trip to This is a common scenario
on the roads of El Salvador ES I’d recommend
hiring a guide. There are many advantages
to a guide service:
* They take care of transportation (from airport
pick up to drop off)
* They know the different breaks and when
they’ll be best
* They speak the language and know the locals
* They can handle your lodging needs
The disadvantages of a surf guide are that
they cost $ (although not much) and it means
you’ll have another surfer in the line
up (hopefully not a wave hog).
As for companies offering surf guides Elporto.com
highly recommends using the newly founded
Punta Roca tours which is run by an American
named Bob Rotherman. Bob has owned and operated
Punat Roca restaurant/ hotel for 30 years
now and aside from being a solid, honest guy
is an accomplished surfer and knows El Salvador
like the back of his hand. Contact Bob if
you're interested in booking a trip. He'll
put you on the waves and protect you like
a mother hen. We've been there and are sincere
when we say this guy is the best!
contact Punta Roca
CONS:
Safety — On any surf trip be it Mexico,
Indonesia or Central America it pays to be
cautious and keep a low profile. ES is no
exception and not a good place to bring the
wife & family or for getting hammered
and acting reckless. There is no room for
the ugly American here,
The NRA would love El Salvador because every
hotel, store, bar, restaurant, bank*, etc,
is guarded by a shotgun or M16 wielding hombre.
As one surfer in our group noticed on the
first day "Everyone in this country is
packing!" They are armed for a reason,
robbery and theft are common everywhere we
visited. La Libertad has the added hazzard
of the best local surfers who have traded
in their boards for crack pipes and now harass/rob
surfers on their way to the main break.
As in any third world country the greatest
safety risk can be found on the roads. Everyone
in ES drives faster than they should, passes
on hills and blind curves, and no one wears
a seat belt. Add to this the fact that almost
every road is two-lane and the road is used
for every type of transportation: cars, trucks,
carts (horse and human drawn), pedestrians,
dogs, and large groups of cattle. Somehow
our driver managed to keep us accident-free
despite the mandatory beers before/during
and after driving.
*Expect a pat-down search before entering
banks
FOOD
— Don’t plan to dine on Double-Doubles
or burritos in ES. Depending on which surf
spot you are staying at, your dinner options
may be limited to the hotel restaurant or
whatever energy bars you brought with you
from the US. The most common national dish
is "pupusas" which resemble two
very thick tortillas enclosed over a mixture
of beans, cheese and meat (usually pork) and
fried. Our two culinary recommendations are:
1. Punta Roca (La Libertad) — This water-front
restaurant is run by an American (Bob) and
his son Jimmy. Not only do they offer the
best view of the right bay break, they serve
great food at surfer prices. There is a long
list of food a surfer to El Salvador should
avoid, (shellfish, lettuce, cabbage, and most
of all the water) but we felt safe eating
everything at Bob’s.
2. Sonja — This mother of many ninos
cooks at the south end of Playa Los Flores
from her shack/home on the beach. Her beans,
eggs, rice and tortillas breakfasts were heaven
after a three-hour surf session (and only
$2 per plate).
Overall we ate well but cautiously. A fellow
surfer from another group tried the oysters
and spent two days surfing the porcelain throne.
NIGHTLIFE — San Salvador is the only
nightlife you’ll see and only with a
guide. If you value your wallet and health
you won’t go out after dark and most
of the surf spots don’t have bars or
discotechas anyway. Gringos are known to visit
San Salvador’s cultural center "Lips."
Imagine the Jet-Strip silicone-free on a discount
price night.
Bottom line — In a way El Salvador’s
greatest weaknesses are its greatest strengths.
If El Salvador was as safe to visit as Salt
Lake City it would be overrun with surfers
from FLA, TX, NC, and of course CA. Because
there are only a handful of accessible surf
spots and they are all point breaks —
the country can’t handle a large crowd
of surfers. Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica (a
beachbreak can probably handle more surfers
than all of the main breaks in El Salvador
combined. From everything we experienced,
our guess is it will take years before this
pristine surf locale will be at risk of overcrowding
by gringo surfers. This country will remain
a semi-secret for those surfers willing to
deal with sketchy security for quality point
break surf. El Salvador has some great surf
for those willing to deal with the negatives
listed above.
Essentials to bring:
Sunscreen — Lots of it, the sun is very
strong and your surfing won’t be limited
to dawn patrols. I’d also pack a rash
guard and possibly a water-hat for those who
like three session days.
ReefWalkers — They may give you a weird
feel on the board and make you look like a
dork but they’ll save you feet from
many barnacle-encrusted rock walks in and
out of the surf.
Playing cards & tunebox — Your non-surf
hours will be spent napping, eating and drinking
in your hotel room. Its good to have something
to break up the boredom.
Candy and surf stickers — Ninos are
everywhere and its good karma to make them
happy. Bring a bag of Starbursts or something
that is easy to hand out and won’t melt.
Story by Eric Rasmussen and Mike Durand
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