Saw some threads about Nicaragua and Panama. Has anyone been to El Salvador? Planning a trip and wanted to hear firsthand about the vibe, surf, accessibility etc... Anyone been there?
El Sal Yeah I drove the whole pacific coast line in 2005. With a car there are tons of excellent options. If you like right points, this area has a very high concentration of world class points with nice warm, clean water. The most famous is La Libertad, which is an intense, long, barreling wave -- definitely not for beginners. The peak gets very crowded, although typically I've heard you can sit way down the line and pick off epic waves pretty much solo. The area in Libertad is pretty sketchy. Your backdrop here is a wall spray-painted with "gringo go home!" with skull and crossbones, behind the wall is a graveyard. The town it's in should be avoided at night....lots of people stumbling around huffing glue and "up to no good" (sounding like an old man but it's true). I stayed at Sunzal just about 30 minutes away from Libertad and surfed that break the most. Sunzal is a great wave, it gets big, like 10-15 foot face big pretty often, but it never gets crazy heavy. The paddle out is real long, but easy, and the take off is simple....it's basically a skateboard ramp at like 45 degrees, and it takes you for a long long sick ride with some quick and barreling sections towards the inside. There is good safe accomodation here. Further along there is K61 and K59 which are pristine right points. You can't imagine a more beautiful setting at these spots, and they are really consistent! There are plenty of other amazing spots here....a quick google will hook you up. Go get after it, but be careful and respectful. It'll be a sick trip. Plan to go May-Oct for best chance at perfect swell.
oh, and The vibe is great. Just don't be an idiot in the water and give way to the locals (who are way better than 99% of the people on this thread), and they'll be cool in return when the perfect wave comes your way. Like anywhere in Central America (minus most of CR) or Mex don't drive or hang out much at night, and you'll avoid most potential trouble. It's an awesome place.
Thanks for the info! We're going to the El Zonte area, which I think is close to all the spots near La Libertad and Sunzal. Not sure whether or not to go with the local surf guide or search for spots ourselves. I've heard that some areas can be pretty shady to travel through.
El Sal Go to Costa Rica or Nicaragua. If you go to El Salvador, go to the Wild East, is gets really fun. Take the boat trip to Punta Mango from the Las Flores Surf Club.
Yeah, we are going in July. Hopefully the wave gods will look favorably upon us. We've already done Costa Rica - it was the best place ever - but wanted to go somewhere new for this one. Sounds like we just need to be smart and respect the local culture, and we'll find some good stuff. Nice!
Yep. . . I spent the summer of '74 there after driving down through Mexico and Guatemala (10,000 miles RT). Summer can get very good. Stop in at Punta Rocas Restaurant and resort in Libertad and say ''hello'' to Bob and Marta Rothermel while you're there. My Avatar is from Punta Rocas in July of '74, and don't freak out about the graveyard. It's been there a long long time. The bad news is the point break is located right at a rivermouth- one that John Parton and others affectionately referred to as the Polio River. Lots of hepatitis floating around- and a couple of nasty boulders right in the peak of the lineup. Turn your board upside down when you step off the shore to avoid rock dents on the bottom of your board- then flip it back over once in deeper water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMqVd0PAm4Q&feature=related i just watched this a few days ago.. my advice is to carry a second wallet with a few fake credit cards etc..
Generally I think you are a know-it-all wind bag MD Surfer but that is one of the coolest things I have heard. 1974 driving the whole coast? It would be ballzy to do that now with cell phones, GPS, etc. But in '74? Good on ya.
Salvador Suffice to say, I've been around for some time now. What's your excuse? We had things called Maps, and we could actually read them, and better yet, they were free. . . what what?
El Salvy That '74 Trip does sound pretty amazing. I tried to pull off the ULTIMATE TRIP in 2005. We had plans to drive from San Diego to Panama, sell car, fly to Ecuador, then Brazil, SA, Maldives, Indo, NZ, Tonga then home. 5 months. We took 8 weeks driving the central american portion, and it was epic. However, the gods decided I should not continue on when my left arm welcomed some damned mosquito that gave me some virus that nearly killed me. I had to go home for medical help and never made it back to meet up with my buddy. He made it around the world solo. But, hey, ended up getting married to the girl I was dating at the time and now try to enjoy those rare gem days that roll into our own no-mans land between Navals and Assateague! I have learned you have to grow to love your home break, no matter how awful it is comparatively speaking. And about El Salvador, definitely go. that was one of my favorite spots on the whole coast line. That and Nexpa and Pescualles in Mex and the some real secrets on the norther border of Nica. Santa Claus bring me a SE mid period swell with NW winds for xmas-new years. Would love to hit Teague mid winter on a nice big swell. see ya out there
