El Salvador

Sunzal is a big thick rolling wave, libertad Puntas Rocas is a classic point break but a pretty mellow river
Mouth. Bound to be much much more crowded than it was in 1974 when I drove there. My avatar is from Puntas Rocas in Libertad.

 

Its going to be your best trip ever. Get out and explore beyond the surf enclaves.

The right point breaks are easy to surf compared to east coast size for size. it was never less than head high while we were there and well overhead at times. I was surprised how user friendly the waves were. rolling entry, soft walls forever and ever, not punishing. Don't go crazy thinking you need some kind of step up board that your aren't used to .

 

Las Flores is 6 -8 foot at 16 seconds right now!

 

Mitchell and I had the best trip ever there several years ago. I'm jealous!

 

If the crowds get to be too much in Sunzal or Punta Roca, don't be afraid to drive up the coast. Mizata has a great wave and rarely has anybody on it. Just lock up your stuff. I had a couple of the best days of surfing in my life at Sunzal and Mizata on Easter weekend 2009 and there were only 6 dudes in the line-up at Sunzal. 8 ft @ 15 seconds and rights that last 200-300 yards..

 

did you drive there AND back? and make it in one piece? DETAILS give us DETAILS my good man.

 

i caught it good but never big. the locals say it can hold it up to 15 ft and beyond…la liberated, i mean.
rothermans' hotel is right there and he's a surfer and his kid rips too. also el salvadorean food is def
one tick better than the standard arroz con pollo/pescado con arroz.

 

Pupusas are like 6 for 3 bucks or something. If you go to Zonte look for El Teco. Guy is classic. This is a cheap and awesome place to stay in tunco http://www.lunasurfingelsalvador.com/reservations.htm There is also a left down the beach from town but it can be a crusher. The people in El Salvador are awesome and it is safe as in the day but I wouldn't walk around too much in Libertad during the night. El Tunco is totally safe and a small but nice place to stay as a tourist. Have fun

 

I second that but Mizata should only be an option if the waves are smaller. When we were there a purple blob came through and Mizata was easily twice the size as anywhere else and it would of been almost impossible to get out. Very quite and beautiful beach though. El Zonte is also a fun wave but if it gets too busy paddle to your right (if your facing the ocean) and there's a fun beach break over there. We had a local cook for us the entire time and it was AWESOME!! Enjoy your trip.

 

good timing?

http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/best-bet-june-2014-el-salvador_110137/

One other thing to consider is the weather. Last time we were there it rained for 5 straight days like crazy. In fact a car came floating down the river in Tunco and the river overflowed quite a bit. It was crazy. It wasn't until the fourth day that we found out that a hurricane was pushing through central America and the mountains were seeing FEET of rain. Another funny thing that happened during that trip was that El Tunco had no internet for the entire town because someone had stolen all of the wiring that provided internet to the town! So try to stay abrest of the weather bettert than we did...... Crazy

 

Went down two February's ago. Tunco is a real chill little spot and Sunzal is fun all around. Spent most of our time at Sunzal which was consistent and mid range throughout the stay but real great rides. We caught rides in trucks to La Libertad which is solid, check out the fish pier. Drove down to Las Flores which is a real sweet point break and thought about boating out to Punto Mango but swell wasn't right. Great trip from start to finish, have to get back asap. Have fun.

 

I'll be staying at El Sunzal for a week from June 11th to 18th. I'll let you know how it is. Check out Los almendros hotel right on the point of el sunzal, cheap and authenic like 15 bucks a night for your own room.

 

You asked for it: Yep. School got out for the summer on June 15, 1974 (my second year of teaching) and my non-surfing wife and I left OCM on the 16th. We headed for St. Louis to visit family in my '73 E150 van and turned left from there through Arkansas, to Port Isabelle, TX where I caught some windblown Gulf slop, but at least they could be called waves. The locals discouraged me from paddling across the inlet to seek cleaner waves because they said the local Coast Guard liked to confiscate "water-craft that violated the life jacket requirement." That's never been an issue in OCM where the Assateague Wedge is just a short paddle away and well sheltered from NE winds.

We kept heading south to Vera Cruz, Mexico where we were surrounded by a dock workers protest demonstration that got pretty sketchy. By the time we got to Tampico we turned west for the west coast and then south down through Guatemala along the coast. After a side trip into the mountains to visit Antigua and Chi Chi Castenango to see the sights, we were back on our way south. A little less than two weeks in all of this brought us to La Libertad, and the only thing to do was go surfing. I ran into a group of guys in the water from the West Palm Beach area and met up with John Parton (Fox Surfboards) who told me everyone was living at Gringo Gardens up the mountain along the Polio River, at least that's what everyone called it. They didn't have any rooms left, but since we had a bed, ice box, and Coleman Camp Stove in the van, we asked if they would mind if we parked in the compound. "No Problema!"

We also met up with Bob Rotterdam who had married a local girl, Marta, who was pregnant with their first son Loni, and they were in the midst of building their "Puntas Rocas Restaurante" overlooking the point and Bay. Everything was pretty cool, a local ice store, water store, shave ice cart, American movies that played with spanish subtitles, and a ton of kids hanging around saying, "Dame' Cinco" a nickel was a lot of cash back then. So, for the next month I got up at dawn every day, walked down the mountain and through the local graveyard near the point and surfed 6'-12' Puntas Rocas while local oyster divers swam out beside us with their peach basket in an inner tube that they would climb on top of from time to time shouting, "Hay Tiburon!" That and dodging Manta Rays was always fun.

When the winds slopped it up, which wasn't all that often until the afternoon, we'd head by bus (another story all to itself) to San Salvador for a Barbaqoa, or to a local waterfall to go waterfall sliding. It was quite a crew. Afternoons were wiled away in a hammock on the porch of Gringo Gardens, and the rainwater filled holding tank was our source for buckets to flush the toilet, all of which emptied into the river, hence the name "Polio River" where all the local women washed their clothes and bathed themselves.

By August, we started heading back to OCM by way of Mexico City where we stopped for our anniversary, and then to Beaumont Texas where we stopped to watch President Nixon resign the presidency on national television. From there we pulled a non-stop 30 hour drive back to Ocean City where I was required to attend an in-service teachers meeting. Suffice to say, the in-service workshop has LONG since been forgotten, but the El Salvador trip will last a lifetime. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The board I took was a Nomad that Jay Evilsizor ordered for me from his shop in OCM, it followed a Brewer template that was popular at the time, I called it my "mini gun" since the nose and tail were so pulled in with the widest part of the board forward of center. Yes, it was a single fin, and a big one at that, especially since I liked it all the way back in the fin box so I could draw long lines with my bottom turns. (see my avatar in the bottom right corner of the image)

It all happened forty years ago this summer, and yes, that was before cell phones, and GPS because they hadn't been invented yet, and the satellites hadn't been launched yet. All we had was a Road Atlas, the desire for an adventure, and a lot of good luck. If I was still 24, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. . . but I'm not, and I likely won't. Even PR beat my butt up the last time I went there. It ain't easy any more, so get there now before you get any older.

I still have the board I took, it helps me remember 40 years later.
http://mdsurferpix.tripod.com/webonmediacontents/SalvadorBoardA.jpg
http://mdsurferpix.tripod.com/webonmediacontents/SalvadorBoardA.pdf

 

Note: Yeah, I know it's too much to read, but this is the short version.

The leash tear happened because the first leashes they had were surgical tubing attached to a suction cup with a screw in it and you attached the cord to your wrist, not your leg. That worked until someone put their eye out when the screw pulled out of the suction cup. By '74 we were making our own leashes out of doubled over bungie cord (wrapped in the middle with duct tape) and an ankle loop we made with macrame out of nylon cording. The attachment to the board was via an epoxy attached deck eyelet, but we didn't have a wide nylon strap to attach the leash with, just the bungie cord, which of course ripped all the way through the board to the stringer on the tail. Live and learn, eh?

 

MD surfer great story. I like your style. My wife and I have the same lifestyle both teach and surf and head out on long trips in the summer. We have done Mexico a handful of times, costa, nic, el salvador, panama, and peru. Doing Indo this summer. We always fly to where we are going but next year buying a van and driving the Pacific coast of mainland Mex. We know a couple from Ocean City that also teaches and drives to Mexico every year. You know em? You still teaching? Cheeers/Salud! (once again it is great to see a thread on here that actually discusses surf in a intelligent way instead of some of the other crud that gets spewed)