My Week in El Salvador

June 26th-June 30th, 2006
Playas El Zonte, La Libertad, Sunzal, El Tunco, y Masato
Central Coast, El Salvador
and
July 1st, 2006
La Union, East El Salvador

Now that I have some more time I´d like to elaborate on my week in El Salvador a bit more. It has been truly amazing- a lush, tropical, surfer´s paradise... ask anyone who surfs. I took off from Monterrico later than I should have (1pm) on Sunday, and I had to walk a mile to catch the boat back to the mainland. While I was waiting, I ordered up one of the most delicious treats I have had so far on my trip. For .50 cents, I got an ice cold coconut, hacked open with a machete, with a straw placed in the hole in the top. It was sooooo sweet and good, plus I picked a lot of the meat out too!

I had to take a boat and four busses to get to San Salvador, and it was sort of crazy. As soon as I got out of Monterrico it started to rain, and the rain would continue all day. I took a bus a half hour, got off and transferred to another bus. Took that bus another hour, got off and transferred to a Microbus for the long trip to the border. The countryside in Southwest Guatemala is truly beautiful though. Plantations of sugarcane, rubber, and banana extend as far as the eye can see, and the hills roll infinitely down into the water.

When I finally made it to the border I found it quite easy to leave. I expected to pay an exit tax, there was none- it´s now free to enter and exit Guatemala by land. I expected to get a stamp, but there was none- the Guatemalan Border Crossing at La Hachedora is now fully automated, and I watched in half disbelief as the man swipped and scanned my passport, told me I didn´t need a stamp because I´m in their system, and wished me "buen viaje."

Since it was still raining I took a bike taxi for a 3 minute ride to the border. I strapped on my backpack, wearing shorts and a T Shirt, no raincoat, and I walked across a bridge over a peaceful muddy river, making the crossing into El Salvador by foot. It was really gorgeous there and I walked deep in thought as I pondered my exit from Guatemala, 26 days after I arrived, and the rain gently wisked the heat away from my forehead and shoulders as I walked.

Entry to El Salvador was as easy as the exit from Guatemala. I showed my passport to a friendly guard at the border who pointed me to the immigration office. There I expected to pay a $10 tourist fee, but again I was charged nothing. I needed two more busses to get to San Salvador and I arrived there at dark. I was luckily shown to the right bus stop from the terminal to get to my hostel and I found it with no problem. I met some really cool kids at the hostel- a group of 5 Europeans who all flew to mexico, got down to Belize, and then purchased an Isuzu Trooper there for a 6 month voyage through central and south america... cool! They were losing a man to Antigua Guatemala and invited me to take his seat, but they were headed north and me south so I declined. Did stay up drinking til about 4am with the gang though.... good times, good people.

I´ve already described how I got to La Libertad and then to Playa El Zonte. La Libertad is filthy and crazy, and there really was a murder while I was there. I sort of took that as a way to size up the area, and I made sure to use extra caution, even more than usual, throughout El Salvador. I ended up staying Monday-Friday nights in Playa El Zonte, at Surf Camp Horizonte. It´s an amazing place, and a surfer´s Nirvana. There is a thatch cabana with open fridges full of beer, water, and softdrinks. Write your name on a check and keep a tab for yourself as you go along, honors system. It is bordered on three sides by Air Conditioned bungalows, and I met these two awesome American surfers Andrew and James, who were brothers sharing a bungalow with their guide Pedrico. On the fourth side of the thatch cabana was a kidney shaped pool, the tangle of sticks where the parrots hang out, a nice green grassy yard, and then a three story building. My dorm was on the first floor, and even though it had three beds I kept it to myself 4 nights out of 5... sweet.

Unlike the trash filled beach of La Libertad which stinks like sewage and dead fish, the beach at Zonte is pristine. A half moon shape, it is bordered on the east by a massive sheer cliff and a seriously rocky section of beach adjacent. You do NOT want to ride the surf that way. On the West side, a point made of rocks the size of baseballs to basketballs, next to a rivermouth. This is where all of the waves first start to break. The pros take their rides from the point into the middle of the bay. I started all my rides in the middle, because lacking board control I mostly go straight on my surfboard... and straight at the point means right into the rocks.

The ocean wasn´t 50 feet from the back gates of Horizonte, and the beach itself began right there. The food was good, and nothing cost very much, so I decided to make this my base to explore El Salvador, hang out and learn to surf for a few days. Surfing is REALLY hard. It takes enormous upper body strength to paddle and hold your head up all day, let alone push up onto the board. I usually went out for 2-4 sessions a day for 30 minutes to 1 hour 30, because it is so exhausting. Plus you´re in the sun all day and you´re losing sweat so it really takes it out of you. But Andrew, James, and Pedrico taught me the basics and it didn´t take long to start catching waves.

Pedrico, by the way, is by far the coolest local I´ve met on my journey. The guy is only 27 but he´s rising way up to become a notorious surfer along the Salvadorian coast. The American boys hired him as a guide and rented a car to go along with the package, and Pedrico really was the man. He knows all the people and all the spots. The other surfers not only know him, but respect him and get out of his way when he´s riding (they love to cut off gringos). He knows the forecast and the swells and the best spots always.

One of my favorite little rides on my trip was heading up to San Salvador on Thursday night to accompany Pedrico on some errands. Normally a two hour ride by chicken bus one way, he and I made the round trip in two hours. He drives a little crazy but he knows this place like I know Atlanta so I trusted him to know what´s up. The best part was seeing San Salvador from an SUV instead of a chicken bus, and learning from Pedrico about the local people and customs. For example- Central Americans love to whistle... it´s a major form of communication (ex- stop the bus, you´re a jerk, baby I love you), but the Salvadoreños really take this to the extreme, so Pedrico started teaching me all the whistles I need to know to get by, including: "pay me now" (spoken by the busdriver), "what´s up" (very common, good to know), and "f#ck your mother" (obviously very important to know, they even have a honking version of the same tune, for use when you´re in your car). ---sorry if that was distasteful, I thought it was hilarious though---

I had a hard time leaving El Zonte. The American guys took really good care of me, and I got to accompany them in their sweet ride to plenty of lunches and dinners at other beaches, and we got to surf some different breaks. Plus the parrots and other exotic birds and pool and atmosphere of Horizonte was so nice... but finally this morning I left.

I took five busses this morning to get to where I am now, La Union, El Salvador. It´s kind of a dumpy town, but the access point for ferries to Honduras or Nicaragua (the latter being my destination). I couldn´t get out this afternoon so I´ve taken a room for the night and should be leaving at 7am tomorrow morning, first for coastal Nicaragua, then the liberal college town of Leon.

It is SO hot in La Union, it reminds me of Atlanta in July- 100 degrees, 100% humidity, only very little AC to go around here. I´m going to try to hook up a room with one if it´s not too expensive. It was a crazy ride today and it allowed me to contrast a bit between Salvadoreños and Guatemaltecos.

Start with the busses. The chicken busses here seem to have come from the 60s and 70s, as opposed to those in Guate which came from the 70s and 80s. Most in Guate are left unpainted, yellow, many with the names of some remote school district painted on the side. The ones in El Salvador are painted crazy bright colors, with a lot of decals, flames, and huge stereo systems, through which they blast all sorts of music for the whole ride. Also, guate busses almost always have roof racks. Nonexistant here in El Salvador and it´s really a pain in the ass to get my backpack all around. I´ve heard of people being charged twice for the ride with a pack, but I haven´t experienced that so far.

The Salvadoreans, like the Guatemalans, are extremely nice, and I haven´t had any trouble finding my way around. It seems a little more dangerous here, but the murder in La Libertad tipped the scales. In general Salvadoreans are much lighter skinned and taller than the Guatemalans, and I find the women to be much more beautiful here- less squat and round, more tall, skinny, and light... I guess more like the girls in the US, though we do have our share of squat and rounds too (lol).

Well I´m almost out of time so I´m going to check out for now. Tomorrow I cruise the gulf which is shared by El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Should have some nice pics to share when I get a chance!