El Salvadorian Oddessy (now with new pics)

It was with much excitement and anticipation that we boarded our mini van in Antigua, Guatemala for the 4 hour trip over the border to El Salvador. We decided that it was time for both of us to finally learn how to surf, so we signed up for a 3 day Surf Camp with a highly recommended group based in Antigua called Global Surf, Guatemala.

The trip down was uneventful but things picked up as we got closer to our destination - Playa El Zonte. The coastal road we took to get there was beautiful. Km after km of tiny beach towns with beautiful beaches and stunning clifftop vistas. The road was sort of a combination between the Great Ocean road in Victoria (Oz) and the Sea to Sky Highway in BC (Canada).

Once in Playa El Zonte we quickly settled into our nice digs at the Horizonte Surf Resort. Not a ¨resort¨ per say, but it was right on the beach, had a pool, a nice chill out area and our room had air con, hot water and a bathroom (very luxurious given our last few months accomodation).

We didn´t have much time to settle in though before Gal (our instructor), had us out in the surf for lesson 1. The conditions were fantastic for beginners with nice light 3 footers rolling in. After a few practice goes on the shore it was time for the real thing and a MASSIVE reality check. Surfing is.......Bloody Hard !!! The next hour and a half was spent successfully mastering the art of the wipeout. However it wasn´t always the case and we both still managed to get up on the board. Despite the fact that it was usually in the whitewater or the tiniest of waves didn´t matter as it was such a rush to just get up. It´s hard, but when you try it it´s easy to see how people get so hooked.

We were lucky enough to get a great group to learn with. Over our 4 lessons, even Gal said he wished he always had a group that was as much fun as us. Throughout our lessons, Thomas (from Denmark), Richard (from Spain), Johan and Ben (from Sweden), Lyds and I would be constantly heckling each other in the waves about our various abilities despite the fact that none of us was really that crash hot. It made for a great atmosphere though and a lot of good fun.

After the camp we said our goodbyes to the crew as they went back to Antigua and we stayed on. The constant 30 degree and sunny days, the cheap lifestyle, the endless local beaches and the chance to keep our surfing dreams alive are just to much of a drawcard for us at the moment. We are now based at another little beach town called Playa El Tunco. We´ve treked out to a couple of other little beaches as well. We´ve usually been riding the local Chicken Buses (old US school buses with as many people crammed into as possible), but yesterday some locals offered us a lift in the back of their truck....how could we say no? (Don´t worry Mum´s it was totally safe and it was a family with little kids in the back to....okay, let´s just say it was as safe as riding in the back of a truck can be).

We will be moving on to Nicaragua soon, but just now right now....

Here´s some quick pics from the first few days of our time in El Salvador, including some great photos Gal took of us all surfing...


If you can´t see the above gallery, check out the link here - El Salvador Part 1