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Are you a penny pinching regularfoot on a time crunch looking for a surf trip destination?
- Thread starter Groundswell
- Start date
He used to post here.BillyOcean said:
http://www.gosurf.dk/en/
I thought he died of ebola but no.
we checked but did not surf punta roca. there was definitely a bit of a vibe in terms of using common sense for safety but everywhere else we went was very chill. drove around in our own rental car no worries. this was 3 years ago i think.
The waves everyone always says are great.
Otherwise, people seem hot or cold on the place.
"No big deal, just be careful" to "Don't go out at night, especially alone" and "Got robbed walking back up the point."
Also, is the water as filthy as they say it is?
Otherwise, people seem hot or cold on the place.
"No big deal, just be careful" to "Don't go out at night, especially alone" and "Got robbed walking back up the point."
Also, is the water as filthy as they say it is?
Interesting side note, the crowds were actually pretty stiff so I had taken to surfing around noon when everyone else was inside dodging the heat. One day I got out of the water courting a heat stroke (one of the local surfers had gone down in the rocks it was so bad) and the grounds caretaker took a look at me, picked up a coconut and took his machete to it and a few strokes later handed it to me. This guy was in his 60's. I'm thinking he was in the war and had seen the worst of it. I got to talking to him a little and yeah. He'd been around the block. The owner of the place filled me in a little further.
Anyway, the guy moved like a man 30 years younger. He was cut, ripped, buff and could work like a machine. He cut the lawn with a machete. The owner told me he tried to get the guy to use a lawn mower but he refused. I came out one morning at 0 dark thirty and the guy is doing one armed pushups. There were some rope loops hanging from the eves and I learned that was where he did his one armed pull ups. On a rope. Try that sometime.
Anyway, I learned the guy ate no processed food. Everything he took in came out of the ocean or from the animals he had raised, his veggie garden and the fruit trees. Dirt poor by our standards, but wealthy where it counted.
Anyway, the guy moved like a man 30 years younger. He was cut, ripped, buff and could work like a machine. He cut the lawn with a machete. The owner told me he tried to get the guy to use a lawn mower but he refused. I came out one morning at 0 dark thirty and the guy is doing one armed pushups. There were some rope loops hanging from the eves and I learned that was where he did his one armed pull ups. On a rope. Try that sometime.
Anyway, I learned the guy ate no processed food. Everything he took in came out of the ocean or from the animals he had raised, his veggie garden and the fruit trees. Dirt poor by our standards, but wealthy where it counted.
La Libertad was crowded. Punta Roca wasn’t as bad. It is a beautiful spot. Every bit as geographically lovely as Hawaii. The place literally almost killed me. Medical emergency flight back to the states. I was there at the end of the Reagan era when the civil war was still going. We had to fly to Guatemala and buy visas to bus into San Salvador. It was weird seeing all the military action. All the government troops decked out in us gear with us weapons, us jeeps, us tanks, us destroyers anchored off shore. That is the most lasting impression. How we were clearly the puppeteer in such a beautiful country. We made friends with two brothers who were “lifeguards” to avoid compulsory military service. One was a shaper and the other a solid surfer. Great guys. They were sad that I got so sick and were sure I’d never come back. I guess they were right.
We didn’t go to Punta Mango. There’s a crew of older gents here who go to Mango every year.
We didn’t go to Punta Mango. There’s a crew of older gents here who go to Mango every year.
The crowd at Punta Roca is intense. Heavy vibe. I liked the inside section that broke too wide for the top and got tons of good waves alone. A few local guys took me to the main peak and yelled me into some good ones, I would have struggled at the main peak without them helping this gringo out.
Surfed El Salvador three times before it became a destination with a Florida friend.
Surfed Las Flores with 10 foot faces with my friend and a person videoing. That's it.
My friend gave a few surfboards to the fisherman that lived on the point and that started it.
Broke a rib on one trip. Too deep on the takeoff on a Las Flores wall that gets mushy ten yard
down the line. Got too hungry for a barrel and blew the suck out drop. Damn.
La Libertad was the same then also. Robberies on the way to the point were a way of life.
Surfed Las Flores with 10 foot faces with my friend and a person videoing. That's it.
My friend gave a few surfboards to the fisherman that lived on the point and that started it.
Broke a rib on one trip. Too deep on the takeoff on a Las Flores wall that gets mushy ten yard
down the line. Got too hungry for a barrel and blew the suck out drop. Damn.
La Libertad was the same then also. Robberies on the way to the point were a way of life.
Stayed for most of November 2004 at Playa El Tunco/Zunzal. The town vibe was super mellow, and the local villagers kept an eye out for travelers. Never felt unsafe or heard of anyone getting robbed in town. There was still a lot of swell at that time, plus calm winds and clear water 
La Libertad and El Cuco/Flores seemed a bit more wild west
La Libertad and El Cuco/Flores seemed a bit more wild west
Did you stay at the place overlooking the point at sunzal? Place is so sick. Also the rivemouth near by is :facelick:
Yup. Room was $7/night, awesome view, and cheap killer food downstairs. What a setupmanbearpig said:
It's way more than $7/night now, but its super nice. I was staying in Libertad, there was one other guy at the place and after one night be bugged out to Sunzal (place I stayed was way to barebones/simple for him). I went over there a few times to have beers with him and check the surf. Seemed like a lot of newish construction. I think he was paying $120/night for a little private room bungalow thing on the water.grapedrink said:Yup. Room was $7/night, awesome view, and cheap killer food downstairs. What a setupmanbearpig said:
Fookin hell I just looked on google maps, and that place has changed since I was last there (2005manbearpig said:It's way more than $7/night now, but its super nice. I was staying in Libertad, there was one other guy at the place and after one night be bugged out to Sunzal (place I stayed was way to barebones/simple for him). I went over there a few times to have beers with him and check the surf. Seemed like a lot of newish construction. I think he was paying $120/night for a little private room bungalow thing on the water.grapedrink said:Yup. Room was $7/night, awesome view, and cheap killer food downstairs. What a setupmanbearpig said:
) I think the place I stayed is now the Jade/Zen Hotel. Roca Sunzal had just been built and was the pricey option at $35/night 
Ate at La Bocana restaurant a bunch, that was the place to grub and hang When we got down to Tikla back in the day. we stayed off the beach in palapas for $5 a night.
It was a sketchy place then, even more now. Buried all of our valuables in different places when we got there.
Still ended up getting robbed at gunpoint. My friend Casey had been showing some cash around.
He got pistol whipped.
It was a sketchy place then, even more now. Buried all of our valuables in different places when we got there.
Still ended up getting robbed at gunpoint. My friend Casey had been showing some cash around.
He got pistol whipped.
