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El
Salvador
The Crew: Josh Decker (Men's Open), Sean
Reynolds (Men's Recreation), Oliver Benedictus
(Longboard), Liz Clark (Women's), photographer
Branden Aroyan, videographer Seth Brayer,
and the surfing couple/organization masterminds
Chris Keet and Angelica Ochoa.
The
Journey: Leaving LAX at 5:30 a.m. puts
you in San Salvador before noon and in the
lineup at one of the epic El Salvadorian pointbreaks
by 2 p.m., depending on traffic. It is important
for visiting surfers to spend the money to
hire a guide for at least a day since there
are two types of people in El Salvador: those
with a gun, or those with two guns, and the
banditos will have no problem relieving you
of your possessions. La Libertad is a small
fishing village 60 miles from the capital
San Salvador, and features Punta Roca, El
Salvador's most famous wave. Punta Roca (Rocky
Point) breaks from 2-20 feet and could be
described as a warmwater Jeffreys Bay....a
veritable wet dream for pointbreak lovers.
The surrounding coastline contains innumerous
nooks and crannies that house other lesser-known
righthand pointbreaks and are accessible for
a price...reliable bandito friendly guides
are a must. The Hotel De Don Lito housed us
for our week-long trip and is right on the
point.
The
Break: Punta Roca is a perfect righthand
point set up. The waves break over huge cobblestones
and can be extremely hollow and shallow at
low tides. To access the point, you must walk
from the village past a cemetary that commonly
houses banditos, crack addicts and thieves...hire
the Langosta, or Mario, make friends for life,
and keep your self safe.
The
Conditions: 4-8-foot face, perfect righthand
pointbreak. When we showed up, everyone claimed
that it was 15-feet plus for the two weeks
prior to our arrival...and breaking like Jeffreys
Bay. We were treated to a small sampling of
what Punta Roca had to offer, and left feeling
spoiled.
The
Food: Langosta, pescado, frijoles, sketchy
American food creations (hamburgers, sandwiches,
etc.) and bottled water. For those over age
21, cervezas are plentiful.
The
Locals: Most of the local surfers travel
the hour from San Salvador to surf the coastline.
The locals who are from La Libertad are all
highly skilled and very friendly as long as
the proper respect is shown to them. Surfing
is still a marvel in La Libertad and all of
the town's children will love you for a sticker,
T-shirt, or the sharing of a meal.. The biggest
downfall to the small fishing burg is the
prevalence of crack cocaine, which many of
the poor utilize as a way to avoid their realities.
Special shout-out to Langosta and Mario, our
El Salvadorian guides/friends. They made our
trip complete with their hospitality, friendship
and awesome surfing.
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