Bagus Surf

El Salvador #1

July 15th

Early morning flight from HNL to LAX.  Hampig drove me to the airport with the small board bag (6'2" Fish and 6'8" Thruster).. how nice.  Not lugging around a 10' boardbag around the airport is definitely a plus.  Typical 5 hour flight to LAX, but at least this time I got the upgrade to business class which was a nice bonus.  Hung out at the admirals club in LAX waiting for free (seven hour layover) with wireless and a ESB in hand.  Good stuff.  Free got in and we immediately found a margarita and started the good times.  Finally hopped on our overnighter to El Salvador.  Didn't get much sleep, but we were ready to get to another country and surf.

When we arrived it was nice to be the first off the plane.  I got hassled a bit by customs b/c they kept saying why wasn't I staying longer than a week. My answer was I got to work man.. got to work.  We had to push the random button and it was impossible, but we both got the red light and had to be searched.  Pretty lame search.. just a quick rummage through our backpacks.. not even a look in the boardbags.

Eluid was waiting for us when we got out of customs and off we were whisked to K59.  It turns out the airport is no where near the capital city of San Salvador.  After a quick hour or so of driving we ended up at Edgard's house at K59.  We quickly unloaded the boards, waxed and polish and jumped in to catch the tail end of a nice south swell peeling off the point.  Perfect rights and the fish was eating it up.  So much room to carve the wave face. Nice to be with the local group and they are pretty protective of the break from outsiders.  Many fun waves to be had and the water was practically hot as a bath.  Super fast zippy point breaks... ahhhh!  River rocks line the entire beach and it is like walking out at Rincon.  Got to time getting in a out.  After a late morning surf we settled down for our siesta before hitting it again for a late afternoon glass off which occurs after the rains come through.  Perfect way to start the first day.

July 16th.

Swell dropped a bit today, so we headed to a beach break call El Mizata just north of here. Fun beach break, a bit to hollow and fast for the fish, but good times.  We headed into La Libertad to walk about the market.. Monday is the busy days as merchants from out of town make their weekly stop in town.  Walked through the fish market down on the pier and had a cold cerveza in hand by noon sitting at the bus depot.  Free managed a little shopping.. dress, soccer shorts and the endless quest for a used Machete.  We drank a bunch of beers roadside waiting to get water and then headed to Punta Roca restaurant owned by Bob.  Managed to get plastered in Pilsners and had a great lunch of fish and tortillas.  Drunkards rolled back to K59 for a deep siesta slumber all afternoon.  Managed to wake up in time for another amazing glass off session out front. Head high, fast, and totally carveable wave faces. Took the 6'8" out and had a blast with Luis (the other surf guide).  Did manage to get my first barrel.. yah!!! Finally after trying for the past six months.  It was pretty cool feeling.

Watched a scary movie (final destination) and we both slept like shit.  For two guys who fly most of the time, it was not a good movie to watch.

July 17th

After a toss and turn night, we headed out to Sunzal with the longboards to do some logging.  Awesome point break set up much like  38th in inside pleasure point.  The shortboarders were having a hard time getting into the flatter take off area, but Free and I had no problem.  The long rights walled up great on the inside and plenty of noseriding was had by all.  Interesting sections to try to make it through.  Free fucked up his back paddling, and I got washed up on the rocks.  Managed to keep Kaya's new team ryder from getting dinged, but I paid the price.  Free is now sleep on the floor hoping to sleep off the pain.  We'll see what happens tonight.




Technorati Tags: oahu, hawaii, waves, surf, surfing, el salvador

LAX-SAL

I'm sitting at LAX after a 8 a.m. flight from HNL.  I have a seven hour layover here waiting for my midnight flight to El Salvador.  It could be bad, but I have wireless connectivity ($10) and a cold Redhook ($5).  Wrote about 50 emails on the plane until my battery ran out and now doing some reseach on the country I will be landing in about 12 hours.  Pretty short flight from LAX-SAL, about four hours.  Been reading on the surf and breaks down there and looks like it is a country of right point breaks.  Great for me as a regular footer, but bummer for my buddy who is goofy.  Can't wait to land and get offline for an entire week. Still thinking about business almost more than waves right now, but a couple more drinks and I will be good to go.  Proabably won't have access from the road, but will post stories when I return.  In the meantime, find a killer wave, and lots of aloha.










Technorati Tags: oahu, hawaii, waves, surf, surfing

Surf Packing List

I posted this a while ago, but dug it back up and making additions.  The classic surf trip packing list:

Here's a short list of things to pack... got additions?
Personal gear:
1 ibuprofen
1 topical antibiotic
1 cipro prescription
1 mosquito net
2 pipe tape (for dings)
1 A large book bag or daypack
1 rash guard
2 30+ water-resistant sunscreen
1 Zinc oxide sun protection
1 Bug repellant
1 Aloe Vera gel
1 Kit Personal hygiene items, i.e toothbrush/ paste, Campsuds or
other biodegradable soap.
1 Sunglasses
1 Wide brimmed hat
2 1L water bottles (Nalgene recommended)
1 Lightweight hiking boots for day hikes, 2 pair of socks
1 River sandals (Chaco or Teva recommended)
1 Beach towel or Sarong
1 lightweight long sleeve shirt and pants for mosquito protection
1 Headlamp
2 boardshorts
3 short sleeve t-shirts
1 pair normal shorts
2 leashes
1 wax
1 wax comb
1 leatherman
1 extra screws
1 fcs screws/extra screwdriver
1 reading book or other appropriate reading material

Am I missing anything?  Drop me a comment and I'll update the list....






Technorati Tags: oahu, hawaii, surfing, surfing, travel, waves

El Salvador Trip...

Ok.. been getting some great tips for my surf trip to El Salvador this Saturday.  I am going to be hooking up with K59 surftours

Here's an email I got from Ian talking about his trip:
Everything is very close. There are 5 quality breaks
all within an hour or so of each other i.e. La
Libertad (Punta Roca), Sunzal, San Blas, El Zonte, K59
and a few other "K-breaks".

Upon arrival I recommend either bargaining a taxi ride
from the airport to your spot in La Libertad or
depending on where you're staying, having the owners
pick you up, if they offer that. The ride is roughly
45 minutes from what I remember, depending on how many
dead cows, people, flipped cars, etc. are in the road.


I stayed at Horizonte Surf Camp in El Zonte, which is
about 10-15 minutes North or West, depending on how
you see it, from La Libertad (Punta Roca, etc..) A
taxi from the airport to El Zonte cost me $20 but you
may be able to get it lower. Also, the place I stayed
at charges $25 for a scheduled pick-up in a spacious
SUV with AC (very nice in that horrible oppressive
humidity and heat).

Punta Roca is basically one of the sickest waves in
the world, and if you love empty hollow rights that
can hold up to 15 ft. then that is the spot for you.
If I were to go back, I would spend more time there. I
only got it good twice. Both times were empty.
However, the crime in La Libertad is pretty bad, and I
wouldn't recommend walking alone there. In fact,
unless that was the ONLY spot you wanted to surf, I
wouldn't even recommend staying there, but that's just
my opinion. If you can, buddy up with someone. I've
heard numerous stories of people walking in town, or
to the point, and having guns or machetes pulled on
people, more often than not by teenagers on crack
(seriously). So with that being said I would paddle to
the point from Rotherman's restaurant, which is a
pretty far, but safe paddle. It's up to you, just
check it out and weigh the situation for yourself. I
got lucky and hooked up with some locals, and was able
to walk through the cemetery directly to the point.

I can only speak confidently about El Zonte. I stayed
there for 2 weeks, venturing off to other breaks via
bus only a couple times. It is one of the most laid
back, relaxing places I have ever been to. To me, it
is paradise. The surf camp is directly across a 10 ft.
road that runs next to the beach. The only thing
separating the surf camp from the ocean, is the
restaurant owned by Saburo (who owns Horizonte). His
wife Carol is very sweet too. They charged me $10 a
night for my own room (not air conditioned). Or you
can bunk up with someone in a double and pay $7 a
night. Some of the rooms have AC, but are more
expensive. The surf camp has 4 hammocks under a shaded
hut, surrounding a bar, with a TV and DVD and stereo
hook-up. Hungry? hit the restaurant up for some
licuados (smoothies) for like $1.50. Or get 3 papausas
(stuffed taco type things that are SUPER good) for
something like $1 or 2. Everyone in that little
neighborhood is super friendly and eager to befriend
you as long as you show respect.

There are two other surf camps there along the point.
One is owned by Teco. He owns the property ON THE
POINT. So if you stay there, you are basically
sleeping in front of the break. Alex owns the surf
camp next to Horizonte. They all charge about the
same, and all offer the same things as well. So, it's
basically up to you where to stay. Once you're there
you will find out about the other breaks, and what
buses to take (they cost $0.25).

El zonte is such a fun, rippable wave. It can be fast,
mellow, barreling, gentle, big, small. Whatever. The
break is very adaptable to different swell directions
and sizes. There isn't much else to say. Wherever you
go you'll have a great time as long as there are
waves. I spent 15 days there and there only about 4
un-ridable days.

I only went into San Salvador once, and hated it. It's
a big third-world city with a shit load of smog and
even more poverty. But they have one of the craziest,
and biggest malls I've ever seen. Ironic. So that's
about all I know for the place.


Technorati Tags: el salvador, surf, surfing, waves

Driving Tips to Cabo

We never have to worry about this, but folks on the mainland actually have thousands of miles of driving to find surf.  One trip I have always wanted to do is drive down Baja and then cross over to mainland Mex.  Saw a posting on Swaylocks this morning about Driving Tips to Cabo.  Made me think that someday I have to get over there and just do it.  Windy again today in town.  Over a week since I have been in the water.  Starting to dry out.

Dream Surf Trip

Have you been dreaming of a surf trip? Here's my working list of places I would visit.. where would you go?

START:
1. San Francisco/Honolulu

SOUTH AMERICA: 1 month
3. Costa Rica: San Jose, Jaco (max: 2 wk, min: 1wk)
4. Panama: (max: 1 wk, min: 4 days)
5. Peru: Lima & north (max: 1 wk, min: 4 days)
6. Chile: (max: 1wk, min: 4days)
7. Argentina: Buenos Aires (max: 4days, min: 2days)
8. Brazil: Rio de janero (max: 4days, min: 2days)

EUROPE: 2-3 weeks
9. Ireland: Dublin (max: 1wk, min: 4days)
10. France: Marsellies (max: 1wk, min: 4days)
11. Spain: (max: 1wk, min: 4days)

AFRICA: 2-3 weeks
12. Morocco (max: 3days, min: 2days)
13. Cape Town (max: 5days, min: 4days)
14. Durban (max: 5days, min: 3days)
15. Madagascar/Mauritius

INDIAN SEA: 2-3 weeks
15. Maldives islands (max: 1.5wk, min: 5days)
16. Sri Lanka (max: 1.5wk, min: 5days)

AUSTRALIA: 3-4 weeks
17. Sydney (max: 2wk, min: 1wk)
18. Brsibane (gold coast) (max: 2wk, min: 1wk)

New Zealand:

INDONESIA: 1 month
19. East Timor (max: 2wk, min: 5days)
20. Java (max: 2wk, min: 5days)
21. Padang (max: 2wk, min: 5days)

SOUTH PACIFIC: 3-4 weeks
22. Solomon Islands (max: 3days, min: 2days)
23. Fiji (max: 3days, min: 2days)
24. Tonga (max: 3days, min: 2days)
25. Samoa (max: 3days, min: 2days)
26. Cook Islands (max: 3days, min: 2days)
27. Tahiti (max: 3days, min: 2days)
28. Indonesia

END:
28. Honolulu

If I could . . .

When I can do it here's my dream trip.

1. Golfo de Nicoya, Costa Rica: July 1-15
2. Costa del Balsamo, El Salvador: July 15-31
3. Lima, Peru: August 1-10
4. Santiago, Chile: August 10-31
5. Britain & Ireland: September 1-30
6. France: October 1-20
7. Europe: October 20-November 15
8. North Spain: November 15-30
9. Portugal: December 1-15
10. Barcelona, Spain: December 15-December 31
11. British Virgin Islands: Jan1-10
12. Morocco: January 10-25
13. Canary Islands, Spain: January 25-31
14. Gold Coast (Queensland), Australia: February 1-28
15. Taranaki, New Zealnad: March 1-15