Teacher on Two Wheels

Above: Sunzal in all her morning splendor

Thursday 12/27/07 Sunzal, El Salvador

I spent the past two days resting in a small village called Sunzal on the coast of El Salvador. The hostel I’m staying at is really just a local family’s house with a few rooms available for rent. They cater to surfers because a beautiful and well-known point break is 300 meters from the village. I set up my tent behind the house for $2.50 U.S. a night (U.S. currency is the currency used in El Salvador).

Above: Self-portrait. Late afternoon in Sunzal.

For two days, I did nothing but eat, surf, nap, write, and talk with other travelers. It was exactly what I needed. I haven’t taken a rest day since stopping in Veracruz Mexico two and a half weeks ago.

Above: Fellow longboarder catching a nice ride in Sunzal.

The ride to Sunzal was a breathtaking one that took me up and over dozens of river mouths and hills at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The southern coastal highway in El Salvador reminded me a lot of Route 1 in California. The road snakes its way along the coast and affords drivers and cyclists spectacular views of quiet black sand coves and long stretches of open beaches lined with palm trees. Although the ride was difficult because of all the climbing, the scenery was worth all the sweat. When I reached Sunzal, my energy was completely sapped and I knew I needed a rest.

Above: One of the views from the road along the coast in El Salvador

I spent a lot of time talking with a man named Steven from Holland. Steven is a freelance videographer who does a lot of shooting for news programs. December and January have always been slow months for him in terms of work. A few years ago, he decided he would start taking two-month vacations during this slower time of the year because he felt like he was wasting his life away at work.

After seeing surfers off the coast of Portugal and becoming entranced with the fluidity of their movements, he got himself a surf lesson and his life has never been the same since. Now, every vacation he goes on revolves around surfing. He flies to a new spot each year and spends two months surfing. Last year, Sri Lanka. Before that, Morocco. This year, Central America. Next year, Indonesia.

Steven spent ten days in Suzal operating on the following schedule:

Wake at sunrise. Surf for an hour and a half. Eat a late breakfast. Surf for an hour and a half at lunch when other surfers are eating. Eat lunch. Nap in the hammock in the afternoon. Surf for an hour and a half at sunset. Eat dinner. Sleep.

In between his morning and lunchtime session, Steven let me take out his beautiful 9 ft. McTavish tri-fin longboard. For two hours I rode the smooth-breaking, head-high, glassy waves of Sunzal. After not surfing for over two years because I was out in Japan, it felt so refreshing to get back in the water. The wave breaks right off a rock point and peels on for 200-300 meters before fizzling out. A longboarder’s dream.

Thank you Steven!

I’m going to hit the road tomorrow morning bright and early. I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday!