Author Topic: El Salvador  (Read 22576 times)

tde

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El Salvador
« on: July 24, 2019, 07:55:06 PM »
No surf in FLA for at least the last month so need to find some surf!! Heading down to El Salvador in a couple of weeks to and hope to
catch some of those classic right point breaks! Thoughts or suggestions appreciated🤙!!

Wetstuff

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2019, 07:45:16 AM »
It, Nica, Guatemala, etc. sound like great places to surf.  I'd only be concerned about my time out of the water.  Panama has some pretty decent breaks w/o too many serious challenges above the tideline.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/el-salvador-travel-advisory.html

But, good luck   ...and make sure we get to see some pics.


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eastbound

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2019, 10:32:15 AM »
no probs at all in nica 3 years ago--prolly wouldnt venture there now, given ortega has morphed into just another kleptocrat, and the folks are pissed.......

i have friends who go to el salvador (sunzal, las flores) and have had no probs---but they're japanese---and they drive themselves around etc---they said might not be so wise to be a car load of americans doing that.......

an american friend who went to las flores said they discourage you from going off premises and prefer to go to other breaks by boat---and they have guys with auto weapons at the gate.......
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eastbound

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2019, 10:32:24 AM »
cant delete an accidental dupe--admin?
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Wetstuff

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2019, 02:08:19 PM »
C'hit, EB...  I was in CR and the DR a hundred years ago. There were downtown open-air restaurants in San Jose with armed guards. They stood outside the bank (a 'really great' defensive position...) in Cabarete.   Marjie goes to Panama occasionally, armed hang-arounders in some restaurants there also.  I don't feel comfortable around civilians with weapons. 

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nalu-sup

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2019, 02:33:11 PM »
tde, I hope you have a great trip, but I will share a cautionary tale of what happened to a friend of mine in Nica a few years back.
He was traveling with his wife and 7 year old son. The wife was driving the family down an out of the way road, when they were stopped by armed men. She pulled the car to a stop, but when the armed men came up to the car and insisted that they all get out, she made the judgement call to hit the gas and try to escape. She immediately took a bullet to the neck, but managed to stay alive long enough to drive the car for about half a mile to save her family, before she died at the wheel.
Sorry for the gory story, but it does put more of a human face on what can happen in that part of the world. If this story can motivate you to remember to stay away from situations like that, you will probably be fine; hence the reason for subjecting everyone to this sad story.
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Wetstuff

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #6 on: July 26, 2019, 06:23:23 AM »
That's a tough one Nalu... that sounds like it could have been on the Westside of Chicago when MLK was shot.  I was working in the Loop and everybody in the N-burbs just 'knew' these people were coming up there! Oddly, they burned the houses they were living in?

Friends here with business in Brazil and Sweden (she-Brit/he-Swede) do this 'la-la-la' ...kinda do-gooder, 'school for rural children', project in Nica. I would expect them to walk up to some 19yr old with 30% face art and sharpened teeth and compliment him on his looks. Some people seem to be able to ignore walking thru a bed of hot coals?!

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2019, 09:07:45 AM »
i hear you, wet---armed "security guards" are all over the place---it was the automatic weapons the guard at las flores had that impressed my friends

hey last year my friend's foursome on the la di da course at round hill in jamaica got held up at gunpoint---stripped of everything!! very exclusive place keeps out the riffraff---ha!

i was a dumb fool of a teenager in new york city in the mid 70's when the city was bankrupt and crime was rampant--antennae had to get pretty good at sensing trouble--and they still work----but life can be a lot cheaper in many places, where, antennae or not, shit can go very south

i also hear you that brandishing of guns by civilians can make a person nervous

ive driven all over CR and never felt frightened--always stayed out of san jose, and lucky to have reliable cars, no flats

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tde

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #8 on: August 20, 2019, 04:58:17 PM »
Leaving EL Salvador tomorrow AM after a GREAT week of surf🤪!!! Surfed both Las Flores and Punta Mango the first 4 days and the Sunzal the last three. Head high ++ everyday. A little apprehensive coming down here but El Salvador turned out to be a WONDERFUL place. (Plus our guide, Alex Novoa was the BEST!!!)
For those interested, this place can be challenging. The breaks can get crowded, it’s rocky and not for beginners BUT... as you can see from the pics there are plenty of amazing waves to be had🤗... As far Standup Paddlers, other than Alex (The El SAL National Champ) we only saw one other SUPer in the water. Still, everyone in the breaks was friendly and NO negative vibes. Great place, GREAT TRIP... Totally STOKED😄😃👍🤙!!!!

tde

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #9 on: August 20, 2019, 05:03:35 PM »
A few more pics from El Salvador!!

TallDude

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #10 on: August 20, 2019, 05:41:54 PM »
You scored! Sweet looking waves. Third world countries all have risks. I've taken them many times by myself, but I would never with my family.
StandingDan did a trip there years ago and posted his pictures here on the Zone. They look like the same break if I remember correctly? He mentioned the biting bugs on the beach sand that kept everyone off the beaches. They reached the breaks by panga.
It's not overhead to me!
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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #11 on: August 20, 2019, 06:06:58 PM »
nice pics--glad you guys got the goods
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JEG

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #12 on: August 20, 2019, 07:44:30 PM »
sik  :)

Wetstuff

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #13 on: August 21, 2019, 06:19:48 AM »
Good for you. Driving to work is a risk - you just need to weight their worth to you.  Maybe the Atlantic will wake up soon now that you're primed for thick stuff again.

Jim
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eastbound

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Re: El Salvador
« Reply #14 on: August 21, 2019, 06:39:29 AM »
if you dont mind, pls post which pics are which breaks---ive heard sunzal, tho a softie of a wave much of the time, is world class when a big swell hits

also, did you rent a car and then roll with alex? how did you get around? where did you stay? if you have a moment--curious about logistics.......

my japanese friends say sunzal area is nice

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