El Salvador. A country that is world famous for civil wars and natural disasters. In surfing circles it's also famous, but for it world class surf-breaks and miles of wild Pacific coastline ripe for surf exploration. We have only positive things to say about the friendly, positive attitude of the locals and the surfing breaks that lived up to their 'top dog' reputation.
　
The border crossing into El Salvador went without any major problems. From Antigua we drove to the Guatemalan border town, Ciudad Pedro de Alvarado, and booked in at a basic hotel in order to get an early start the next day. That evening a little boy sought us out and offered his services to navigate around the border. We have heard from various sources that these little helpers are invaluable to get you across quicker with less hassle, especially if you have limited Spanish. When he introduced himself to us his name sounded something like 'Ollie' so we thought it must be a sign and told him to meet us at 7am the next morning. Bright and early the next day he was back and set about peddling from station to station getting things photocopied and papers stamped. Four hours later we were through the El Salvadoran border and heading to El Sunzal.
　
We were excited to see the ocean again and the Pacific coastline of El Salvador did not disappoint us. The CA-2 highway winds close to the ocean and often gave us amazing views of potential surfing breaks, many of them empty. After a few hours we arrived at our destination of El Sunzal which was recommended to us by many people we have met on this journey.

Surfer Heaven
　
Having developed a taste for hotels lately and with the sweltering heat and stuffiness of the camper, we decided to check into some cabana's for US$20 a night at La Guitarra in El Tunco, meters from the great surfing point break of Sunzal. For this great price we got our own brand spanking new cabana with its own hammock and private bathroom, palm trees, swimming pool, ping pong table, free DVD rental, free internet, TV room, self-service bar, pool table, laundry service, use of the kitchen and most importantly secure parking for the truck; it was too good a deal to turn down.
　
When we arrived in El Tunco the wave was breaking nicely but it slowly deteriorated as the days wore on. Never-the-less we still got some fun, good-sized waves on a pretty consistent break. The wave was quite mushy and slow which made it fairly harmless, it was also very popular with beginners so it was a bit of a circus out there, boards were flying left, right and centre. This also made for a relaxed, no pressure environment and there was plenty of waves for all on the many peaks. Ollie loved being back in the water and the waves at Sunzal were perfect for his speedy fish surfboard.
　
El Tunco consisted of two little dirt roads, one lined with various accommodations and the other with a few rustic palapa restaurants. We couldn't resist treating ourselves to an amazing feast of lobster stuffed with prawns (US$15) and creamy seafood soup bursting with prawns, lobster, crab and other various shell fish (US$7) all while the local boys put on an impromptu break dancing show to the late Michael Jacksons, Billie Jean.

We spent the week alternating between the ocean, pool, hammock and awesome seafood restaurants lining El Tunco playa. Weeks could have easily turned into months at La Guitarra. It was great to be back at the ocean where there was no pressure to climb volcano's go sightseeing or do temple safari's.

Norwegians on Tour
　
Since Puerto Escondido in Mexico we had been tailing a couple of Norwegians in their Type 2, bay window VW Combi. We had noticed the Norwegian sticker on the back of the van and also the rather impressive Rob Machado hairstyle (the fro) one of them was sporting (Thomas), we knew sooner or later we were going to have to introduce ourselves. The perfect opportunity arrived in El Tunco when we went for lunch and they were sat in the same restaurant. After introductions and stories that they were stalking us too (on seeing our Norwegian sticker on our truck), we learnt that they were pretty much doing the same journey as us, planning to sell their beloved van in Panama. They had been inspired to do the journey by Thomas' father who did a similar journey in 1979 also in a Type 2 Combi. These young lads were having the time of their lives and every time we had seen them they were sporting new girlfriends.
　
The main famous break of El Salvador is Punta Roca, this right hand point break is found in the smelly fishing village of La Libertad and is often compared to Jeffrey's Bay in South Africa. We'd heard varied reports about this break and the village. There is supposedly a lot of gang and drug activity making security at night a little iffy and then there's the cleanliness of the water due to the sewage pipe going directly out into the beach. There were rumours circulating that surfers had recently got ill due to the contamination at Punta Roca. One day we decided to take the chicken bus from El Tunco to check the place out. The chicken bus is cheap and cheerful transport favoured by the locals and it is not uncommon to share the bus with an array of livestock. Witnessing La Libertad in all its dirty, smelly glory, we made the unanimous decision to give it a miss, world class wave or not.
　
The on-line surf reports were showing a big south swell heading our way. We'd heard rumours that when a big swell hits Sunzal, the waves line up and provide really long rides. It was tempting to enjoy the comforts of La Guitarra for a while longer and experience Sunzal when it was going off but we were also curious about Las Flores in the south, we'd seen pictures and heard great reviews from other surfers at our hotel and thought that a visit from us was definitely a must. The 'Stormrider' surfing guide has included a picture of Las Flores and named it an East coast secret spot.
　
Life in Las Flores
　
Our drive to Las Flores was fairly painless, other than one wrong turn (road signs are few and far between in Central America). We arrived late in the afternoon and after hitting the locals up for a few directions, found the secluded little beach down a bumpy dirt road. The beach of Las Flores is perfect for the travelling surfer; there is a couple of cheap rustic accommodations, a couple of medium priced hotels and a uber expensive, gated luxury surf camp for the people who just have too much money. We headed to Mama Cata. At US$15 per night you got a windowless stone cabin, and the ocean lapping at your door. A surfer could not ask for more. Mama Cata herself is a great cook, and for a small price of US$3 you could have yourself a delicious plate of rice, beans and pollo (chicken), every single night of the week! No kidding, she didn't know how to make anything else. Tari, an Aussie who had been staying there for 3 weeks, in desperation, begged her to cook up some pasta but she had no idea what he was talking about.
　
After a night in the cabana's we negotiated to park and camp in our truck in a fenced allotment right by the beach. It was perfect for us as it had a nice big palapa for us to hang our hammock and was fairly secluded and private and we were saving $10 per night. We think old Mama Cata was a little annoyed that she lost our custom but soon got over it when we bought lots of beers off her every night.
　
We were joined the second day by the Norwegians, Thomas and Alex, this time with a new girlfriend, a lovely Japanese girl called Mika. Thomas and Alex were actually defying the Norwegian rule of 'loving to pay' and had somehow convinced poor love lorn Mika to sport the costs of food and petrol , as their credit cards were temporarily out of action. We all got together in the evenings and made a big fire on the beach and cooked seafood for dinner with the eclectic group of people staying at Mama Cata's. There was a nice Finnish couple, an Aussie, Tari, a group of Argentineans boys, Japanese Mika, the Norwegians and Uruguayans.

All that was left to do now was wait for the foretasted swell to arrive.
　
Barrels, Rockets and Guns
　
"What a great way to spend the morning. Thank you Gaaarrrd!"
　
The swell had arrived and San Diego surfer, Ralph, couldn't help but express his gratitude to the big man upstairs. Ralph, renamed the 'Pocket Rocket' was a midget sized, yet extremely muscled, American who tended to get excited over the smallest of things. He would YIP and WOOO over anything; even Shay catching a foamy into shore warranted a loud American whoop (which coincidently made her lose concentration and fall off the board). But we have to agree, the great barrelling waves of Las Flores where definitely worthy of a loud yodelling YEEEEHAAAAAAA.
　
The best thing about the beautiful beach of Las Flores, other than its picturesque bay lined with palm trees, was that early in the morning most surfers board a boat and head to the nearby break of Punta Mango leaving the perfectly peeling waves of Las Flores fairly empty.

There was an interesting crowd in the surf line up;

Ralph (aka Pocket Rocket), who we've mentioned, 48 years old but he looked much younger. Earnt his nickname not only by his size and stature but by his technique of rocketing into the pocket of the knarliest of waves. He was small in size but huge in confidence as well as gob!

The Argentinean body boarders taking off deeper than anyone else and getting right into the barrels, almost crashing into the rocks at the take off point.

The fearless paddle-boarder from Half Moon Bay, California. A legend in his own right for the way he handled that massive board not to mention the paddle in huge waves. It would be easy to kill himself or others if either of those potential weapons was let loose in the surf.

Stephen from Los Angeles with his powerful back hand turns.

The Ginger Avenger, who changed his outfit at least 4 times a day.

Tari, a typical Aussie bloke. Nice guy but has a little too much to say about others techniques when not actually being perfect himself.

The fearless guys from Uruguay, throwing themselves down the steepest of waves and nearly always making the death defying drop. They feature in many of our photos.

Trav, another Aussie who was intent on getting Ollie to join him in the heavy outer take-off zone.

Mike, the grumpy old man from the US with a 70's Gerry Lopez style. Hates the fact that the break at Las Flores is no longer a secret spot and also that expats are buying up the land in the area... even though that's exactly what he's done.

Plus, when not jetting off at Punta Mango there is the US$1700 per week Las Flores surf camp crowd. With more money than sense. Come to experience the wilds of El Salvador from the safety of their electric fenced, fully secure luxury complex complete with western menus and English speaking staff.
　
The waves just got better and better in Las Flores, each day producing bigger and better glassy, barrelling waves. After 2 days everyone was exhausted but determined to get back out there as they could not let such perfection go unridden. Our new Aussie friend, Trav, was having the waves of his life and despite aching in every fibre of his body, insisted on going back out for another epic session. When his board was creased and needed repair he borrowed Ollie's semi gun, which he has been considering selling up until that point. "That board is sick! It's a weapon mate!" Trav was impressed by the board and wanted to buy it on the spot. After that statement the sale was off and Ollie was keen to get out there on it himself! So Ollie's fish was relegated to the board bag while his semi gun took centre stage.
　
Meanwhile, Shay was perfecting her surfing techniques on the inside waves and felt she made real progress throughout the week; she now has a 90% successful stand-up rate and is able to ride the waves all the way to shore. Next step is to get some confidence out in bigger waves.
　
Finally the swell started to recede and although the break was still pumping out fairly decent waves, everyone was exhausted and ready for a rest. It was time to move on and that meant enduring two border crossings in one day, and the most dreaded country on the list; Honduras. It a country renowned for its corrupt police and border controls and now we had the latest political problems added to the mix. We knew it was going to be a long hard day but also that we needed to stop putting it off and get it out of the way. "I'll pray for you!" The Pocket Rocket tried to reassure Ollie when he shared his concerns. Somehow we think that won't be enough.