Kids practice their skills near the main beach at La Libertad

A young surfer caught in the act near Punta Roca, La Libertad

The sunrise over La Libertad Bay is beautiful (Robert Rotherham)

A daytime view of La Libertad pier

Playa Zunzal is isolated and picturesque

Two guys finish playing in the waves and walk near the water's edge at Playa Zunzal

“You have to feel the wave.  When you feel it, stand up on the board and catch it.”  This is the advice of my surf instructor at Zunzal beach on the Pacific coast of El Salvador, who goes by the nickname El Negro.  Not surprisingly, he is a dark brown man in his early twenties with longish ringlets of hair.  He grew up in the beach town of La Libertad, watching surfers, studying their movements and teaching himself the art through hard work and practice since age seven.  Even though surfing is second nature to him, his voice radiates excitement when he describes the process of catching a wave.

The phrase “catch a wave” will never have meaning for people who haven’t surfed.  It’s an exhilarating sensation.  The force of the ocean is awesome, and the feeling of gliding onto it is indescribable.  You never want to stop.

Unfortunately, if you allow a wave to carry you all the way to the shore, you’ll be obliged to paddle out to the break point again, which is no easy task.  Ever wonder why surfers have such great bodies?  They spend a lot of time paddling.

Several beaches near Puerto La Libertad boast world-class waves, pretty much all year round.  El Salvador’s coast runs almost directly east/west, and south of the coast there is nothing but ocean all the way to Antarctica.  At times storms in the South Pacific create monster swells that can easily top 20 feet.

Despite the quality of the waves, the surf is rarely crowded.  Surfers here comprise an international mix, with locals joined by a few Californians and other North Americans, some Australians and New Zealanders, and some Europeans.  Many of the foreigners who visit the La Libertad area are repeat visitors.  They come for the incredible surf, as there is not a lot else to do.   There is no beach scene to speak of, no sunbathers, no fancy cocktails.  In fact, they roll up the streets after dark, which is perhaps a legacy of El Salvador’s civil war.  Restaurants generally close around 7-8 p.m., so get your dinner taken care of early.  El Negro and his buddies drive in to San Salvador on the weekends to enjoy dancing in the big discotecas.

Most visitors bring their own surfboards and other gear, but boards can be rented in La Libertad.  One place that rents equipment is called Mango's Lounge on the main street near the beach.  They can also arrange surf instruction.  Private lessons are paid by the hour or in package deals over a few days, weeks, or even months.  Another place to rent equipment and contract guides is Punta Roca.  The owner is a gringo who has been installed on the beach here for nearly 30 years.  He also rents out a couple rooms to surfers and runs a restaurant with a great view in the same location.

La Libertad is a one-hour drive south of San Salvador (and even closer to the international airport).  Several popular beaches for surfing line the coast within a few minutes travel of each other.  The main beach at La Libertad, flanked with small restaurants and businesses, is a long and wide bay where kids practicing their bodysurfing and boogie-boarding skills are nearly always present.  Families stroll at the water’s edge near dusk and children dig deep holes in the black sand.  A large pier juts out in the middle of the bay, providing a place for fishermen to sell their catch.  Lining the beach west of the pier, a strip of restaurants and small hotels cater mostly to surfers.  The lodgings are basic, ranging from $10 to $20 for most rooms.  One popular place for foreign surfers called Hotel Rick recently did some upgrades and is charging closer to the top end of that range these days.

All of the eateries are open air and simple and many offer a view of the rocky point at the western end of the bay (named, prosaically, Punta Roca), where surfers in t-shirts and shorts sit atop their boards to await their next ride.  A handful of people are out on this surf at any given time throughout the day, every day.  Punta Roca offers an outstanding right point break, and the waves come fast, one right after the other.  It is considered among the best surf in the area, and it is certainly the most accessible.

Thirty minutes on a bus towards the west, Playa Zunzal boasts perhaps the most famous surf spot in El Salvador.  Zunzal is a favorite because its waves are gentle and smooth, offering ideal conditions for learning.  Almost every wave that breaks is considered a good one to pursue.  Zunzal is isolated and underdeveloped, but the waves call people back to surf here time and time again.  The toughest thing about Zunzal is the need to fight a strong current to paddle out to where the long, slow right breaks.

El Zonte is a third beach with great waves for surfing.  It features a right point break on a picturesque headland.  There are a few camping areas and other cheap accommodations and restaurants, again mostly for surfers since the area is not set up for much tourism.  The local seafood restaurants claim to get most of their business on the weekends from locals over for the day from the capital or people up from La Libertad to surf a new spot.  The seafood is fresh and delicious, but don’t expect fast service.  At times it seems they must have gone out to fish for your particular order.  The small, thick, corn tortillas are also made on the spot and served hot as each one is cooked.

A traditional food that is not to be missed in El Salvador is the pupusa, two of these typical thick corn tortillas stuffed like a sandwich with a variety of ingredients and then fried.  They usually have cheese, beans, potato, or chorizo (or a combination of several).  There are actually restaurants, called pupuserías, dedicated exclusively to this specialty.

These little restaurants offer a friendly scene, where not only the staff but also other diners (who are frequently local surfers themselves) are happy to make conversation.  In fact, despite the lack of a developed social scene in La Libertad, it is easy to meet people and make friends in the town.  The charm of surfing gives a common point of reference to travelers and locals.