What a time I had! El Salvador is situated along the Pacific coast of Central America. It is especially known for its magnifique beaches home to some of the best surf waves in the world. I, of course, had to try it out.

I undertook a week-long surf camp at El Dorado situated in El Zonte. The hotel is right in front of the beach, a black sand beach that is, with intermediate to advanced waves to try out.

We started the camp with some surf basics and surfed the white waves in front. As the week progressed and so did we, we eventually went to La Palmar close by to try some green waves. We learned about surf etiquette, the science behind catching the perfect wave and also general surf knowledge. We went out every day, getting better with the help of our local coaches.

The people were great; from the other participants to the employees at the hotel, they interacted with me as if we had known one another for ages. Special thanks to Raoul, my surf coach and the hotel cook who made the amazing suppers!

Finally, with the other participants, we spent our afternoons when the water didn’t produce surfeable waves wandering the coast. We went to La Libertad and visited its port, to El Tunco for shopping and dancing, and we also climbed the Santa Ana volcano on our last day. The volcano offered quite a surprise, not only were the views amazing, but we were met with some strong gusts of wind! We were forced to hold on to each other and large boulders during some of the strongest.

After a week, I can say that I will be surfing again. I have always loved being on the water from scuba diving to sailing and will definitely be adding surf to my list of preferred activities. Surf isn’t easy; paddling, drinking ocean water from being tossed around in the inside from the breaking waves, the sun in your face and the physical capacity it takes to finally catch a wave. But when you finally do (and don’t fall), it is all worth it!

Thanks for reading! The year is only a third done (my gosh!), but there is still so much to discover!