El Salvador: Sunzal Surf Tours and Photography
By Adrian Wigston, Playa El Tunco, El Salvador

Looking back, I’m not quite sure how I wound up in El Salvador really. All I know is that here I am and it all happened in a blink of an eye.
Here goes…..

Winter break of 2003 after my first year at University, I had to go find some waves. I was stuck on the Gulf Coast of Florida for over a year after surfing some unbelievable
waves in New Zealand and Australia. I thought I would be able to handle not surfing
much since I was moving forward with my degree but I really found myself moving away from the direction I wanted my life to take.

Some friends and I managed to scheme up a trip to drive from Ft. Walton Beach, Florida to Costa Rica in a landscaping cargo van in a 3 week period. We knew it was a lot of driving for three weeks but knowing that we would be coming back to ankle biters we somehow managed to overlook that aspect of the trip. With a seat from an 88’
Chrysler minivan and one of those Wal-Mart folding pillow chairs that converts into a bed, we were set to begin the don’t stop until you surf journey from Gulf to Pacific.

We drove straight for 4 days until we came upon something most of us had never seen; 4-5 foot glass lines peeling for about 250 yards and only 5-10 guys out to enjoy it. We were surprised because we were in El Salvador, still about 2000 miles away from Costa Rica, making a wave stop that for myself would prove to be a permanent one. We left the Gulf Coast looking for uncrowded waves but we stumbled upon something infinitely better: a place where anyone
with a smile and good surf etiquette can surf not only with their travel buddies, but with a group of local amigos that will show you what El Salvador is really all about.

A lot of people know that the Surf in El Salvador is really good. The season for big waves is from March to the end of October when the average wave height is from 4-10ft. If you stay in a hotel in the Playa El Tunco/ Sunzal area, you have 8
different right hand point breaks within about 40 miles of coastline.

Also you can go to what’s called The Wild East where there are a series of hollow rights accessible by boat.

November through February is the dry season, when you have great offshore wind and nice 2- 3 foot lines to surf at first light.
If you know anyone that is learning to surf or someone that just wants to get some really long rides that aren’t too intimidating, Nov-Feb is a great time to come.

One thing I didn’t know about El Salvador was how much of an affect the locals at Sunzal would have on my life. You can go to a lot of places to find classic waves, and you will probably go home completely stoked, but there are few places in the world where one can go and feel like they are part of an ex-tended family that shares the same dream of waves, adventure, and excitement. I’ve become close with people like Amelia and her family that runs the local beachfront restaurant,
Restaurante Erika’s, where you can get the most amazing seafood you’ve ever had.

Amelia’s daughter Erika Diaz and her niece Jocelyn Ramos are two upcoming
female surfers that are on the forefront
of the feminine surf scene in El Salvador. At only 14 years of age and with just 2 years of waves under their belts they are already surfing with the rest of the gang on all the big days. They both
aspire to become sponsored surfers.

This story focuses on one of my best friends in particular,
Salvador Morales, or “El Vaquero” as he is known in the lineup. Soon
after I met him he founded the Sunzal Surf Tour and Photography
Company. Vaquero is that guy that usually intimidates you out in the
surf, the guy that takes off the steepest and the deepest, assuming an
unspoken command of the lineup.
Notwithstanding his ability, Vaquero is one of the most approachable, easy-going locals you will ever meet.

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