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

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Just after a few days he and I became friends and we began exchanging English-
Spanish lessons. He taught me to understand the local slang and I helped him learn how to converse with the travelers. After not too long I realized that Vaquero ate the same thing for every meal. Everyday he ate rice, beans, eggs, and a soda to drink. Since he was constantly busy repairing peoples dings and snapped boards I figured his menu was a
question of choice and not because he couldn’t afford to eat better.
“How come you always eat rice and beans?,” I asked him one morning after a session. “This isn’t the USA gringo, I can’t afford to eat anything else. “Well how much do you
charge to repair people’s boards? It doesn’t look like you have any shortage of work.”

Then he went on to tell me that he just worked for the guy that owned the repair company. In return for repairing boards all
day he managed to take in $10.00 for his own pocket. “So why don’t you just repair the boards yourself?” I asked him, “I don’t have the money for the sander.,” he replied. Well, that lasted about 2 hours.

That evening he came to me with a full proposal of what was needed to get him going: basically with $140 he got his orbital sander, 2 gallons of crystal resin, catalyst, sandpaper, tacky glue, and enough fiber glass for a couple of weeks. I helped him to get his materials and before either of us knew what was going on, he had become the main repair shop in town and even I was put on staff to keep the dings patched up.

From there, Vaquero was able to save enough money to begin working on something he had been dreaming of his whole life: a photography/surf guide business where he could share the waves he has surfed since he was a grommet with people on the search for great surf.

As they surf he takes awesome pictures of them to take home to show off to their friends. His first client was a friend of my parents from Ft. Walton, John Campbell, who also has become somewhat of a legend
around here. John a.k.a Santa Claus, managed to come back that Christmas with a wrapped present for every single kid in the town.

They got their name called and everything, went up and hugged Santa for the first time ever, and went home beaming with their presents.

After the tour with John, Vaquero created a website to promote his tours a little bit. A few clients later, he had a full surf photography kit and began taking pictures of everyone he could.
Now he is the leading surf photographer
in Northern Central America and he focuses on doing shoots for team riders in the USA.

Check out his portfolio at: www.sunzal.com.
When I saw him giving surf tours I wondered why so many people paid the money for a guide when they could just fly down and surf on their own. He
reminded me that most travelers don’t speak Spanish, and when they come down for just 5-7 days they want to surf as many spots as possible.

His price of $700 per person for a basic 5-day tour for three people includes accommodations, food, transportation and a CD with all your best surf shots. Compared with what it costs to go to El Salvador it’s a great deal.
A guy came down from Florida and paid $800 just to rent a car. Then he had to pay for accommodation and meal costs and had no guide. The people that come down on their own often wind up spending most of their time inside a hotel whereas when you come down and surf with Vaquero he takes you to all the remote spots, introduces you to the local surfers, and most importantly he keeps you safe.

In three years living in El Salvador, I’ve had some of the most amazing surf I could ever hope for, but the real lasting memories I have are from hanging with the locals at Erika’s restaurant at night, not worrying about whether or not we have the right clothes on to get into a club or about where the best party is.

For us the party is right here on the beach listening to the crash of the waves and wondering what the morning session will have to offer.

For true ocean lovers, you can’t miss out on an adventure with Vaquero and SunZal Surf Tours. See the full story at www.sunzal.com.