Good food, good surf, good people

El Salvador has proven to be a great decision. After Wavetrotter, we kind of felt like we had messed up by moving on and not staying longer, given the quality of surf, the town of Santa Teresa, and the people we had met there. We feel like we've hit the jackpot here at K59, however. Although there is not much of a town to speak of where we are, the proximity to waves, the people at this hotel, and the food have been nothing short of amazing. In Santa Teresa, you could find a couple hundred people in the water at any given time of day (save just right before sunrise), but the breaks have been all but empty here. There is the main break, K59 that does get a little crowded (twenty people or so), but there's another spot, K61, a couple minutes down the beach that has been consistently empty, just Niko and I, and a couple others. Unlike ST, the waves here are super forgiving and slow to break, so we've been in heaven paddling for wave after wave. As for the hotel itself, we couldn't be any happier. Because there is no town with bars or restaurants, we eat every meal here. It was a huge gamble to assume we would like the food enough for that, but the food has been some of the best we've had during our trip. Rice and beans (of course), fruit, burritos, killer ceviche,

fresh fish, smoothies, pancakes, you name it. All amazing and super high quality. Not to mention the papusas, they are absolutely to die for. Aside from the surf and food, all of the staff and other travelers here have been great. None of the staff speak English so Niko and I have made a really concerted effort to get to know them and speak as much Spanish as possible. We started taking Spanish lessons today so we're excited to progress and become a little more conversational. For the time being, however, we sound like cavemen, speaking solely in the present tense (I eat. I sleep. I surf. I like food). Despite this, it has been really rewarding for us to try, and I think the staff appreciates it as well. In addition to several others here at the hotel, we've spent a decent amount of time with the night security guard, Santos. He has a wry sense of humor, and plays stern and serious, when I think he's actually a big teddy bear. He has taken to calling Niko 'Cabezon' (meaning someone with a big head) after Niko tried on a hat at the hotel and it didn't fit. He has also taken to handing me little sweets in the morning to go with my coffee. Like I said, a real teddy bear. However, it has been incredibly humbling speaking with him. While our Spanish is not great, we have caught glimpses of his hard life listening to his stories. He was a soldier in the country's civil war and was only released from service after he lost his leg, he told us, while tapping his prosthetic. In addition to some of his stories on the war and politics in the country, he has not been shy about describing the poverty most Salvadorians face, which we have also seen firsthand. Niko and I have been cognizant our entire trip about how lucky and grateful we are to be traveling like this, but you can't help but feel even more humbled when someone describes not only the abject poverty faced here, but the real lack of opportunity in the country.

If nothing else, El Salvador has felt real in a way that Costa Rica did not. And that's not to knock Costa Rica. CR Is a beautiful country with phenomenal people, food and waves, but there is something a little more raw about El Salvador. Ultimately, I think traveling is supposed to make you uncomfortable, and not just in the "I have a 6 hour bus ride on bumpy roads and I'm sweaty and I reaaaallly have to pee" way. It's my thought that travel is supposed to force you to look at yourself, your life, your country and question it, and if not question it, merely examine it. So while we are enjoying the surf and the food and all of that, we are really trying to be mindful about everything we are seeing, hearing and experiencing.

All seriousness aside, a couple of surf photos below, as proof that we do actually surf!