Tuesday 31 July 2012

Surfing El Salvador

As you may suspect there doesn’t appear to be many areas where Guatemala leads the world, however one unexpected area is healthcare. The country has done away with the tiresome process of going to the doctor to obtain the prescriptions for the meds you already know you need.

El Tunco Point Break
I was lucky enough to experience this first hand, heading to the pharmacy seeking a few Strepsils and headache tablets for my flu, the pharmacist promptly produced a packet of chunky white pills (one every 24 hours) and another of large brown horse tranquiliser sized pills (2 every 8 hours).  At the pharmacists insistence I downed 1 white and 2 brown on the spot, washing it down with cough mixture. After feeling very odd and having lie down for a few hours I soon felt immeasurably better, well enough to have a beer or two that evening with a guy from my work, Nathan Stevens, who has also time off and is travelling the world in the other direction, with Antigua being our crossing over point.

I was even more grateful for the Guatemalan approach to healthcare when I reached El Tunco in El Salvador.  On the bus to El Salvador I was thinking it was a pretty obscure destination, however this preconception was clearly wrong when checking into the hostel I heard the instantly recognisable sounds of ‘naah’, 'yeah’ and ‘naaah’, and the largest contingent of countrymen in my travels to date.

El Tunco and the surrounding beaches are a surfing mecca and it appears I was not alone in my thoughts of heading to the El Salvadorian coast for a few days of surfing. Saying that the quality, consistency and number of breaks in the vicinity meant that mid week they were rarely crowded.

Surfing isn’t the only pastime available however, between surfs it’s also possible to sit in a hammock, sit in a pool, or drink, with the order dependent on the quality of the surf that morning. Actually if you weren’t there to surf I’m not sure what you’d do, the sand is volcanic black which makes it scorching hot underfoot and the tide covers the beach completely each morning.  It’s also hot all the time, to the extent that a pair of boardies suffices for every occasion.  I loved my time there, surfing the main right hand point break, a long 150m crumbling wave with a languid takeoff, which given my paddling fitness was non existent was a perfect wave. 


I was however headed back to where I'd come from, back into Guatemala and Antigua for the last time, not the most efficient way to travel but the ever reliable Katie has insisted I stay a night in the Earth Lodge, 20 minutes outside of Antigua overlooking the city and the surrounding volcanoes, and more specifically spend a night in the Lodges' Treehhouse.

The Earth Lodge Treehouse

The Earth Lodge was started by a Canadian over 9 years ago on a barren piece of land on the outskirts of Antigua.  The property specialises in the production of a fruit that’s become one of my favorites on this trip given its prevalence, avocados.  There are 400 advocado trees, which are surprisingly large, spread throughout the property, as well as a number of other accommodation options other than the Treehouse.  The Treehouse itself is constructed around an Oak Tree and has a double bed with a frontage that takes in Antigua and the numerous volcanoes that surround the town. 

I retired early that night to enjoy the view and the lighting over the city that evening. It was quite stunning to wake the next morning to the view from the glass windows. In addition to the double room on the boughs of the tree has a ground level bathroom with a glass wall that affords those within a stunning view of Antigua while going through the mornings motions. I finished my time at the Earth Lodge with an hour and half yoga class on the lawn overlooking the town, having had some of the best experiences of my travels to date.
View from the Treehouse

2 comments:

  1. Wow, you meet up with Nathan. There is nowhere in the world that is truly remote, is there. By the way, hire are you doing this blogging? Do you have a computer with you then get wifi, or go to an internet cafe, or use a phone app?

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  2. Hi Joan, great to hear from you! Yes I saw Nathan who was looking really well, sporting a pretty amazing tan from Mexico. I think there are a few places, but Antigua certainly isn't one of them these days. Yes, I've a laptop and the first question most people ask after have you a room is what's the wifi password, no wifi no stay and I'm yet to find a place that doesn't have it...travelling isn't what it used to be me thinks in terms of isolation.

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