El Tunco – Day 2 to 6: Surf’s Up
EL TUNCO
Day 2 to 6: Surf's Up
October 30 to November 03, 2022
On my second day in El Tunco, I woke up full of energy, ready to surf some more. Turns out the tide was too high at 9 AM, and so Boris told me he’d hit me up later during the day. 11 AM was a no-go either, and so was the afternoon. I felt broken-hearted and kinda pissed – mostly cause I had wasted an entire day just waiting around!
That said, nature’s unpredictable, and I’d have more days to go around. And so, I waited patiently for the next. I woke up on my third day to find Boris’ message: “Surf’s up!”. I sped to the surf shop and, somehow, all groggily, found myself battling against the waves yet again. Up and down the board I went, just like the first day, only this time round I seemed to let the falls get the better of me. Every failure seemed to wash me in shame, the waves laughing at me. I didn’t get to ride a single wave in a whole hour. “Everybody has those days,” was all Boris could muster, channelling his inner Hannah Montana.
You see, it’s difficult when you’re like me – someone who’s clumsy and slow to learn, but at the same time hates failure. And, really and truly, there’s no way around it. I’d just have to suck it up until I’d improve – that’s it.
And that’s exactly what I did over the next few days. I showed up and sucked it up. I figured it couldn’t get any worse than the day before, and so I found myself excited at the prospect of giving it another go. Lo and behold, by the end of my stay, I could catch almost every single baby wave Poseidon threw at me. I’m not saying I mastered surfing or that I managed to tame the big waves, but I had far exceeded my own expectations. In fact, I couldn’t quite believe it! No matter how small the wave, up there on the board, riding it out, I felt infinite.
It felt like I had finally achieved my dream. Sure, my skills couldn’t hold a candle to Heath and Edge’s, but this was already way more than I thought I could ever do. I felt genuinely thrilled, and so, so proud of myself. During my trip thus far, I had proven to myself – time and time again – that I could do all that I thought was impossible. Somehow, doubt would creep over me every time I’d get to try something new, yet every single time, I seemed to prove myself wrong and break new boundaries.
I wish Kid Marius could have seen me. The Kid Marius who used to listen to his peers when they’d say he couldn’t do something. The Kid Marius who just gave up on anything beyond his comfort zone. The Kid Marius who’d hold himself back from anything requiring physical skill.
Taking It Slow in Surf City
Here in El Tunco, I found myself feeling a bit lazy, and for the first time since starting this journey (and being abroad in general), I decided I’d take it slow and just ‘hang’. Perhaps it was the cool, surfer-dude ‘tude taking control after all. Or all the beers and melon juice going to my head – who knows?
Well, it’s for this reason I decided to skip the Tamanique Waterfalls, one of the highlights of the region. My reasoning was this: I had been to tons of waterfalls in the span of a few months, not to mention that I was still scarred for life from the Trail of the Seven Waterfalls in Santa Ana. Also, I had a mega waterfall in store for me later on during the trip. And so, I found myself at peace with the decision of skipping out on Tamanique in order to enjoy the chill beach life at El Tunco.
That said, it wasn’t just chilling. Apart from all the surfing, I also got to hang out with Natalie – one of the El Mirador family members – who happened to be there randomly. I was also met with Giovanni and Alex – two Salvadorans on holiday – who took it upon themselves to show me around some of the nearby beaches, including those of El Sunzal, San Blas, and El Zonte. Watching a glorious Pacific sunset in great company with an ice-cold beer in hand? Always a highlight. We even managed to visit Puerto de la Libertad, a port city next to El Tunco with a fun park and a pier jutting right out into the coast.
When I wasn’t hanging out with them, I spent the rest of my time strolling about, journalling in my room, and – most of all – just enjoying the beach.
