Hola, Smitty here! Sometimes I think its a little hard to say exactly what you want to say when you find yourself in a place that speaks to you without needing to say anything at all. El Tunco is a place that shifts in shape, and if you will it, it can be exactly what you need it to be for you in that moment. Regan got a little unlucky in her time there (she is without question a tough chica) but I think she would tell you that without an injury, Tunco is a sound spot to post up and enjoy yourself.
That said, WHAT A WICKED WEEK!
As a beach girl by nature, I was pretty hooked right away. Getting away from Antigua's city life and getting back to living in board-shorts and beach dresses was essential to my well-being.
The Beach: They call it 'El Tunco' because the rocks right off shore supposedly look like a gigantic roast pig (the Spanish translation). A few highlights of this particular beach are as follows:
1- No sand flies! that's right people - you can cruise around this beach at sunset and all through the night without getting eaten up and looking like a chicken-pox victim the next day. I wont say mosquitos are completely non existent, but its way better here then most other beaches we've been to.
2- Black volcanic Sand: its pretty lovely stuff, soft and pretty and different, but CUIDADO (careful!) because by 11am - that stuff is en FUEGO (fire) and without sandals, tramping around can prove deadly.
3- Surfing: while Regan and I aren't exactly seasoned surfers, (okay we pretty much suck) renting a board is pretty cheap down this way. $5USD for a 1/2 day and $10 for an hour lesson + and hour after to mess around and test your skillz. WORD! Also, for the more experienced wave rider, Tunco has a beautiful point break known as Sunzal which gets pretty nice sized waves with a channel to the left making for a white-wash free paddle out. Enjoy a sunset out there on the water and remind yourself where you are, I guarantee you won't forget it.
ON LEAVING: During the high season, it is very easy to get to El Tunco, but we found it pretty tricky when it came to leaving. Buses OUT of El Tunco book up very fast and only run 4 days a week so make sure if you're on a tight schedule, that you look into out-going buses early on in your stay. We paid $50 USD to go from there to Leon, Nicaragua and booked our bus 5 days in advance.
Like Regan said, El Tunco is pretty small; 2 main streets are what make up this fun little beach scene. That being said, while I know some people who have gotten stuck there for months at a time, I personally LOVED it as a vacation location, and would go back many times over on somewhat shorter trips. It was a great place to re-connect with people from earlier on in our trip, (since it's such a popular destination within El Salvador) as well as meet a whole slew of crazy new characters we now call amigos.
Enjoy El Tunco! Ladies; VIVA ladies night and fellas, VIVA ladies night too. Go to Take-a-Wok and get the best Asian stir-fry, rent a board and catch some waves, take a late night skinny dip with your silly friends, and get a ginger shot at the smoothie bar when the hangover kicks in!
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Friday, March 1, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Tunco Part I (or- "Why Shoes are Awesome")
So after our exhausting/exhilarating/epic time in San Pedro, Katie and I decided it was high time we got back to the coast. We hitched a shuttle back to Antigua, and spent two "business days" (aka she hunted for necessities like a camera charger, while I was laid up with food poisoning) before grabbing a bus to El Tunco, a beach in El Salvador. We got a bunk at a hostel called Papaya, and immediately fell in love with Tunco.
El Tunco is a little surf town with two main roads, a few clubs, a long stretch of beach, and not much else. The closest main town is La Libertad, which is a 30 minute ride by "chicken bus". We haven't quite decided why they're referred to as "chicken buses"... perhaps because they cram you in there like chickens in a truck? Or it may be the fact that it wouldn't be entirely surprising to find someone transporting a chicken or two with them. Either way, these buses are retired (read: didn't pass inspection) school buses from the US that have been painted ridiculous colors and utilized as a form of hectic public transport here. All in all they're fairly cheap and efficient, if ridiculously crowded, loud, and unpredictable.
Anyway, our second night there a few of us decided to cook a family style meal at Papaya. Into the chicken bus we piled, and proceeded to hang on for dear life as we cruised into Libertad. We opted to hitchhike in the back of a pickup truck on the way home, just to round out the experience. Two hours later, about ten of us were dining on veggie pasta, garlic bread, ginger stir fry, and more than a few bottles of wine. Dinners like those are definitely our favorite parts of hostel living!
A few hours after dinner everyone had moved onto a club called La Bocana, right on the beach. It was an equal mix of travelors and locals, and the place was packed. Everyone was dancing away to local pop music (with Gangnam Style thrown in for good measure), and overall having a great night. And then I decided to stomp on a broken bottle. Barefoot.
[SIDE NOTE: As a rule, we never go barefoot unless we're at the actual beach. We see it all the time, even in cities like Antigua, and think it's idiotic and unhygienic how many of our fellow travelers refuse to wear shoes, even in restaurants or grocery stores. Sorry if that offends anyone, but this is our blog so... we win.]
The events of this fateful Friday just added to reinforce that belief. I broke my own personal rule and kicked off the Havianas I kept tripping over as I made a pathetic attempt to salsa with a local on the dance-floor. Everyone else was doing it, why not me? Less than 30 seconds later I was sitting on the side of the club holding a sliced right foot and apologizing to the security guard (who was incredibly sweet and helpful) for bleeding all over his bar. Once I got over the shock of what I had just done- okay and stopped crying, I admit it- I hobbled my sorry butt back to our hostel, where luckily two of our friends were hanging out in the kitchen. Tanis helped me clean and bandage my foot while Greg ("because I have no idea what else to do") made us some epic grilled peanut butter and honey sandwiches.
Unfortunately, this was probably my most memorable event of Tunco. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time (as you'll soon read from Katie's post) trying to surf and meeting some truly amazing people. However, the memories of Kings Cup games with 15 people from 7+ countries (be a gecko!), gorgeous sunsets, and beach bonfires are sadly mixed in with memories of supergluing my wound shut, walking like a Crip, and changing the bandages and athletic tape 2-3x a day to keep the dirt and sand out. Summary of this post: Tunco is incredible, but keep your shoes on!
El Tunco is a little surf town with two main roads, a few clubs, a long stretch of beach, and not much else. The closest main town is La Libertad, which is a 30 minute ride by "chicken bus". We haven't quite decided why they're referred to as "chicken buses"... perhaps because they cram you in there like chickens in a truck? Or it may be the fact that it wouldn't be entirely surprising to find someone transporting a chicken or two with them. Either way, these buses are retired (read: didn't pass inspection) school buses from the US that have been painted ridiculous colors and utilized as a form of hectic public transport here. All in all they're fairly cheap and efficient, if ridiculously crowded, loud, and unpredictable.
Anyway, our second night there a few of us decided to cook a family style meal at Papaya. Into the chicken bus we piled, and proceeded to hang on for dear life as we cruised into Libertad. We opted to hitchhike in the back of a pickup truck on the way home, just to round out the experience. Two hours later, about ten of us were dining on veggie pasta, garlic bread, ginger stir fry, and more than a few bottles of wine. Dinners like those are definitely our favorite parts of hostel living!
A few hours after dinner everyone had moved onto a club called La Bocana, right on the beach. It was an equal mix of travelors and locals, and the place was packed. Everyone was dancing away to local pop music (with Gangnam Style thrown in for good measure), and overall having a great night. And then I decided to stomp on a broken bottle. Barefoot.
[SIDE NOTE: As a rule, we never go barefoot unless we're at the actual beach. We see it all the time, even in cities like Antigua, and think it's idiotic and unhygienic how many of our fellow travelers refuse to wear shoes, even in restaurants or grocery stores. Sorry if that offends anyone, but this is our blog so... we win.]
The events of this fateful Friday just added to reinforce that belief. I broke my own personal rule and kicked off the Havianas I kept tripping over as I made a pathetic attempt to salsa with a local on the dance-floor. Everyone else was doing it, why not me? Less than 30 seconds later I was sitting on the side of the club holding a sliced right foot and apologizing to the security guard (who was incredibly sweet and helpful) for bleeding all over his bar. Once I got over the shock of what I had just done- okay and stopped crying, I admit it- I hobbled my sorry butt back to our hostel, where luckily two of our friends were hanging out in the kitchen. Tanis helped me clean and bandage my foot while Greg ("because I have no idea what else to do") made us some epic grilled peanut butter and honey sandwiches.
Unfortunately, this was probably my most memorable event of Tunco. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time (as you'll soon read from Katie's post) trying to surf and meeting some truly amazing people. However, the memories of Kings Cup games with 15 people from 7+ countries (be a gecko!), gorgeous sunsets, and beach bonfires are sadly mixed in with memories of supergluing my wound shut, walking like a Crip, and changing the bandages and athletic tape 2-3x a day to keep the dirt and sand out. Summary of this post: Tunco is incredible, but keep your shoes on!
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