The Biker meets the Surfer Bum (and I think the surfer wins)

View from the beach near the Surfers Hotel

What happens when two distinctly different cultures collide? Its always interesting to see how they adjust to each other and end up co-existing. While I'm obviously no Hell's Angel, I'm still on quite a different trip down here then surfers who seem to have come to this part of El Salvador from all over the world to just surf, surf and surf some more, hanging out for the "perfect wave".

Surfers at Sunset, many would surf until it was completely dark out there.

So as I pull my bike into the "Surfers Hotel" the sign that says "rooms for rent", all written in English, I know in a way I'm looking for my own perfect wave. Or at least a cool place to hang out for a couple of days, speak English and meet people from all over the world while getting into the surfer scene. Having been a ski bum myself for a couple years after high school, I figure we probably have a lot of common ground.

My bike and room at the Surfers Hotel

I talk to the owner and though he doesn't speak English, I get that its $8 a night. At that price I pay for two nights. He shows me my room in a shaded back yard with assorted rooms in different buildings all around the property. There's hammocks everywhere, and no one around, it seems almost too quiet like, maybe I'm going to be alone here as well. I look at one of the picnic tables between the rooms and it looks like it has left over party things from the night before. A couple of almost empty whiskey bottles and some empty plates. It was close to my room and I didn't like the idea that there may be partying all night right outside my room. Well no one was here now, it seemed peaceful and the ocean was a short walk away. I had to stay someplace and hopefully this would be my "beach time".

The path to the beach, the side streets and alleys were often just two tracks that served as main roads

Having only slept really one good night of the last 3 I took a nap. When I awoke the surfers had returned. It looked like 3 or 4 guys from Germany and one lady were in their group. They were all in there 20's and seemed to speak Spanish well as well as English and German. I had to initiate any kind of conversation though, they didn't seem to notice me or care about me one way or the other. So my first hope of having some good conversations and learning something about surfing was not going to happen with them. Either I was too old, not part of their group, or maybe more likely they were just on their own trip, though somewhat stoic like some Germans can be, and it was all about business, or surfing. In fact I don't think I heard any of them laugh the whole time they were around. They would get their boards and head for the beach about 3 times a day, hardly say anything on departing or returning. While the guys would acknowledge me and say hi if I said hi, the one lady wouldn't even make eye contact or even say hi. It was like I was invading her or their space or something. It was sort of odd being in a country where you don't speak the language, have a group right next to you who do, but they never say a word to you. Oh well, another part of travel....

Here I am catching my first big wave.

Well Ok, so if I wasn't gonna be with the in crowd here I'd have to strike out on my own. The beach was a short walk away and I went down to explore it. It was really hot and the Pacific Ocean while somewhat cooler then the air, was not refreshing by any means. There seemed to be 30 to 40 surfers at any given time out "working the waves" a few hundred yards off shore. I could see why this was such a good spot. The waves were all about 10 to 12 feet high, and perfect for novices as well as more experienced surfers. I don't think you could get hurt trying to learn here, and the waves were big enough to have fun. Plus they seemed constantly the same size all day long.

Sunset along the Pacific

A fisherman watches the sunset and prepares to cast his hand fishing line out into the surf.

There was maybe 5 or 6 Hostels or Hotels along the beach, and while not crowded, there seemed a fair number of people from different parts of the world there. A surf shop, a few restaurants and of course a security guard with a gun were all present. I thought seriously about renting a board and giving it all a shot, but at the moment the heat was too much and I retreated back to my room. Later I walked back down for the sunset and watched a couple of locals casting nets into the rising surf as it got dark though I wasn't sure what they were trying to catch.

Last light in the tropics

After getting back to my room I thought about asking the surfers where the local scene was at night, but there wasn't anyone anywhere on the whole place. Here it was 6 o'clock and it was already dark. I decided to write up some posts so the next time I got to an internet service I could use it. There was a internet place across the street but the lady didn't speak English at all, and we got no where with it. If I had just wanted to use a computer we could have figured it out, but asking about wi-fi and being able to use my laptop seemed more of a hassle then it was worth. I was a little frustrated too that here again, what should have been the simplest of things, like using a computer in a internet cafe was made overly complicated by the language barrier.

A Nearby River draining into the Pacific

The river canyon coming down from the mountains.

So I used the time to really do some writing, I hadn't planned on doing a lot of long posts on the way back, but here I was again with a lot of experiences I wanted to record and a lot of time do to it because of it getting dark so early down here. And doing a lot of the writing now will save me from having to do it later when I get back. Then most of the work will be just organizing my writings.

The road heading away from the coast and towards Guatemala

One of the many tunnels along the coastal highway.

So I was deep into writing when people started coming back and I could hear them outside my room. There seemed to be a lot of the family from the owners there as well. Loud music, firecrackers and lots of yelling pretty much told me it was going to be a party night. To make a long story and night short, the partying mostly done by locals lasted till 4 or 5 in the morning. I wrote till after midnight knowing I wasn't going to get any sleep anyway. After that I try' d to sleep but  between the fireworks (much louder and powerful then in the U.S.), the blaring music, the kids running all over the yard screaming till 1 am and the adults laughing and shouting all several feet from my room I ended up with no sleep at all. My neighbors the Germans seemed to have retired about the time I did, I had no idea how they could have slept either.

In the morning I asked my neighbor if this was a normal night here, and he kind of said, no, then yes and then well no. I knew with the long drive coming up thru Guatemala and Mexico I needed some rest, and I couldn't take a chance on another night of no sleep, plus I needed to get closer to the border anyway for the morning. So it was settled, I would leave, the surfers could have their hotel back.

I went to the owner to get some water and tell him I was leaving. Between my broken Spanish he understood I got no sleep the previous night, was heading to Guatemala today, and that I wanted a refund for one night. He tried to tell me something but I couldn't understand him. I think he was saying it was a one night celebration. As I looked around at his assembled family ( probably 15 kids and 12 adults) I thought even if they don't decide to party again, it was probably not going to be too peaceful of an evening. The music was already starting to play again. I felt bad in a way and tried to not be angry or rude. The surfers were in their own world, the family and owner in there's. I was the guest coming thru, and I'm not in my 20's anymore wanting to hang out and party. Next time I'll know.

Another set of brilliant flowers along the road to Guatemala.

I know not drinking or partying gives me a little different experience with traveling. Sharing drink is a universal way of relating to each other. Even if you don't speak the language you can share a drink and come to some sort of understanding or feeling of mutual ground. I know Carlos the owner of my home stay house offered to have a drink with me, and I know we would have bonded on some level more quickly if I was a drinker. This sort of social interaction centered around drinking I do miss in ways. I did it for years with my parents and with friends and in my travels. Not the drinking itself as much as the bonds of friendship that often formed thru a shared activity. Drugs for awhile especially back in the seventies were a way to bond thru a shared experience as well. One problem is why it does allow one to have a good time, and make it easier to get know one another and form a bond which on some level as humans we all need anyway, it also for some of us becomes the only way that we end up doing this. It means to express our feelings, and "feel" we begin to ritualize drinking, and partying to a point for some of us it becomes a lifestyle. Also the feeling itself becomes the addiction, and there is only one way to feel that way, and that is to party. There is a certain dependence on the drink or drug itself which is used to let people know who we are, or what we feel. Its very seductive and for many of us can lead to much more serious problems. For some turning into a form of isolation which is not why we started drinking or using drugs to begin with.

That all being said, I do miss it some times, again mainly for the social interaction it often incurs.  But the partying and hanging out lifestyle is not really where I want to be at anymore. I'm not in my twenties and being in a dormitory type situation like the Surfers Hotel reminded me that if I had spoke Spanish and was ready to cut loose for a night I could have had a great time. I guess wanting this is what I miss sometimes. But its also a temporary state that usually comes with a hangover and a not so great feeling about what I may have done or said, and that I don't miss. Again wether in traveling or at work and the business world there is still that part that uses partying or sharing a drink as part of the whole process of living. Some seem to handle it better then others and it does seem to have its place.

I was trying not to judge the situation and not think in terms that it is incredibly rude to rent out a hotel room and have a full blown party going the whole night. But again this is part of life and you run into it everywhere, I left and got a refund, and I don't think was rude. Now I am staying at a hotel close to the Guatemala border where I stay' d the first time thru. Kind of like the night before the Honduras border, I know this one might be the hardest one, and Guatemala itself was a tough country to drive thru the first time. Still even with Mexico being a long tough drive, if I'm in Mexico tomorrow night, I will only have only one last border to cross, and then I'll be back in the states.

While the weather is not an issue here, it is as hot as ever, the forecast for Dallas tomorrow is in the 70's which is good news because I need decent enough weather in Texas to get some things done before I figure out how I'm going to head farther north. After Mexico everything will depend on the weather.

I also need to remember that as difficult as parts of the next part of the trip maybe, I still need to have fun and enjoy this experience as much as I can. Take my time and remember I'm doing something I've always wanted to do. I'm in pretty good shape time wise, the bike has done well and its up to me to enjoy the ride.

The time is now, and now is the time.....Yogi Bajhan