El Salvador (Long Layover) Day On Surfer Beach El Tunco

I chose a 12 hour layover in El Salvador instead of a 3-5 hour one that I could do nothing with but wait at the airport. It was pretty easy to work out. Told my plans to a woman behind a counter at an airport gate, told her I wanted to spend the day at the playa, mi vuelo no hasta a las ocho por la noche, and it was 8 AM. She told me to talk to a woman behind the Avianca Info/Customer Service Desk, which I did, got a sheet of paper

that I hope I won't wish I photographed, that she told me to take to immigration and pay the taxes for my flight, and buy a tourist visa. El Salvador uses the American Dollar and is no where near as cheap as Mexico! But I am happy I came (to Tunco Beach, which a blog on the internet recommended), because I'm on a beautiful secluded surfer beach, I think I'm the only non-surfer out of about 30 I have seen, but mainly I'm happy I came because of my cab driver, who is spending the whole day with me for $70. I have someone to talk to, in Spanish, and he watches my bags while I take breaks on the beach. I can only go in spurts because it's very hot and I will get badly burned if I spend the day out in the sun. I bought him breakfast. We both ate the "typico" which is scrambled eggs, black bean puree, salsa, a ricotta-like consistency cheese that tastes like queso blanco with a little more flavor, and a few slices of fried plantains. So good. Mariaño is sitting behind me right now, watching TV or something right now. I only wish I was a good surfer.

Some of these surfers are so far out, literally, they must be a quarter of a mile out. It's a lot of fun to watch them. The tide is quieter now but when I first got here, the waves crashing sounded like lightning or very heavy rain. Must be the large rocks it's crashing over. There is no sand, only rocks.

Finished Fiction Book #1: The Blind Assassin. A sad but wonderful book with a few stories about a handful of lives, more or less wasted lives, weaved together beautifully, and my main takeaway is that planning is essential. I cried a little reading the last few pages. I recommend it.

#ElSalvador #SanSalvador #Longlayover #CourtneyComstock #TuncoBeach