One time, at surf camp...

So after Monterrico we took this pickup truck (Guatie style: 5 in the cab, 6 in the bed...with all the luggage) to this surf camp like an hour away. This was no Trout Lake or even Shaminau style camp.

There were 3 bunk houses (where you could rent a bunk for $5 a night), a hut with a kitchen and eating area/office, and a bathroom.


Seriously the bunks were made out of PVC piping and cement and had nasty mosquito nets over them that I think might have been mosquito ponchos during the civil war here. From the looks of it they were used by the guerrilas. There were no blankets, a tiny pillow (an ex-couch cushion I think) and one sheet that you could choose to use as a pillowcase or a blanket. Goo!

The chickens and piglets roamed free around the camp, as did 4 or 5 stray dogs and random neighborhood children. Kala and Amy Peterson took one look at the place and left with the group that was on the way out. Yes, it was that bad. But so fun. Oh so fun.


We met some really cool people there, these awesome surfer guys from El Salvador (Kique, Mark, Gino, and Hongo-real name Rodrigo but they call him hongo, which means fungus...does that tell you anything about him?) Their spanish was so different from the Guatemalan spanish that I'm used to, so we had a little difficulty understanding eachother, but I learned some cool new Salvadorian slang. They were so fun, we all played in the waves all day and I tried boogie boarding. You would not believe how hard it is to get out past the crashing waves to where the waves haven't broken yet. My new friend Federico (from Argentina) let me hold on to his foot and he paddled out (he was on an actual surf board). So basically what I'm saying is that I looked really cool. I rode a couple of waves in but basically got worked. Even with the board. Now I know why surfers have such amazing bodies, it's like the biggest workout ever. I didn't realize it but when I got back to shore I was so red and sweating. Real sexy. We ate there, and the food was...how do I say this...not good? Lunch was spaghetti with ketchup instead of red sauce with raw hot dog chunks in it. It was worth what I paid for it I guess.



There was this little girl there named Roxanna...I think her aunt was the cook (Olivia), but she was precious. I showed her how to use the digital camera and she was so excited. She took pictures of her Beauty and the Beast book for hours! Poor thing though, she was so poor. Her teeth were rotting out, thankfully they're her baby teeth but I don't doubt that her adult teeth will get the same treatment.

That night we had a bonfire on the beach which was so fun. We brought Hannah's guitar down and played a little. Fortunately for me, the pig pen of the people next door was directly behind (within 2 feet) the back of my bunk house. I heard those squealing piglets all night. Oh yeah and the rooster crowing. At like 3 in the morning. Seriously wait till morning you moron! Anyhow I got up at 6 (how proud are you of me?) to surf, but the instructor never showed up (typical Guat) so Kique took me out boogie boarding again. It was so beautiful in the early morning. The guys were so cool, not like hitting-on or anything. Just fun. I even taught Mark how to play Boggle...yeah with English as his second language, we weren't geting past words like it and top. Dusty (Hannah's boyfriend) got sick and we realized that the waves were not good so we left right before lunch. Fun experience but I'd had enough of surf camp.

It was cute, when I went to take a picture of the roof of the cabin, I realized that ther's an enormous termite nest up there. Oh well at least I had my mosquito net to protect me right?