Van Life Adventure in El Salvador // Hasta Alaska // S02E06

Last time in El Salvador we turned the ultimate road trip into a surf search of epic proportions. We caught some of our best ever waves, but almost paid the ultimate price. We found out how the locals live beach side, and fell in love with the Pacific coast again and again and again. I'm too hot. I've been at the beach over a month. We've had like four showers in that time. We're salty and sweaty constantly. We need to mix it up. We need to mix it up. Change the scenery? Yeah. Where are we going? I reckon we should go north, into the mountains. I like north. Let's do it. Into the mountains? Yeah. Let's head to this town Perth Gwyn. We can stop along the way between its river and El Salvador. They've got good history about the war. You got me at river. Let's go. Many Latin American countries have a turbulent history, which can be easily overlooked whilst travelling. On our visit to Perth Gwyn, the rebel headquarters during the civil war, we learnt that a lot of the people we were meeting were survivors of unmentionable brutalities. This gave us a better understanding and appreciation for the resilient El Salvadorians. Encountering numerous people with near perfect English and strong North American accents is due to the fact that nearly 3 million people fled during the war and an estimated 5,000 children were displaced, many being exported for adoption to the US. After visiting mass graves and feeling a little sombre from our history lesson, Alegria was the perfect town to lift our spirits. Literally. I got dizzy. Alegria is just what we were looking for. It even has an extinct volcano with not just a jungle inside the crater, but a lake too. We couldn't have asked for more. No matter how many plans you've made, the journey is always dictated by the people you meet along the way. There's no better way to do this than by hopping in a Kombi and seeing where it takes you. So we just pulled up to this wave and everyone's coming up because they're getting stung by jellyfish. So, hey, we've got wetsuits. We're going to charge it. We're going to have this perfect wave all to ourselves. Let's go. Well, we're digging. Well, we don't know what's wrong, but something is definitely amiss. We found the problem. No, it was a little rock. It was a little pebble. Alright, so, it seems that this little pebble is what got caught in between the disc and the pad, which was causing all that squeaking noise. Sometimes we play games. Sometimes we invent games. Camp prep takes a lot of time. And of course, we're always to bed early. Because chances are good that your next 5am surf, complete with the sun rising out of the volcano, will give you one of the best surfs of your life. But despite being our favourite wave in El Salvador, Alaska and I had a run in with the locals. She got savaged by a pit bull. I took a punch to the face from his owner and then chased him back to his mama's house with a machete. Lucky for us, our house is mobile. So, we moved camp to Punta Med. The downside of this world class wave is that it's crowded with tourists every morning from 5 to 9. Tourists that think it's boat access only. The upside is, for the rest of the day, we got to share it with just a couple of local kids. I love to see you strut. When you're walking to me. When you're talking to me. That knocks me out. Now let's go. El Salvador delivered everything we expected and more. We truly had the best surf trip of our lives. We had been worried that we'd find it too expensive. And if we hadn't had free campsites like these, it would have been. And with pupusas, the national dish of stuffed corn patties, available on every street corner. And at just $3 for $1, it actually became one of the cheapest countries to travel. We're both sad and excited now to be taking a rare break from the Pacific coast for a while. But it's probably just as well. As the rainy season is definitely coming. After the perfect flat roads of El Salvador, we're nervous about the upcoming challenges in Guatemala. But we're still a long way from Alaska. And there's no stopping us now. Sian Harrington here reporting from El Salvador. Today I have three hot tips on how to be a surfer chick. Bet you think I look pretty good, huh? Wrong! This ain't the 50s anymore. In today's world, the more skin, the better. If you're going for the more serious surfer chick look, get yourself a protective shirt. When in doubt, look to the Brazilians for inspiration. Firstly, get your weight forward and sink the front of the board under the wave. Then use your leg or knee to sink the back of the board to come up out of the wave. But, the most important thing to remember girls, is get the ass high in the air. Even if you don't make it, it's the last thing you want them to remember. Now for the most common stance, the sit and wait. It's self explanatory really, use this time wisely. If you can get the advanced stance of the hair flick perfected, you'll have all the boys wanting to whack your board. Time to get creative. Adopt your own gnarly barrel stance. Because you never know when that perfect pipeline tube will come. Practice everywhere, you'll want to be ready. Being a true surfer chick is a lifestyle. Remember to always have a chilled out attitude towards life. And if you want to have other chilled out surfer friends, one tip, Jack Johnson is everything. Till next time chicky babes, get out there and get wet.