Re-Rocking the Roca

For my school's February 3-day weekend, James and I decided to go back to the beaches of El Salvador. In researching (a.k.a. 'googling images of') El Salvador beaches, I ran across the lovely and quaint Los Cobanos Village Lodge that advertised (key word there being "advertised") snorkeling, diving, deep sea fishing, and a village market. James' awesome discovery of Roca Sunzal was a wonderful beach and surf site, but no diving or market, which I thought could be fun. These rooms were pretty pricey for Central America ($56/night), but it seems like a really nice place, so I booked it for us and 4 other friends we were going with.

However, once we arrived at Los Cobanos, it was anything but the pricey paradise pictured on the web. The "fisherman's village" was a loosely strung together row of shacks with leering men inside and dead fish drying on rooftops. The beach was a block away from the "lodge" (2 buildings and a small pool), and was basically lots of large volcanic rocks doing their best of preventing any level of surf or water to find the shoreline. While Jen and were busy laying our towels on the beach, James walked out about 100 yards and the water was still only ankle deep with a rocky bottom at that, so no frolicking in the waves would be possible. In the lodge's defense, the rooms were quaint and clean, but certainly not worth $56 a night. We tried to make the best of it with some cold beers, looking out of our deck at the unimpressive view,

Our view from our beach cabana...note the volcanic rocks and no beach

but James couldn't shake the feeling that this place was going to be a waste of the 3-day beach weekend, when there was a perfectly beautiful beach only 45 minutes down the road, Roca Sunzal.

So after a very short discussion and 2 hours of knocking about the beach, we bailed. Since we had put no deposit and no credit card down, we just left, costing us nothing but a few hours' time. It didn't cost the lodge anything either, except for the use of a towel and the bathroom. Jen forgot her purse in her room in the rush, and when we drove back to grab it, they had already re-rented the rooms out, so we didn't feel bad at all after that knowing they didn't lose any money on us.

There was something fun and exhilarating about picking up and leaving a place because we just didn't like it and knew of something better nearby. It seemed to symbolize that we do in fact live here, and we aren't touristsy gringos (all the time, anyway). If we had seen this place online and were planning for a vacation, we would certainly have booked it. We would have anticipated it for months and months, and spent lots of money to fly there. Upon arrival, we would have perhaps been too paralyzed with the thought of changing plans or places in a foreign country to just pick up and leave like that. Ultimately, the trip would have been less than lovely at this lodge, and we would leave with no desire to return. But, we knew enough about the area to not be cheated out of a fun beach trip. We were flexible enough to say, "This is not how we want to spend our time," and then leave. I don't know if I've ever been on a vacation where that seemed like an option. It usually seems like once you plan for a trip, especially to a place you are unfamiliar with, you stick to those plans even if they are less than ideal out of some sense of loyalty to your plans, and not your happiness. This felt both adventurous and empowering to get in our car and get the heck out of dodge because we could.

So, we went to Roca Sunzal instead. James, Jen, and Jack (same couple we went to Honduras with) went to Roca a few weekends ago, but it was a new experience for Julian, Charlotte, and me.

My attempt at artsy photography of beached rocks at low tide

I loved it! As James recently shared, the waves are big enough for surfers, but not too overpowering to body surf and get in the water. We spent our time swimming, boogie boarding, drinking fruit licuados (smoothies), playing Scrabble, reading, and exploring diffferent places along the beach. I love that each lodging place along the beach also has a bar of some sort, so you can stay at a place like we did (for $17/night) but go enjoy your meals and beverages at the higher-end places where the atmosphere is better (e.g., more hammocks, a swimming pool overlooking the water, more comfortable chairs). It is too easy to spend a few hours in a shaded hammock listening to the crashing waves and feeling the breeze. One evening we visited The Cave Bar (the concept is as obvious as the name). Its best feature was the air conditioning, but unfortunately it was expensive, so we didn't stay long.

In the Cave Bar

This was definitely a favorite weekend for us! We both love the beach, and considering how close it is (3.5 hours) with a straight/safe drive, cheap lodging, and beautiful coastline, we will be going back time and time again. Next time we might even work up the courage to take some surfing lessons because, hey, when else are we going to learn to surf?!

A sensational Sunzal sunset!

James and I also really appreciate being on beaches that have a unique, local, undiscovered atmosphere. There are no high rise resorts, no one hocking key chains or magnets, no senior trip groups, and no one there with a tourist-laden "cater to me" agenda. We really love experiencing a different culture, not just American culture in a different place.