took these photos of a little girl that just got her brand new custom surfboard by TSSC last year at the contest. she looked so happy when she got her board!

so i followed her as she got ready for her 1st round heat. the youngest girl in the competition.

first wave! she did great and i hope to seeing her this year.

so many people asks me if el salvador is safe. here is what i learned from my experience. like anywhere else in the world, there are safe places, and not so safe places. i heard the big capital city san salvador is very dangerous. that’s why i didn’t go there. instead, i went to a small city about 50 minutes away from the airport. at night, it was pretty scary. and even in the day when we went to buy ice cream, we were approached by a scary man asking for money. right at this corner to be exact. kind of remind me of china town here in honolulu.

i get to my hotel on the first night. here is the security guard. cane and hatchet? i wouldn’t want to mess with this guy.

and i went to eat at a restaurant where 2 armed security guards stand at the entrance. why do these places need security? for the same reason why we have security all over places in hawaii. i touched the gun and actually felt kind of scared.

and yes, people drive like crazy! seen one accident on my last day.

smashed car and policemen.

omg! i got the chills when i seen this crushed car. it could be anyone at anytime.
so here’s what i have to say about el salvador being safe or not. i think it is pretty safe. if you stay away from the big cities, you should be fine. i felt totally safe in the little town i stayed in. just surf, eat, and sleep. i wanted to go into san salvador for a night but was talked out of it by more than one person. for once, i listened. would i refer my family and friends to go there to enjoy the surf and culture? 100% yes. in fact, i’m already planning another trip with friends there.

still have about a thousand of photos i still didn’t post from el salvador. went to the local fish market one afternoon. it was very interesting. different people, different, fish, and different culture.

it was pretty stink because of all the dried fish.

super stoked on meeting these 2 cool kids. Charlie and Uma. i can’t wait to see and surf with these boys again.

if it wasn’t for those kids, we would have never found this secret beach break and i wouldn’t have gotten all my barrels. lucky!

pet or food? both?

if there’s a will, there’s a way. we had no straps but if you use a surfboard leash the right way, it will do the job. been doing this since high school.

so much sugarcane fields in el salvador. reminded me of old hawaii.

when i use to live on the north shore as a kid, i remember watching these trucks go up and down the street all day long.

good to see the kids playing on the beach hitting rocks into the surf. this is a country where you won’t see kids playing on iPhones or play stations.

i stayed for 4 nights. i saw 4 sunsets. and i seen 2 green flashes. now my total for a green flash is 3 for my whole life. it was so amazing!

Have a great morning!
Good morning 6am.
North shore small at waist high. Bumpy conditions.
South shore waist high and windy.
Strong trade winds at 20mph.
Sunny, warm, and rainbows.
Yoga and Airplane.
Have a wonderful day!