Surftowns and Apri-Ski

After accepting the limitations of being on a surf trip without a car I got out my Lonely Planet and assessed the options. 

Since so few of the waves I had intended on visiting have any (reasonably priced) accommodation near them then my options were to simply move onto the next backpackers surftown. Read: towns born simply out of the benefit of having accommodation next to a surf break.

'dude' 'surf's up' at the 'Gran Kahuna'

Surfing has a fashionable lifestyle surrounding it and these surftowns across Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua have evolved into the places to go to on the Central American Backpackers tour. They are such a surfing cliche, it makes me shiver.

 

Backpacking Central America without surfing would be like doing a tour of the European ski resorts simply to experience the Apri-ski. 

It's madness but people are doing it.