I have to admit given El Salvador's recent reputation for extreme gang violence and a ridiculously high murder rate during early 2016 I was extremely reluctant to even consider giving this beautiful country a visit. I knew the country offered an abundance of swell and was in possession of some of the best right hand point breaks on the planet....but would this be worth potentially risking my life for? Ok maybe I am being a tad bit overly dramatic here but hey the current murder rates aren't exactly something you can ignore.

In there first three months of 2016 El Salvador was averaging between 20-24 murders a day quickly making it the murder capital of the world. The powerful gangs of MS-13 and Barrio 18 have divided the nation with the gangs openly partaking in a vicious blood feud as they battle violently for power, territory and drugs on the streets of San Salvador. Death squads enter rival territories to conduct hits not just on opposing gang members but also their family and friends.

These gangs rose to power in El Salvador when the United States implemented the policy of deporting US based gang members back to their home countries where they would continue their illegal operations and they thus became extremely powerful within a very short space of time. The gangs originated in Los Angeles when many fled to escape El Salvador's 12-year civil war in the late 1980's, which left 75,000 people dead. These gangs were formed as protection for Salvadorian immigrants who were being targeted by strong Mexican Cartels in the USA. While I did not want to write an overly negative article I still feel it is important for people to have some background on the issues facing the region.

Tourists however and tourist regions are not direct targets for violent crime in El Salvador as the majority of violence is primarily centralised in the countries capital San Salvador. It is a great shame that El Salvador has this violence hanging over it as it is an amazingly beautiful country, with amazingly friendly people. This country has so much potential and it in fact had the strongest economy in Central America in 2010 before gang violence and poor political leadership took control.

Having lived in Mexico for the past eight months I knew that the danger levels portrayed in the media were often blown out of proportion or where located in certain hotspots/regions as opposed to the entire country. Bearing this in mind after a few solid conversations with good friends who had recently visited El Salvador I was quickly assured that much of the country is relatively safe for the foreign traveler and many of the best waves were easily accessible from safe tourist friendly locations. So what the heck, I decided to take a punt on El Salvador on route from Guatemala to Nicaragua with an initial plan to stay for one week....I ended up staying five. Due to the quality and consistency of the surf I was pretty much stranded there as I was unable to bring myself to leave the large perfect swells and world class surf spots behind. Accessing El Salvador from Antigua, Guatemala was relatively effortless with a shuttle bus taking me there direct from my hostel in Antigua to the small surf town of El Tunco in less than four and a half hours for a mere $15 USD.