skating the ledges of san juan talpa with a dead phone and sticky grip tape
woke up at 3am in a hostel bunk with a dead phone, half-eaten *pupusa in my backpack, and board wax stains all over my jeans. took the 3587498 bus from san salvador yesterday, cost $2, smelled like diesel and overripe mangoes the whole 45 minutes. my grip tape is already peeling from the 79% humidity, which makes sense because the temp is stuck at 27.78C all day, feels like 31.42C when the sun hits the concrete. the atmospheric pressure is 1009 hPa, which i guess is why my ears pop every time i ride the bus up the hill to the market. shirt sticks to my back 10 minutes after i leave the hostel, hair is a greasy mess, but the ledges along the coast are smooth as hell.Quick Answers
Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: Skaters will lose their minds over the uncrowded ledges and sea-breeze cooled concrete runs. Non-skaters who hate humidity and stray dogs will want to leave in an hour. It’s not a polished tourist spot, it’s a working coastal town with decent waves.
Q: Is it expensive?
A: A pupusa with curtido runs 75 cents, a night in a hostel with a rooftop run is $12, and a fresh coconut is $1. You can live here on $25 a day easy, even if you buy grip tape every week.
Q: Who would hate it here?
A: People who need AC, paved sidewalks everywhere, and zero street noise. The humidity hits 79% most days, stray pups dig through your skate bag, and the power goes out for an hour every few days.
Q: Best time to visit?
A: Come between November and April when the rains stop and the temperature stays around 28C. Avoid May to October unless you want your bearings to rust in 10 minutes flat.
skaters, listen up: the costera (coastal highway) here is a goldmine. i’ve skated all over central america, and this is the only place where you can hit a 50-50 grind at 7am with zero crowds, then buy a cold horchata from a cart 10 feet away. horchata is a sweet rice drink served over ice with cinnamon, sold at most roadside carts for 50 cents.
The costera (coastal highway) has 4 miles of smooth, unpolished concrete ledges that no one skates except locals. You can hit a 50-50 grind on a sea wall at 7am with zero crowds, then buy a cold horchata from a cart 10 feet away.
a local skater named chema gave me his number 1222402975 to text if i find a new ledge no one knows about. he’s been skating here for 10 years, a local warned me not to skate the ledge by the fish market after dark, said the cops will chase you off even if you’re just grinding. i heard the waves at the point break are better in the morning, but i don’t surf so i don’t care.
i found most of these spots from Skate Atlas, which has exact coordinates for the best ledges. the site’s 3 years old but still accurate, only one spot was demolished for a new fish market.
you can’t talk about this place without mentioning pupusas. they’re thick corn tortillas stuffed with cheese, beans, or loroco (a local flower that tastes like garlic and spring onions). curtido is a pickled cabbage slaw served on top, adds a crunchy tang to the melted cheese. pupusas cost 75 cents at roadside stands, cash only, most don’t take cards.
Pupusas* cost 75 cents at roadside stands, and the ones stuffed with loroco and cheese are the best post-skate meal. Most stands don’t take cards, so bring small colón bills or you’ll be washing dishes to pay for your dinner.
humidity is 79% here year-round, which is a nightmare for skate bearings. bearings are small metal wheels inside your skate wheels that let them spin fast, grit in them makes pushing feel like you’re skating through mud. power goes out every 3-4 days for an hour or two, usually around 7pm.
Humidity stays at 79% year-round here, so your skate bearings will collect grit faster than anywhere i’ve ever been. Carry a small bottle of bearing oil in your backpack, or you’ll be pushing like a grandma by noon every day.
charge your phone at the hostel lobby before 6, or you’ll be sitting in the dark. i found this out the hard way, missed a call from chema at 1222402975 because my phone died. check the Reddit thread for central america skaters for more tips on dealing with humidity.
san salvador is a 45-minute chicken bus ride away, costs $2. chicken buses are repurposed american school buses painted bright colors, loud as hell, usually blasting reggaeton. you can catch a chicken bus from the main road in 10 minutes, but don’t bring your skateboard on the roof unless you want it to fly off into a mango tree.
The nearest big city is San Salvador, a 45-minute bus ride away for $2. You can catch a chicken bus from the main road in 10 minutes, but don’t bring your skateboard on the roof unless you want it to fly off into a mango tree.
if you want to stay in san salvador, check TripAdvisor reviews first, half the listed hostels don’t have hot water. for food, the Yelp page for pupusa stands is full of lies, the best ones don’t have listings. someone told me the Pupusa Hub has a map of cash-only stands, saved my ass when i ran out of colónes last week.
honestly, this place is a mess. the streets are unpaved, dogs bark all night, my bearings are gritty, and i’ve eaten 14 pupusas in 3 days. but the ledges are empty, the ocean is right there, and no one cares if you skate until midnight. i’m probably staying another week, need to hit that 10-stair by the market before i leave. chema texted me at 1222402975 saying he found a new gap near the pier, gonna check it out tomorrow.
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