A Surf Trip to Popoyo, Nicaragua

A few months before my first child was born, I decided to take one last surf trip before parenting duties took priority over everything else in my life, including surfing. I didn’t want to go far from Florida in case of emergency, which narrowed down the selection to only the Caribbean or Central America, and the latter was more consistent with south swells going into the summer season.

I had already lived in Costa Rica, surfed Panama, and had no interest in going to El Salvador because I hate right point breaks, which meant that the barrelling beach breaks of Nicaragua were calling my name.

With so many waves to surf, I had to do some research on what would be the ideal place to suit my preferences. I centered on southern Nicaragua because I wanted to surf the consistent offshore winds that result from the massive lake just inland from the ocean. Furthermore, given the upcoming swell reports and swell angles for my trip, it became evident that Popoyo would be the best place to stay given my criteria of having a multitude of walking-distance waves that could handle head high to overhead swell.

For lodging, I wanted a moderate to upscale place where I could get some sleep and not some overcrowded hostel with parties raging until the early hours. I came to surf after all. So I booked a room at the El Pez Surf Hotel, which actually exceeded my expectations in terms of lodging. It was a bit more of a walk to the main break in Popoyo than I thought, but the accommodations more than made up for the walk. They had a fantastic restaurant, a great pool, and most importantly, quiet and nice rooms. The bar wasn’t bad at all either to grab a large Tona beer after a long day of surfing before hitting the sack.

So how were the waves? For the most part, it was pretty mellow. It was about head high and clean, but man was it crowded. People from all over the world were there trying to get some waves. I say “trying” because the crowd was more so made up of beginners and novices who tended to get in the way more often than not. But having grown up in California, I was more than accustomed to navigating crowded lineups.

However, on the second to last day of my trip, there was a massive uptick in swell, making the slightly overcrowded lineup full of beginners nearly empty say for 4 other surfers who knew what they were doing. Everyone was just drinking and watching a few chargers give it a go. From the beach, it looked to only be about a few feet overhead, but once I paddled out I could see that it was easily double overhead.

My first wave I whipped around on a bowling left to takeoff only to see the water sucking out over an incredibly shallow and sharp reef about ten feet in front of me. Being in a position where it was clearly too late to pull out, I was forced to commit or risk going over the falls on a wave full of consequences. After I made the late drop and I looked down the line, I saw the wave begin to stand up and barrel right in front of me, opening up about 6-7 feet wide with the reef still in sight through the surface. As much as I pumped to gain speed and try and make it out, I was just too deep and got absolutely smashed. Luckily I didn’t hit the reef, but I learned real quick that this was not the wave I had surfed days before, and I needed to adjust my positioning and my mindset. I did have a baby on the way in a month and there was no sense killing myself on big hollow waves breaking in shallow water to rile the crowd up on the beach.

The rest of the session was great, and I ended up getting some definitely memorable waves with only those other three guys out. The next day I had to leave, but thankfully I was able to sneak out for a few more waves before I had to pack my boards and head for the airport.

All in all, the trip was absolutely worth it. On one of the smaller days before the big swell, I linked up with a local videographer named Rick Briggs to get some water shots. Given the way the wave was and the massive current, it would have been better to get some land shots but nevertheless, we were able to get some clips to make a short video. Check it out and let me know what you think!