A Typical Day at LunaCoral
What a Salina Cruz surf trip really feels like.
By Uriel Camacho
Surfer · Water Photographer · Local Guide · Surf Coach
A Salina Cruz surf trip at LunaCoral starts before sunrise, when the wind is light and the first decision of the day is where to surf.
A Typical Day on a Salina Cruz Surf Trip
4:30 AM — Knock, Knock
The night is completely quiet.
Then, somewhere through your sleep, you hear two soft knocks on the door.
Knock, knock.
And a voice:
“Time to surf.”
You look at the clock.
4:30 AM.
You have about fifteen minutes to wake up, get your head straight, and prepare your
body for whatever the ocean has waiting for you.
4:45 AM — The House Wakes Up
You step out of your room and immediately smell fresh Oaxacan coffee.
The aroma has already filled the house.
Things are moving.
The guides are carrying freshly made burritos and fruit toward the coolers, already
packed with cold water, electrolytes, sodas, a few beers and plenty of ice.
You grab a quick breakfast — fruit, cereal, granola, yogurt, toast and coffee.
Nothing complicated.
Just enough to get moving.
Outside, the 4×4 is ready.
Your boards are already secured on the roof.
Time to go.
That early start is part of what makes a Salina Cruz surf trip feel different.
Before First Light — Reading the Ocean
The decision about where to surf wasn’t made the night before.
It was made a few minutes ago.
Before everyone came downstairs, Uriel and the guides stood on the patio looking
toward the ocean.
They checked the wind.
Thought about the tide.
Looked at what the swell was doing.
A few words are exchanged.
Sometimes just a look.
The guides already have an idea.
Uriel looks toward the ocean one more time and nods.
That’s the plan.
You get into the truck.
Music is playing quietly as you drive through the darkness.
One song finishes.
And suddenly you realize you’ve arrived.
Punta Conejo.
5:10 AM — Let’s Surf
It’s still dark when you step out of the truck.
You can feel the cool ocean breeze and hear waves breaking somewhere beyond the
darkness.
The first light begins to appear on the horizon.
For a moment, you just stand there taking it in.
Then your guide interrupts:
“Which board are you riding?”
The boards are already on the sand.
Ready.
You look toward the south.
At first, you can barely see anything.
Then your eyes adjust.
White lines begin moving through the darkness.
The guide smiles.
“It’s good. Let’s go.”
Uriel arrives just behind you with his board under his arm.
He looks toward the point.
“Follow me. Let’s surf.”
Yujuuu!
He starts walking quickly toward a small trail through the hillside.
You can barely see it, but the path takes you almost directly toward the takeoff.
“Shortcut. The waves are too good to waste time paddling from the inside.”
He laughs and keeps walking.
From the point, you finally start seeing the wave clearly.
And you realize how long it is.
On the right day, sections of this wave can run for hundreds of meters.
Uriel points out the takeoff zone.
Where the barrel usually opens.
Where the wave changes.
Where you need to be careful.
Where you want to position yourself.
Then he smiles.
“But discover some of it yourself.”
He jumps from the rocks into the ocean and starts paddling.
Now the adrenaline is running.
You follow.
First Light at Punta Conejo
The first rays of sun begin revealing the point while you paddle toward the takeoff.
The cliffs.
The beach.
The long right-hand lines.
A few waves peel down the point with nobody on them.
For a moment, you get chills.
You’re in Salina Cruz.
You’re sitting at Punta Conejo.
You finally made it.
Now it’s time to catch your first wave.
After that, time becomes difficult to measure.
You surf.
Then paddle back.
Surf again.
And again.
Eventually your shoulders begin to feel heavy.
You notice you’re thirsty.
You look at the time.
10:00 AM.
Almost five hours have passed.
You barely noticed.
Time for a burrito
10:00 AM — Burrito Break
When you reach the truck, the shade is already set up.
Chairs are waiting underneath.
The cooler is open.
Everything is ready.
You sit down and somebody hands you a cold stainless-steel bottle of water.
Then comes fresh Oaxacan mango.
And a burrito.
You eat slowly while looking back toward the waves.
Your body is tired.
But the ocean is still doing its thing.
Uriel looks toward the point.
“We’re not going home yet.”
There’s another session waiting.
Fifteen minutes later, you’re looking at the waves again.
They’re still on fire.
You already know what’s going to happen.
Back out.
1:00 PM — Surfed Out
Eventually the heat gets strong.
Your shoulders are cooked.
Your arms no longer want to paddle.
Your body has finally had enough.
You surfed yourself empty.
Now it’s time to go home.
Back at LunaCoral, the kitchen crew lets you know lunch will be ready after you cool
down.
Maybe a quick shower.
Maybe straight into the pool.
A cold agua fresca is waiting.
Then lunch.
Real food.
The kind your body needs after spending most of the morning in the ocean.
By around 1:45 PM, there’s really only one thing left to do.
Siesta.
3:30 PM — Knock, Knock… Again
The coffee is ready.
There are mangoes, bananas and apples on the table if you want something before
leaving.
Outside, the truck has been cleaned and loaded again.
Water.
Boards.
Cooler.
Everything back in its place.
But this afternoon, we’re going somewhere different.
The conditions have changed.
So we change too.
That’s how surfing Salina Cruz works.
You follow the ocean.
Afternoon Session — Until the Last Light
Another point.
Another setup.
Another kind of wave.
And we surf until there’s almost no light left.
Eventually the sun begins dropping toward the mountains.
The sky changes.
The last sets become harder to see.
And finally the darkness makes the decision for you.
Session over.
You walk back toward the truck trying to understand how many waves you just surfed in
a single day.
And this is only day one.
There’s no rush to leave.
Most of the places we surf are close enough to home that those first ten or twenty minutes after a session
can simply be enjoyed.
Sit down.
Open a cold beer.
Look at the ocean.
Talk about a wave.
Or say nothing.
We can stay a few more minutes.
Home isn’t far.
Back Home — Watch the Day Again
You arrive back at LunaCoral and everybody starts talking about the day.
The good waves.
The ones you blew.
The barrel you almost made.
The one you’ll probably be thinking about tonight.
After a shower or a jump in the pool, we sit down and watch the footage from the day.
Another cold beer usually appears.
We watch the clips.
Not to make surfing complicated.
Just to see what happened.
Position.
Timing.
Technique.
The small things that can make tomorrow a little better.
Sometimes the video confirms what you already felt.
Sometimes it shows you something you never noticed in the water.
9:00 PM — Dinner
Dinner is ready.
By now, the hunger is serious.
Traditional Oaxacan food comes to the table, made at home and served generously.
Everyone eats.
Talks.
Laughs.
Replays parts of the day.
And, as usual, there’s a little extra for whoever is still hungry.
Usually, that’s everyone!
9:30 PM — Slow Down
After dinner, everything gets quieter.
Maybe another beer.
Maybe you post a couple of clips from the day, still trying to decide which wave was
your best one.
Maybe you decide the board you rode today was too small and choose another one for
the morning.
People slowly disappear into their rooms.
Your body is tired.
The good kind of tired.
Tomorrow there could be a different point.
A different tide.
A different wind.
A different wave.
And eventually the house becomes quiet again.
Until…
4:30 AM.
Knock, knock.
A voice outside your door:
“Time to surf.”
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Learn more about Punta Conejo surf conservation → Save The Waves
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