Big waves, lots of sun, fresh fish, chill beach bars. This is what we want in our surf towns and this is where we get it.
Who needs a job, anyway?
The recent video of Garret McNamara riding what could be a record-breaking wave has gotten brine-loving boarders the world over waxing up and paddling out.
In a vicarious show of camaraderie, and to keep office depression at bay while the rest of the world has fun, we got involved in the only way we can: writing about places we'd rather be.
These four surf towns landed on our latest list of destinations for their good mix of crowds, food, nightlife and, of course, surf breaks most of us wouldn't go near with a ten-foot board.
(The list included Montanita, Ecuador, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, and Ericeira, Portugal, omitted here for space reasons. Read the original article in its entirety at travel.cnn.com/4-amazing-surf-towns
Troncones, Mexico
Andy Dufresne must have ended up here at some point.
Crowd: Longboarders, shortboarders, yoga retreaters and Ixtapa vacationers venturing beyond high-rise resortland.
Claim to fame: One of the best one-stop, nonstop surf zones on the North American coast. Quality year-round surf for all board types and levels.
Remember that final scene at the end of “The Shawshank Redemption,” when Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins reunite on that gorgeously empty beach in that mysteriously exotic utopia called Zihuatanejo?
Well, things are a little different these days from that tranquil Hollywood image, but head about 45 minutes up the coast from Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo's international airport to sleepy Troncones (population 600) and you'll find a far less frenzied, three-mile stretch of surf-pounded golden sand that time has treated more gently.
A year-round surfing magnet loaded with consistently good beach and point breaks (including its best known pair of left-handers, La Saladita and The Ranch), Troncones and its neighboring village of Majahua is what every surf community south of Malibu wishes it was.
An ocean playground with the requisite seafood joints, sports bars and taco stands that welcomes every type and level of surfer, but manages to stay pretty low-key.
The biggest waves are in summer when most breaks close out over three meters (10 feet).
Troncones-based surfing outfitter, ISA Mexico offers week-long surf camps, walk-in lessons and everything in between, with equipment and video analysis included.
