People have asked me — even while we’ve been here — why would I fly halfway around the world to end up at a place that looks a lot like the place I just left.

Simple.

For the surf.

Malpais is a surfer’s dream, with stretches of uncrowded breaks and year-round surf.

It’s why a lot of people drive the rough — which, by the way, is an understatement — roads for five hours to get here. (You can fly in, by the way. There’s a airport in Tambor, which is just a 45-minute drive north.)

But I had been here for more than 36 hours and I hadn’t even gotten into the water.

Well, the wait is over.

Walking to town

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It's a little more than a mile to the Crossroads, the only intersection in town, and where most of the restaurants and shops are. It's not unusual to see dogs — not strays, by the way, but pets — and horses walking along the dusty road.