Though best known among travelers for the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru is now becoming a mecca for surfers. Due to Peru’s location near the equator, currents from the Northern and Southern hemispheres provide non-stop surf-able waves along much of the country’s 1,500 miles of Pacific coast.
Big wave surfers can find imposing 30-footers. Near the port town of Chicama, so-called “point-break” waves running parallel to the shore can carry surfers more than a mile.
“The good thing about this country is that we have waves all year round,” said Alberto Lopez, who runs one of about a dozen surf schools on Miraflores Beach, a stone’s throw from downtown Lima. “Even Hawaii doesn’t have waves all year round.”
Lopez works seven days a week because so many people want to learn the sport. Indeed, Lima — home to 9 million people — is one of the few capital cities in the world with decent waves. After landing at the international airport, surfers can be riding the waves within an hour. Click here to read complete article on globalpost.com.
The concept of surfing may have originated 2,000 years ago
with indigenous fishermen in northern Peru.
with indigenous fishermen in northern Peru.
