Playa Costa del Sol Youth Embrace the Challenge of After School Study, Athletics and Art
This past summer I had the opportunity to volunteer at a hotel and restaurant in Playa Costa del Sol, located in the province of La Paz, El Salvador. The beach town is touristy and consists of one long road with places to stay on the beach side and everything else on the other. You need to have a lot of cash on hand as almost nowhere takes cards. The hotel and restaurant enjoy a patio of sand and surf. Additionally, you will find local vendors and children who come out to play soccer until the sun goes down.
Volunteer Position Opens Door of Opportunity to Challenge Costa del Sol Youth
Besides cleaning toilets, changing sheets and doing laundry, I helped serve food and attend to guests dining in the open-air beach front restaurant. The idea was to experience a new country I had heard good things about. After years of teaching and living in Costa Rica I wanted to experience a new culture. As someone who enjoys surfing, I was also tempted to try new breaks and check out the vibes of Surf City in La Libertad. However, that would have to wait.
First, I was going to tackle cleaning up the “Costa del Sol Pista de Surf Skate” at L’Hola Betos, where I was situated. Part of my volunteer gig would be connecting with the local youth. As a matter of fact, the owner, Antonio, is keen on encouraging them in positive ways. Consequently, it turned out to be the most rewarding part of the deal – getting to know the kids in the community.
Meet the Local Kids of Playa Costa del Sol
I first met Isaiah and Dylan on the beach one morning. Both kids were about twelve from my teacher guestimate and were barefoot and tanned. They both were holding long circular tubes full of hand-made bracelets. In fact, both boys were helping their mom’s by selling them all along the stretch of beach.
During my month-long stay, I would get to know Dylan’s Mom very well. Isaiah’s Mom was not present too often as she also sold “pupusas” in order to support Isaiah and his eight other siblings. If you haven’t had a pupusa, it is a Salvadorean staple. Specifically, it is a handmade flatbread made with cornmeal or flour that is stuffed with cheese, sausage, beans or a combination.
Challenge Accepted for After school and Saturday Activities
I soon met several other local youths when I began to give English classes across the street at the little school Marea Alta. It’s actually not too little as it has a couple classrooms, and a space with computers for the children to use and bookshelves filled with titles in both English and Spanish. Surprisingly, eight students showed up at the first class.
Importantly, these children come to Marea Alta after being in school all day to receive help with homework and English classes by volunteers. I didn’t know if anyone would be interested in coming to an English class. Inspired by the turnout, I decided to give classes two or three days a week and continued to draw new students. To mix things up, I added an Art session on Saturdays. ¿Por qué no?
Guess what? The kids that came to art class eagerly asked if they could take art brushes and paint home with them. The appreciation they had for simple tools that can be used to create brought joy to my heart. Do I need to go off about the materialism in modern day U.S.A.? I didn’t think so.
El Dia de Fútbol y Skate
After the skate ramp was all swept and ready to go, we decided to have a day of soccer and skate. Without fail, all the children came to participate, whether they had shoes on or not. They brought their enthusiasm and just like with the English classes and art, they were ready to give it their all.
Importantly, I noticed talent and camaraderie with these kids. Valeria was the oldest girl, and it was important to her to help the younger girls. Some of the children were Valeria’s cousins and her older sister gave everyone a ride for the special day. We only had two helmets and although we tried to share them between everyone, there was the occasional skater who snuck by under the radar without one.
They all wanted to skate at once and one child even asked if they could ride their bikes along the half pipe. To be invited to participate in a day of soccer and skate at the hotel was special; it was approached that way by each one of these kids. Their enthusiasm was priceless.
Although the tide and wave conditions didn’t align ideally for surf sessions during my stay that certainly could happen in the future.
Meet “Teacher Niki”
Niki Ivette Palacios Martinez has been a volunteer educator at Marea Alta for the past seven years, since the school was founded in July 2019 by Sigfredo Valle Courtade. She has worked with children and young people in areas like academic tutoring, English, computer skills, art. literacy, mathematics and language arts. She works full time at a “ferreteria” (hardware store) during the week in addition to helping with a family business on the weekends. In spite of a full schedule, Nikki shows up three days a week in the afternoon to volunteer at Marea Alta to give academic support to the community children that have come to depend on it regularly. These are the kids who embraced the challenge of the soccer, skate and art activities.
Nikki describes some of the students of the Costa del Sol “zona” as quiet and studious, while others are quite restless and easily distracted. Still, nothing that is unmanageable.
Niki Ivette Palacios Martinez
They just need a bit of guidance and motivation.” I have learned that we can expand our knowledge if we set our minds to it… Every day is a new adventure—with new topics and new challenges that inspire me to keep learning. I will continue showing up for the students just like when you make the promise “until death do us part.”
To everyone’s dismay, Sigfredo Valle Courtade passed away in June of 2024 at 72 years of age. For a while his wife and daughter took charge of Marea Alta, remaining involved until March 2025. Currently, Ms. Palacios-Martinez is the President of a Board of Directors. The school does not depend on the Ministry of Education for support.
Inspiration, Admiration and Collaboration
Some of the parents I met of the Playa Costa de Sol kids impressed me as much as their children. One father is a lifeguard for the hotel and would give me his advice about whether to paddle out or not. Dylan’s Mom Julie gifted me a leather bracelet with a carved-out shape of the country reading El Salvador in the middle. I worked with Flor, head of housekeeping at L’Hola hotel. I invited her daughters, Sofia and Veronica, to attend the English classes and they crushed it. Flor rides a bike with no brakes to the hotel. Typical daily pay for menial jobs is $12 a day. That’s $12 a day, not an hour. I decided I would clean toilets for the duration of my volunteer gig to give Flor a break.
A shout out to the restaurant and hotel staff at L’Hola Betos! Their camaraderie, hard work ethic and humility impressed me. As a matter of fact, almost all of the staff work 12-hour shifts and commute by bus or motorcycle from an hour or more away. No one complained. There were jokes, smiles and a loyalty among them. While I chose to focus on the children of the community for this blog post it wouldn’t be complete without mentioning how exceptional I found each employee that works in front of the house and behind the scenes.
While I am currently working as a Spanish Teacher in the States, my mind’s eye can see the youth. They are playing soccer barefoot in the evening on the beach with huge grins on their faces until the sun goes down at Playa Costa del Sol. 🙂 As it is so popular to say in El Salvador “Vaya!”
I will be setting up a Go-Fund-Me soon for the Instituto de Marea Alta and the community kids it serves. Stay tuned! They deserve the opportunity to reach their potential academically, athletically and artistically.
All photos by author and Niki Ivette Palacios Martinez. Volunteer position was earned through application to World Packers. Follow me on instagram @puravidaboardgear.com.
