I have now been living in Nicaragua for 5 weeks, working as a surf guide and photographer. As a surf guide with Giants Foot Surf Tours, I take guests to various renowned surf spots within a 30 km radius of our base in Playa Gigante. We provide guests with unlimited boat tours during their stay. Therefore, it isn’t uncommon to surf Lances Left at dawn, Colorados after breakfast, and Santanas before dinner.
But there are periods of vacancy, sometimes for over two weeks at a time. No guests means the chef stops cooking her signature dishes, the beer fridge is unplugged, and the only action the boat receives is when I paddle out every third day and start her engine to keep the battery charged. Surviving on rice and beans and warm beer isn’t an issue for a college student taking a gap semester, but the lack of surf is problematic. Playa Gigante is a fishing village situated on a protected bay and walking to Playa Colorados, one of the best-exposed breaks in the country, becomes a daily pilgrimage during intervals without guests.
Playa Gigante
A number of homes, hostels, eateries, bars, and fishing markets line the shoreline North of Giants Foot. This beautiful and bustling beach goes on for about a kilometer, where a headland rises and diverts walking surfers to a short trail leading to the beach road.
Gigante Village
The road that runs parallel to the beach veers slightly inland to circumvent the rocky headland. Locals of Gigante call this area their home, with housing structures ranging from concrete residences to mud and tin dwellings. Cows, chickens and other livestock wander the road, and motorbikes attempt to dodge them at high speeds. Continuing north, the road holds an odd 4-way intersection, due to the fact that a poorly constructed home occupies the center. After taking a gentle left, climbing and descending a short but steep hill, Playa Amarillo is in view.
Playa Amarillo
Amarillo is the polar opposite of Gigante. With only one residence at the very South of the beach, Playa Amarillo is almost completely void of human disturbance. At the very south of this beach, there is a slightly shadowed break called Amarillo South that hosts a few sand bottom peaks and a flat rock reef. The reef will bowl up and occasionally offer a heavy barrel, left and right, given the right conditions. At low tide the rock formation is completely exposed. This break is just short of the halfway point in the hike to Colorados. Playa Amarillo extends for a little over a kilometer and during this stretch of the walk you can count on being alone. Random sandbars here will get epic with proper conditions, but the section is closed out most of the time.
Headland at Playa Colorado
At the Northern most reach of Playa Amarillo there is another headland separating it from Playa Colorado. At this point there are 3 options:
1. Hike up and then down a steep jungle trail (not advised without shoes and heavy bug protection).
2. Moderate and beautiful sedimentary rock scramble.
3. Wade around the headland in waist deep moving water, while avoiding rocks and incoming waves (only when the tide is an hour around low with small wave activity).
The best option I have found is to time the journey so I can wade around the point on my way there at low tide and utilize the rock scramble upon my return. Colorados is best in the hours adjacent to low tide. The beach around this outcropping is the Southern most portion of Playa Colorado.
Playa Colorado
It takes about ten minutes to walk from the final headland to the first peak at Colorados. A-frames line the beach, along with luxurious resorts and vacation rentals. It can be crowed, and it can be completely empty, but there is always a surfable wave and offshore winds. And even if I get there one day and its completely flat, or choppy beyond appeal, I will have enjoyed the walk.
Trail Stats:
3 km one way
~45 minutes depending on walking speed and route chosen at the final headland
Editor’s Note: Nicaragua has been in an extreme drought for the past 3 years. The walking route and sandbars are different with increased rainfall.
