De Anonymous , 02-08-2010

- I spent a while in san bartolo surfing in the winter I surfed the beach most days and it was ok I watched penascal break day after day It broke big a few days eventually i got the courage to surf it I paddled out from the beach(a long paddle)because the point looked hard to get in and out.I got out there and though do I surf this it was bigger than anything i had ever surfed and i was on my own I tried to shoulder hop a couple of small ones but just ended up in a place i could have easily been cleaned up i wasnt fortunatly I paddled a bit further out and a bit deeper and snagged a beuty it was about double and a half over head and powerfull I made it and even managed to do a couple of top turns(what the fuck am i doing up here i thought as i turned off the top)I caught a few more and didnt get cleaned up (nice)so i decided not to push my luck and to paddle in having caught the biggest waves of my life

De Juan Delmar , 27-07-2008

San Bartolo, the bes place to stay - I stayed twice at Antonios surfcamp and there`s no better place to stay around Lima. His hospitality does not has limits.
And in addition, there are first class waves all around!

De Luke , 20-09-2007

Place to Stay - I too have the same advice as the last couple of posts. I’ve been lucky enough to have been traveling for two years around south and Central America, and in that time I ended up spending time covering some famous surfing destinations including Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama but in the end I visited Peru twice and spent around 4 months surfing and visiting the usual haunts. I realized that in visiting Peru I was going for the waves and not so much the environment, landscapes or warm weather and to be totally honest in my opinion (and Jason’s last comment) a trip up North is essential if you want to score decent point breaks.

The Peruvian people are awesome and the travelers I met there were pretty open-minded which made for a great trip. When I first arrived I felt under prepared traveling solo and with limited knowledge of Spanish, I really didn’t know what to expect. If your going to visit Peru and are flying into Lima I couldn’t recommend enough the services and warm hospitality that Antonio provided at his hotel (www.surfpenascal.com) everything was organized for me and at a super reasonable price. He and his family were solid, warm and dedicated to helping me with everything I needed from getting a new surfboard to sorting out a road trip up North.

The place is enormous and private almost like hiring out a beach apartment with cable TV and a kitchen, the food was incredible with plenty of it, fresh and consistently varied. Generally there was always a wave to surf and when there was those moments of no swell Antonio was happy to take a road trip into the mountains where we had the chance to check out some Peruvian sights and culture with the help of his local knowledge.

Easily I’d have to say it’s the most unique and comfortable surf stays I’d had over the last two years hands down... Well worth the stay and a great starting point for anyone visiting Peru - All the things said in the lower post are true although I didn’t much mind the surf spots south of Lima and around Penascal, at least in the winter time they are uncrowded by Sydney standards. Enjoy!