It's taken me about a year to write this but the lingering scar on my feet is a constant reminder of my experience at Chillum. Alejandro, the owner, falsely presented himself as a surf instructor and asked to take me out for a lesson while I was having sushi at his restaurant. I had never once been on a surfboard. He later brought me to what I now know as an area not suitable for first timers. I was never instructed on how to descent, and I didn't know what I didn't know. 30 minutes in to my 2 hour session I got up on the board (yay!) and proceeded to fall down (boo) onto CORAL. It ripped through both of my feet and my knee. The adrenaline allowed me to make it through .5 mi of jungle and to a pharmacy. I was bandaged up and sent along my merry way. I looked like an injured WW2 war vet, but the pain hadn't yet set in. Alejandro proceeded to have me pay for his lobster lunch and charged me full price for the surf session (prices that licensed professionals charge, and I later found out that he is not one). I paid without argument b/c I needed a ride home and I was a woman traveling alone in a foreign country with a man I didn't know and now didn't feel safe with. Long story short the pain set in that evening and I couldn't walk for almost 2 weeks. I ended up having to cancel my airbnb a day before and stay at my boutique hotel so they could take care of me better (ca-ching!!!! $$$$$$$) I messaged Alejandro about my experience once the dust settled and I was able to better understand what happened to me. I was met with an argumentative and rude tone with an eventual half-a$$ed apology.
The sushi here isn't super great either, but that is to be expected. If you make it to Chillum, tip his staff well. They were great. But then ask for an intro to Alejandro and give him the finger for me.
Caio! read more