La Chocolatera Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board, let’s talk about what’s on the way at La Chocolatera. This spot (Ecuador) is a tricky one—it’s a point break that only gets going inconsistently, and right now we’re looking at a long stretch of pretty average to poor conditions. The water is sitting at a very unusual 78°, much warmer than normal for this time of year (anomaly of 7°). There’s a bit of a wait before anything really turns on.

Things start moving on the morning of Sunday, July 5th, but it’s marginal at best. We’ve got small 2ft swell from the SW with a decent 21-second period, which is a very long-period groundswell—sounds promising for a point break like this, but the wind is a light cross-onshore, creating small ripples. The combined energy is moderate (720). Honestly, it’s not worth paddling out for much more than a grovel.

Monday the 6th is where we see a little bump. The morning brings 4ft from the SW at 19 seconds, and the wind is actually straight onshore from the SW—cleaner than cross. Energy jumps to moderate-strong (1023). This is probably the best of a mediocre bunch for the first week. By afternoon though, it builds to 5ft but gets chopped up by a moderate cross-onshore. Not ideal.

Tuesday the 7th morning has the same 5ft swell with the period dropping to 16 seconds, but at least the wind stays onshore. Still, it’s only scoring as marginal. Wednesday through Friday (8th to 10th) sees the swell dropping back to the 3ft–4ft range, with variable onshore or cross-onshore breezes. The energy falls off steadily (from 642 down to 448 by Thursday morning). Nothing stands out.

There’s a gap from about the 12th of July right through the 14th where conditions turn poor—swell drops to 3ft-3ft, periods shorten to 13-14 seconds, and energy is weak (between 287 and 550). Not worth the paddle.

The one true standout in this entire 16-day window lands on Wednesday morning, July 15th. We get a solid pulse of 5ft from the SW, period of 15 seconds—still a nice groundswell for the point—and the wind is a light offshore from the SSW. That means clean, glassy conditions. Combined energy hits 889 (moderate-strong). This is the session to aim for if you’re an intermediate surfer. Crowds are possible here sometimes, so expect a few others with the same idea.

After that, the 16th of July morning gives a similar 4ft swell but with a cross-onshore wind, so not as clean. Then from the 17th onward, it’s back to poor, small surf through to the 20th (2ft-3ft, short 12-13 second periods, weak energy). Basically a solid week of flatness after that Wednesday window.

So to sum it up: the best bet is Wednesday morning July 15th. Aim for first light. Outside of that, there’s not much to write home about.

Rusty.

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