AUTHOR’S NOTE

Kilometer 99 does not exist. It’s an imaginary surf spot drawn from aspects of several different breaks in El Salvador, Peru, and Mexico. Most of the larger locations in this novel—La Libertad, San Salvador, Santa Ana, Los Planes de Renderos, Sunzal, etc.—are depicted realistically. Though there are places called Cara Sucia in El Salvador, the one in this novel is fictional (which is also the case with El Vado and El Cedro).

Most of the details regarding the earthquakes that hit El Salvador on January 13th and February 13th of 2001 have been rendered more or less as I recall them or as they were recounted to me by friends and associates. The greatest fictional embellishment in this story is the severe damage to La Libertad caused by the February quake. (La Libertad survived both earthquakes with relatively minor damage.)

It’s also worth mentioning that El Salvador’s beaches now draw a large number of traveling surfers. It was much less of a destination in 2001. Many of the beaches described as empty and desolate in this novel are now booming with hotels, restaurants, and tourist shops.

Technically, El Salvador had switched their official currency to dollars just before the time in which this novel is set. However, I preferred to use colones, the former currency, for issues of both clarity and aesthetics. It’s also come to my attention that there probably was no ferry service around the Darien Gap during the time Ben and Malia considered driving to South America. However, I chose to keep that detail in as I recall many travelers suffering from the same misunderstanding.