Surfing

They are early mornings here.  The sun sets early, and it rises early.  The roosters were off to harass others, but the tree frogs, dogs and doves made their whereabouts known as soon as light hit them.  I kept my eyes shut until 5:45, and stayed in bed for another 20 mins.  I woke feeling like I had been in a fight.  My body was stiff and sore.  A morning run would shake it all out.  Sure enough after that, a shower, and some food, by eight fifteen I was feeling like I could tackle the surf.

The lesson started shortly after nine on the beach.  Oscar was our capable instructor who had been nearly everywhere, and dated a lot!  He is Costa Rican (Tico/Tican), has been all around Canada, and like I mentioned had ex girlfriends all over the place.  He had snowboarded up in Smithers, worked as a forklift operator at the Honda plant in Alliston, been all over Ontario, and had been out to the Maritimes as well.  His current girlfriend was in Toronto, and he was hoping to get up there in the next few months.  He was an able instructor having figured I slashed the skateboard in my youth.  How right he was.

I have never surfed.  But the lesson was everything television and movies make it out to be.  Think right now about a movie or show you saw on tv with people learning how to surf.  That is it.  You spend 20 or thirty minutes on the sand perfecting your pop ups and your stance on the board.  Ninja like in some ways.  Then you get in the water trying to replicate that on a wobbly surface.  It doesn’t always work.  Inevitably there are lots of falls.  But sure enough I caught a number of white capped waves.  I passed.  It was challenging all in all, but fun.  The beginner lesson included no paddling really, Oscar pushed us into the waves momentum.  Of course we were just catching waves that had already crashed and capped white.

Oscar had fresh fruit and drinks for us.  The constructive criticism was good, but it is easy to know where you go wrong.  Surfing should be effortless, smooth, and the rider needs a simple touch.  Balance and body position is key.  Lastly practice and patience is a sure fire way of getting better.  Having 90 degree water helps too!  All of that excitement, but not a picture taken of either of us up on the boards.

It’s barely 11:30 in the morning.  Shelly and I returned to the cabana.  I was hungry, but mostly tired.  I fixed both issues with something to eat and a sleep.  When I woke at 1:20 or so I felt like I had been in an even worse fight.  I was groggy and foggy, disheveled and confused, but I put my best foot forward and we got out for a few hours in the afternoon walking aimlessly about.  This place is smaller then Grand Bend for sure.  

So we walked around and saw the same sights we had seen the day before.  We had something to eat and sorted out a bus schedule because we are going to hit the road to a different community 20 km south called Uvita.  To the Whale Tail!