Hola! Well this has certainly been a find. Just a wonderful setting. The long sandy playa surrounded by colourful mountains and the beach front bordering on the sometimes calm, sometimes rolling, Pacific. The tides play a great part in the determination of how the water is behaving and the throngs of serious and casual surfers who flock to this idyllic play ground have a tide schedule close at hand. The nearby town is within a 10 minute stroll along the beach and is both vibrant and picturesque. Boutiques, bars, surf shops and restaurants are in abundance and quite frankly, though there are plenty of tourists around, I fail to see how most of them manage to make a go of it. Apparently there is quite a turnover from year to year as the season is short and many of the visitors are young people who can only afford to stay in hostels and have only enough money for beer and surf board rentals.
Our cabina, right on the beach, is one of the best locations we have ever experienced. We look out our kitchen front door, and there it is. The sun shining on the fishing boats sitting in the bay with the breakers rolling in. We are literally a hop and a jump to the beach itself and every morning with great enthusiasm, Antonio sets up our beach lounges under some shade trees and coconut palms. Installed with a book in hand, I settle in for a relaxing read but there is so much visually going on it is hard to concentrate.
A young couple, with surf boards in tow seat themselves nearby and shortly thereafter we are engaged in conversation. They teach surfing and they are both charming and delightful. I find myself signing up for a lesson with a guarantee that I will be up on a board before the lesson's conclusion. Christian, a Spanish illegal is extremely patient and encouraging with me and his girlfriend Sabrina, an Argentine beauty has a smile that could sell you a surf board in the Sahara. It is not easy at first but eventually, through Christian's persistent enthusiasm and encouragement I get up!! I actually am able to ride the short but long roll to shore. Jennifer is there recording my successes and I have proof as to my latest accomplishment. I am so excited by the end of the lesson, I find myself negotiating a subsequent one, the following day.
The second lesson goes well and I graduate to medium and longer waves. This is getting good. I find myself getting tired and decide to have a break the following day but am encouraged enough to have another follow up lesson. This is to be my graduation day if I manage to tackle the large waves successfully. It starts slowly and I am getting discouraged at first but through persistence and Christian's ever present encouragement I finally am able to ride a 6 footer into the beach front!! Yeah, I did it!! After a couple more successful attempts the body is drained of energy and it is time for the graduation ceremony. Simple but memorable. Some tequila and tostitos and a graduation photo with my mentor Christian. I may not have graduated with honours but for me at 62, just being able to get it up is still an accomplishment worthy of an A :)
We love this place and I managed to work out a deal to see us coming back next year in late January for a month. However after one of our long beach walks, both Jennifer and myself agreed that the time was not right yet to install ourselves for a long period of time at one location. We had spent many years in Barbados doing that and had made the decision that now was not the time to sit and loaf but to travel and use our energies to visit the many far off lands that still remained on our bucket lists. We will be back and maybe sooner than later but in the meantime so many other adventures and blogs to discover. Pura Vida. Hasta luego
Our cabina, right on the beach, is one of the best locations we have ever experienced. We look out our kitchen front door, and there it is. The sun shining on the fishing boats sitting in the bay with the breakers rolling in. We are literally a hop and a jump to the beach itself and every morning with great enthusiasm, Antonio sets up our beach lounges under some shade trees and coconut palms. Installed with a book in hand, I settle in for a relaxing read but there is so much visually going on it is hard to concentrate.
A young couple, with surf boards in tow seat themselves nearby and shortly thereafter we are engaged in conversation. They teach surfing and they are both charming and delightful. I find myself signing up for a lesson with a guarantee that I will be up on a board before the lesson's conclusion. Christian, a Spanish illegal is extremely patient and encouraging with me and his girlfriend Sabrina, an Argentine beauty has a smile that could sell you a surf board in the Sahara. It is not easy at first but eventually, through Christian's persistent enthusiasm and encouragement I get up!! I actually am able to ride the short but long roll to shore. Jennifer is there recording my successes and I have proof as to my latest accomplishment. I am so excited by the end of the lesson, I find myself negotiating a subsequent one, the following day.
The second lesson goes well and I graduate to medium and longer waves. This is getting good. I find myself getting tired and decide to have a break the following day but am encouraged enough to have another follow up lesson. This is to be my graduation day if I manage to tackle the large waves successfully. It starts slowly and I am getting discouraged at first but through persistence and Christian's ever present encouragement I finally am able to ride a 6 footer into the beach front!! Yeah, I did it!! After a couple more successful attempts the body is drained of energy and it is time for the graduation ceremony. Simple but memorable. Some tequila and tostitos and a graduation photo with my mentor Christian. I may not have graduated with honours but for me at 62, just being able to get it up is still an accomplishment worthy of an A :)
We love this place and I managed to work out a deal to see us coming back next year in late January for a month. However after one of our long beach walks, both Jennifer and myself agreed that the time was not right yet to install ourselves for a long period of time at one location. We had spent many years in Barbados doing that and had made the decision that now was not the time to sit and loaf but to travel and use our energies to visit the many far off lands that still remained on our bucket lists. We will be back and maybe sooner than later but in the meantime so many other adventures and blogs to discover. Pura Vida. Hasta luego
Ian,
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Barbados you could probably surf at the horseshoe now !
;-)
Give me another week and I would be good to go mon :)
Delete