Surf’s up!

 Daily Adventures  8 Responses »
Jan 042012
 

Mom, dad, I’m very sorry, but I won’t be going on our yearly snowboarding / skiing trips anymore. I’ve found another board which goes very fast and which I fall down from a lot!

Yesterday was another day near the sea. I met Viviana at the Liman Free Hugs and we got along nicely. She had some time to spare, so she wanted to show me around “La Punta”, near the Liman port and the place where most of Lima’s Italians live. Of course I said yes to this! Interesting conversations, leaky ice-creams, very nice views and excellent food were the result!
Lima is stretched along a very large part of the Atlantic ocean, allowing for quite some nice pieces of beach, and some very good beginners surf. After hearing some really good stories about “ridin’ the waves” from my friend Roel (read about his adventures here) this was something that has been high on my list of things to go and try!

Mila and I decided to take a walk (we were going to go for a run, but it gets so incredibly hot here!), and after a nice stroll over the Liman cliffs (at Barranco and Miraflores, the districts I spend most of my time, Lima is about 50 meters above sea level. There are some very steep cliffs plunging down to the sea and the different beaches) we descended to sea-level to get our feet wet. There was however also the possibility to rent surfing gear and to get lessons.

Of course I lost a contact whilst surfing. I’ve been losing contacts throughout my entire journey so far, be it just by them falling off of my finger and losing them whilst putting them in, or having them blown out of my eye on the Pisco beach (strange experience!) For some reason however, the four contacts that I lost have always been from my left eye! I guess my right eye is more sticky?!?
El Gordo (“fatty” would probably be the best translation. He lives up to his name) is about as Liman as they get. Rapid Spanish, quite macho, but very friendly, he showed me the way of the waves. First safely on dry land, then when I had stood up (quickly!) about 20 times on a bench, he took me out onto the ocean.

“Relajate” (relax), he would tell me. Hard to do when a huge wave (ok, 1 meter high, but that’s still impressive if you’re lying down on an unstable board and it’s trying to drown you) comes crashing down. Push up, stand up, bend knees, fall off (or, push up, stand up, fall of, or even push up, fall off), is what I did for at least twenty times. Still I was able to get a few meters a few times (one time making it all the way to the beach itself! Cowabunga dudes!)) And, the rush of actually riding a wave, conquering the majestic ocean (if only for a second or two…) is indescribable!


I mush have swallowed at least 2 liters of sea water (luckily there was beer afterwards to quench my thirst), got my legs entangled in the rope to the board at least ten times, nearly drowned twice and almost hit another surfer once. Still, I loved every minute of it! Totally radical dudes!