Surf's up

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Surfers are known for saying "The best surfers out in the water are the ones having the most fun."
In that respect - and ONLY in that respect - we might have been the best surfers on Engenhoca Beach  today.

Because - boy - did we have fun in our first surfing class ever.

OK - as newbies, we didn't 'do the barrel' or 'roll the turtle'. We were content just hitting the right wave and being catapulted forward, towards the beach, in an explosion of bubbles and foam.

Surfing is not easy. Not in any way, but, while Michael chose a boogieboard and were able to speed along from get-go, I went for the classic longboard and had to take several hours of tedious instructions.

The longboard teacher, Aldi, was a rugged man about my age, who had surfed almost since he, as a toddler, began crawling out into the water.

He now used his many years of expertise, to show me how to get up on a board and how to find a point of balance, while picking up more speed.

Most of the exercises were done on land, and it must have looked hilarious to watch me paddling an imaginary board through the sand for more than an hour.
Michael with his tiny, little boogieboard

Me - with my big, beautiful longboard

But eventually - I had to get my feet wet. And here my true problem set in: I've actually always been really scared of water, of getting deep down below a wave and panicking when trying to surface.

Those waves out there looked enormous! And just getting out from the beach through the shallow water, with my beautiful longboard tied to my ankle, was really, really hard work.

I had one tumble after the other and was hit so many times by the bucking board, I now have blue marks all over my arms and legs.

Aldi shouted towards me, with the booming voice of an drill sergeant, to get up and try once more - and  after a while, I had been tossed around so many times, I actually forgot about my anxiety.


Time seemed to slow down, while I waited for the right moment to slide on the board. Just looking for the one big wave and quickly, attaching my feet firmly to the base of the board, paddle and – boom!

The joy of skidding fast on the surface of the wave was addictive. I loved it.


After many, many attempts I could even do it with  style.

OK - With a very, very SMALL bit of style. But as surfers say: 'No waves, no glory'!

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Comments

  1. UnknownApril 9, 2017 at 10:08 PM

    you guys are awesome! Enjoyed reading, Rita! Have a wonderful time in Rio! I miss Tamires and this city so much already.

    ReplyDelete

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