Finally.....the beach.
Trip Start
Jan 07, 2008
1
16
36
Trip End
Ongoing
Puerto Escondido, Pacific Coast, Mexico
Monday, May 12, 2008
Yes folks, I have left Oaxaca and am finally on the road again. I arrived in Puerto Escondido almost two weeks ago and have been soaking up the sun like CRAZY! The weather and the water have been perfect and I finally got around to that surfing lesson I have been talking about for so long. Yup....today was the day.
Julio and I hit the beach around 10 am and ventured into the land of the unknown. Make no mistake about it, I had NO intention of actually getting up on the board today. I figured it would take a few lessons before I had success. But....I got lucky. On my third try I actually rode a wave! Unbelievable. It is as hard as I thought it would be. Really hard. I think I had the biggest board in the history of first lessons. Holy crap, did you see that photo. An elephant could have ridden that thing. It is REALLY hard to remember all the things you need to and try and balance when you are laying down, never mind when you get on your feet. It takes every single muscle in your body to surf. Great exercise for sure. I am thrilled I did it and really proud of myself for even trying. We will see how I feel tomorrow before I decide if there will be another lesson or not. And for those of you wondering, I did NOT surf at the beach with the big waves. They have several other more managable beaches here for beginners.
There has not been much noteworthy going on the last two weeks. I am again, resting to beat the band, but far more physically active here than I have been in months. I am swimming and walking quite a bit every day, and that feels really awesome. The water still has a little bit of coolness to it so you actually feel refreshed when you get into it. I have some goggles with me and have been swimming back and forth at Playa Carizalillo (Crazy Leo) almost daily. It is about a 30 minute walk from my hotel to the beach so between the hour on foot and the time in the water, I am more active than I have been in months. I am a champion floater too. In between, there is not much more activity happening. Reading, writing and such.
I am staying in an awesome cabaņa on Playa Zicatela (the big gal surfing beach) and love it. That is until something decided to start chewing on my clothes last night. Ah....the joys of open air living. My guess is it is "rodent" of some sort. I only lost two items to the chew before I discovered it and moved everthing out of hiding in the wardrobe area, and onto the bed next to mine. I have only two more nights at this place and then will be moving on anyway. I know this freaks a few of you out, but I expect these sort of things to happen. It reminded me of the time I found an iguana in my bedroom in NOLA. Now THAT freaked me out. This....not so much so.
I have to make some serious decisions soon about what and where next. The rainy season is almost upon us and I need to decide where I will go to avoid being hunkered down for several months in Central America. Rain and hot weather never bother me, it is the poor road conditions that have me not wanting to be in the area. I am contemplating the Northern part of South America, Ecuador and the coast, Peru and Bolivia but need to do my research first. I can avoid all the rain by heading to the Southern Hemisphere in and around Chile and Argentina, but the weather is winter and yáll know how much I hate that idea. Time will tell. Got to do my research. I still have a few beaches to hit before leaving Mexico. Mazunte which is about an hour south of here is my next stop. Will write again from the road.
I hope you are all enjoying Spring in the US. And for all you folks up North, bring some lilacs in the house and think of me. I miss lillac season something awful. Miss you all too. Itīs been great catching up on the phone!
BESOS!
Comments
surfer
Jodi, so glad you got to do what you have been looking forward to for so long. Loved the photo with the board twice as tall as you! Much love with further travels, Rosamond
The World Beyond
Hey Chic,
What it do? It's good to see you enjoying, learning, growing, playing, living. Email me ... luv 2 catch up 2 u real soon. Stephanie
wow,, no that is a board!
Great shot, am so proud of you! can't wait to get in the water myself, still very cold here, but i do have a wet suit, will get a picture of me and the board and maybe even the wet suit soon. Just back from Baltimore week, sox games and crabs! 2 losses, but fun anyhow
love ya
Bruce