13th
wave after wave after wave...
DAY 2
awoke yesterday to the sound of rain. kind of dismaying since I’d fallen asleep to that sound about 6 hours earlier. (and I’m gonna curse the guy who wished rain upon my vacation! you know who you are). it was grey and a bit chilly (low 70s probably). luckily it began clearing up by the time my surf lesson was to begin. I got picked up about a quarter to 9 by Zed and was brought to Surfer’s Point in Inch Marlowe. met the other would-be surfers— a few 20-somethings from Russia, a young couple from London, a guy from Montreal, an older dude from Long Island and my fellow newbie, Mike, a pilot for British Airways. he actually had to leave the lesson a bit early since he had a plane to fly. a 777 back to London.
surfer’s point:
the “board room”:
we headed to Freights Bay for the lesson since the surf in front of Surfer’s Point was way too rough. after about 15 minutes on land, we headed into the water with our fearless instructor, Jason. I stood up on my very first attempt but didn’t stay up very long. by the end of the two hours though, I was riding waves into shore. pretty amazing feeling. I turned their instructions into a little mantra that I repeated the first few times and by the end of the lesson, it was memory. the getting up process is sort of like doing yoga on a surfboard. after paddling, you start off in the cobra position, then you get into a kneeling position with your arms straight and hands on the board in front of you, then bring your back leg so that it’s a right angle to the board with your foot flat on the board, then snap your front leg forward, quickly stand and pivot front foot so that it’s sideways on the board.
after the lesson, got dropped off at my hotel and had a delicious lunch— a flying fish wrap. I pretty much crashed in one of the cabanas for the remainder of the afternoon.
surfer transport:
seen on the drive back to the hotel:
lunch:
was still feeling extremely lazy (and sore) when evening rolled around so I decided to stick close to the hotel. well, in the hotel. made friends with the bartender, Rochelle. paid for one daiquiri, drank it at the bar and got another free! had dinner at the hotel restaurant— fried snapper. also delicious. the only thing I can find fault with is the prices.
after dinner, read for awhile and was in bed by 10:30.
DAY 3
the beach in front of Surfer’s Point.
today’s lesson was again at Freights Bay. I need to bring my camera with me tomorrow… getting some shots of this place will be worth the risk (there’s nowhere to really stow your stuff there). it’s beyond beautiful. they put me on a shorter board today, 10 ft instead of 11, and you wouldn’t think it, but what a huge difference a foot makes! while still massive, it felt so wobbly in comparison while I was paddling but the minute I stood up, it felt perfect and I caught even more waves and rode most of them in to shore. today I had Jason again, and Junior, as instructors.
this is the board I had today. the beginner boards at Zed’s have this sort of foam top to help keep you from injuring yourself. pretty comfy :)
everything went well, despite being sore and in pain from yesterday’s lesson— muscle soreness and then pain from the board “rash” and from my own stupidity. not thinking, I wore a bikini top yesterday that had beads in the center of the string that wraps around the front of your chest. from my body slamming against the board when getting pounded by waves while paddling out or hurling myself back on to it after falling off, I now have a bruise there, in the center of my sternum and it hurts more than anything else. everytime I rolled over onto my stomach while sleeping last nite, I’d wake up wincing from pain. but hey, now I know! and I also know those long sleeve shirts are not just for sun protection, tho most of them are UV rated… they’re called “rash vests” down here and prevent the nasty “rash” you get from the friction of your arms are on the board.
this is the “rash”. wish I’d brought neosporin with me.
the culprit bikini top.
came back to the hotel, had lunch— a flying fish sandwich with sweet potato fries today— and then napped. it’s too hot in the afternoon to do anything outdoors.
lunch.
for dinner, I took a taxi to the nearest real town, a fishing village called Oistins, and had my most delicious meal yet. I asked the taxi driver (a nice guy & former surfer named Jerry) to drop me off at a place where I could get some good fish and he brought me to Pat’s, which I’d heard about just this morning from someone I was taking lessons with. every friday here, lots of towns have a fish fry— the boats unload all their fish and the locals & tourists alike come for dinner and there’s usually lots of drinking and dancing as well. and apparently in Oistins, Pat’s is the place to be. when I asked my server tonight what she recommended, she came brought me a sample of the 4 fish they had this evening: blue marlin, swordfish, dolphin & flying fish. since I’d had flying fish twice already, I went with the marlin. it was very steak-y and grilled to perfection by Junior, the grill man who chatted me up since I was sitting close to the outdoor grill. for a ton of food, a Banks (the local beer— pretty nice), and 2 Diet Cokes (to go, to keep in the room fridge), the bill came out to just under $15 USD. and then the cab ride was $20 r/t so in total, about the same price as if I stayed and ate at the hotel.
my fish taster. from top: marlin, swordfish, dolphin, flying fish. hard to pick just one.
dinner.
Junior holding down the grill at Pat’s.
Banks, Bajan beer.
and hours later, I’m still full. and feeling my sunburn. I guess no matter how much “waterproof” sunscreen you put on, being battered by waves for 2 hours is no match.
lookin toasty.
