Wow. It's been just three days since we arrived in Puerto and yet it feels like we've been here a month. Getting set up and accustomed to the way of living *minus the hard work* has been quite an experience. In some ways, it is very similar to travelling Peru & Ecuador, or moving to Puerto Rico, but this trip has its' own unique vibe and feel like no other. Putting ourselves in a cute little cabin five blocks from incredible surf for the next two months comes with a natural "honey-do" list. I'm not saying it's rough, I'm just saying we've been busy. There are waves to be catch and naps to be taken.
At this point the only person catching waves is me, Nico. This will not be a repeat of South America, when Mackenzie was too conservative with her $$ to buy a board, but it is a difficult process to find the right one. Especially when the type of board she needs to learn on is almost a rarity around here. There are a ton of boards to buy for the experienced surfer, but finding a funboard (a cross between longboard and short) is tough. Most of the beginner boards are squandered by shops to use as rentals or for lessons, so it's been a chore to find something that will work at a decent price. Today we spent over two hours driving around looking with a local friend we made.
His name is Edgar and he's an artist that sells his works on the malecon (street closest to the water, pronounced mah-leh-cone). We met him the first night we were here, while I was going from shop to shop looking for boards. Mackenzie bought some beautiful feather earings from him for like $6 and I got some papers for later. Edgar insisted we wait to buy a board, until he took us around to various friends' places who might sell us boards for much cheaper.
But I couldn't resist. We had just watched the Mexican Pipeline do it's "pre-swell dance" during the last hour of sunset, and I knew I needed to have a board for the following day. So at the 8th or 9th shop , after scoping out every single board at each place, I found a diamond in the rough. It was tucked away in the far back corner, hidden behind a stack of rundown boards. This lady happens to have the only funboard in all of Oaxaca's coastline (so it seems), so we tried to bargain for a sweet deal if we purchased both. Well, we were tired from the previous 36 hours of travel (felt like 3 days), so when she offered to take 400 pesos off her asking price on the board for Mackenzie, we thought it was a good deal. This is about $32 US, on a board that she originally wanted $256. That seems a bit high for an old tank of a board, but after a full day of searching and coming up empty, we were ready to make the deal. Fortunately, the atm wouldn't give Mackenzie cash, so the purchase wouldn't go down. I say fortunately because after sleeping overnight, I was able to decipher this ladie's scamming trick. I'm not sure why I didn't catch it the night before, but here it is: she'd knock off 400 pesos, but then wouldn't give Mackenzie a leash with the board. The leash is 400 pesos!
Anyway, I still had enough cash *efectivo en espanol* (and quite efective no?) to purchase the diamond from her, to use the following day. It is a 6'8'' white board, with red, yellow, and orange paint on the top part of the bottom side. There are no previous pressure dings on the top of the board where I stand, and more importantly there are no dings or marks on the bottom part where the board will have contact with the ocean. When scouting for a board, I was looking for two sizes more or less; one board for biggish waves, and a board for the smaller waves. Some of the locals were saying the waves would be 9 ft the following day, so I knew the board I needed soonest would be the bigger board-to help paddle into some mini-beasts. The cost for the board you ask? almost 200 even.
Did the board work , you're thinking? Well yes sir or madam it sure did :) . We took a $2 taxi home (2 miles probably) and I waxed that baby up. I was hoping to get out of bed at first light, but that wasn't even close to happening. When I hit the sack (shielded by a mosquito net we set up that afternoon), I knew it would be work just to get up before noon! ... But i did manage to wake up in the 10 oclock hour (8am body time, or PST) and hustle down the beach a good 15-20 minute walk for my first surf sesh in over a year! OOOOOOO Tan bueno fue! Translation: OOOOO It was sooo good !
I'd been having nerves the previous night, and was trying to recall every great barrel or wipeout I've experienced in other powerful waves, as to reassure myself I'm good enough. . The nerves were with me (and are returning now as I sit here listening to what sounds like thunder on the opposite side of the bay) as I chose a spot to paddle out between peaks, trying to time it so none of the 7-9 ft waves would land on my head. Now, a seven foot wave doesn't usually frighten the sweat out of me, but at this break you really don't want to be under the lip of a falling any foot wave. The bottom of the ocean goes from very deep to very shallow in a matter of seconds (depth in spanish is profundidad, like profound), creating a super hollow wave, & collapsing what feels like the entire ocean onto a hard layer of sand just a few feet at most beneath the surface. This is called "the impact zone" and is to be avoided at all costs. It is this , "impact zone" that kept me from surfing there today, but that is a story for later. Cuidase.
Paz y Amor,
Nico
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