After driving…and driving again…and even more! We finally arrived at the end of the road where we still had to drive a bit more, and the true adventure began. We had backache due to the bad road, and perhaps because we’re aging too. We had a lot of rain. Nature needs rain, humans need it too, we should learn to love it. We had no electricity, and dirt roads gave way to muddy paths.
There were no signs, no one to tell you where the surf is. Was there even a surf spot here? We’d only heard a few rumours and of course some little lies to discourage the less motivated.
Once on site (or close to what we thought was ‘the site’) we quickly slipped into a natural rhythm. Sleeping at 8pm, waking up at 4:30am to the jungle noises all around us. SUP is a great way to explore the coast, especially here where the dense forest that makes every trail an adventure. From the first beach, we see a peeling wave wrapping on the next point. Small but very gentle and long. No one out. Glassy morning water. Parrots and monkeys watching us; blue morpho butterflies and toucans everywhere. It’s almost too much, like being in a kids cartoon! A taste of paradise. The same wave at a regular surf spot would not even have drawn us closer to the beach.
It would probably be so crowded despite the kneehigh swell and not worth fighting for it. But here, it’s just a good excuse to go and find another angle to stare at this tropical painting. Douanier Rousseau in vivo.
There we were, sharing waves. Small ones. Fun ones. Back to the original spirit, when there was no competition. Just discovery and the pleasure of the glide. In these uncrowded places, it is easier to share. Our little session inspired a local fellow, intrigued by our boards. He came to us with a longboard and asked to try ours. Then of course we started talking about his life here and he let us know he came about 30 years ago, when this place was still a real adventure. But he also explained some of the little tricks to get to the better exposed points where we surely would get some bigger swell over the coming days. What a difference with other crowded places where surfers and paddlers don’t even talk to each other anymore.
