I`ve spend the last week in a surf camp in Ahangama. You might wonder, how`s the surfing going?
Before jumping into the water, I always stay at the shore and observe the waves for a few minutes. At our camp spot, the waves are actually quite big. At least from my perspective. Every single time, I am filled with both fear and excitement. I am eager to catch a wave. A green one. That means catching a wave before it breaks. I haven`t really done that before and it was my goal to learn it here. In the beginning of a surf session, I feel strong. As fresh as can be, I use the RIP current to paddle out confidently. Once I position myself just outside of the line up, I sit up on my board and take a few breaths. I need to relax a little bit before I paddle into the breaking waves. When I feel relaxed enough, I paddle in. Once you`re in there, you have to choose your positioning wisely. You never know, if a big set is lining up, about to crash down on you. Once you choose a wave, you start paddling. Just before it takes you, you have to put all of your energy into your paddling. Just before you reach the lip of the wave, you paddle hard for about two or three more times. Once the wave lifts you up, you go into the cobra pose (yoga friends hello), and then you jump up on your feet. Before jumping up, you should already angle into the direction you want to go with your board. I don`t really do that… Today, on my last day, Stella took some videos of us. Here you go:
What`s the most tiring thing about surfing? For sure the paddling. But what I hate the most, is if I get caught in the impact zone. That`s where the waves are breaking. The best thing you can do with a long soft board is to turn your board around and let the wave break on top of you (turtle role). But sometimes I don`t get back up on my board fast enough and I let the next wave take me. My board gets pulled away with the wave and so do I, dragging me further down into the impact zone. Which means I`ll have to paddle more. Again. Imagine, this happens like 4 or 5 times in a row. It`s very tiring and frustrating. But at the end of the day, it`s all part of the game and if I really need a break, I just paddle back to the beach and take a short break on land.
One last thing: Crocodiles.
On Tuesday, we were about to grab our boards and paddle out, when Supun stopped us and told us that there was a crocodile in the water. Right in front of our camp. Since it had been raining the last few days, the corocodile must have been washed out of the river into the ocean. Which is why it ended up in front of our house, lost, trying to find its way back to its normal habitat. One day later it was gone.
So why do I still jump into the water even though it scares me? The feeling of catching a wave is incomparable. It feels a bit like flying…
Talk to you soon.
Comments