Today I take a surf lesson from a slew of Argentines at 9AM. One wears a shirt, “All we do is surf and fish.” His shirt forgot to mention they also have a lot of sex and smoke a lot of weed. Everyone looks half awake, like their eyes could close and they could fall asleep at any time.
My surf lesson is shared with a Korean senior in college, from Pennsylvania. We ride pretty big swells, no whitewash. Unces, the teacher, points out that the waves are not beginner waves. I’m not convinced but he shows us the kidlets surfing the white wash, and keeps us off the giant ones.
I am amazed how the surf teacher can see the start of the wave coming from so far away. He teaches me technique that I never thought about, leaning forward more, carving the wave more with my body. This was all documented by the videocamera screwed onto the board.
My timing is getting better, my technique needs work. I think my mistakes have been basic beginner errors - paddling when the wave was too close, for example. I see so many people wiping out from that. Even the way I was paddling out to the waves wastes energy.
On the way back from the lesson he tells us he’s getting his breakfast and then going back to surf those waves, they were huge. I ask some 10 year old surfer kid where can I get good food. He asks me, What kind of food do you want? I told him, eggs, rice, beans. He responds, that’s all we eat! Don’t you want something good?
I get breakfast with the college kid and am bored out of my mind trying to talk with him. Offer him some of my green mango with salt - so awesome. But instead of embracing boredom, I grab the 800 page tome Game of Thrones book (left by a hotel guest) and high tail it to the beach, where I lay on the sand, down two coconuts and read a few hundred pages before I realize, it’s just not my kind of book. I don’t have to force myself to slog through the goofy language describing princesses with silver hair and violet eyes, wildebeasts, cloaks of night and sword talk. I’ll just watch the tv show.
Tomorrow: horseback riding at 6am. Nice and early, before the sun is fuerte. I saw two poor girls sweating on horses at 1PM and they looked like they were frying in the heat. Then, a sailing lesson. There’s open bar on the boat which makes it sound a little less like a lesson and a little more like a booze cruise. Actually, it kinda sucks because I think I’m developing an allergy to alcohol. Either that or I drink too much.
Something large, wet and revolting just landed on chair, bumped into my leg and then flew away. I don’t know what it was but it also landed on an easily startled lady dining at a table next to me. At least I didn’t scream. Which reminds me, while buying my bread today at the mercato I heard a song with a chorus like, “Shorty is a screamer.” Funny because I was singing Shorty got low when I was trying to get lower on my board.
I’d better post this quickly before we lose power again and the wifi dies. Power goes out about every 8 minutes in this town.
