Tag: Mexico

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Sunday morning

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Surf: Knee to Waist High. Little ruffled but plenty nice.

I took my fish out to try and get a little bit of time in on it. My rides were pretty short. I’m not sure if it’s the waves, or just me. I’m pretty sure there’s a big “me” factor in there.

I’m also missing so many waves. Beamer got a great shot by shot of what happens. Keep in mind that while it doesn’t look like I’m paddling, I am (just not enough.) I’ll be set up properly, but then I don’t quite get in and wind up watching the wave roll on by. Sad. Ahh well. Practice practice practice.

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The mid-day winds came up. I decided to re-wax the fish in the shade. I really should have stripped both boards before flying, but laziness won out. After watching all my wax flake off into the ocean, I decided to do the right thing and clean up.

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Saturday Evening

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Surf: A little more windblown, but about the same.

Pretty much more YAY. Fun cruisey evening rides on the hull. <3 After surf, we settled down for dinner and a movie. Only two minutes in to Gangs of New York, this guy decided to join us. IMG_7264

This guy is one of only two scorpions I’ve seen in all my trips down here. Unlike the tiny yellow (very poisonous) one we saw the first trip, this big guy did not run away. Beamer poked him with a shoe. He raised his tail and held his ground. We tried to shoo him away, but he was not having it. Sadly, the confrontation ended with the scorpion being squashed and the humans uneasily tiptoeing around the house for the rest of the night.

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Friday Night – Mexico

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Surf: Windy, waist high.

We’re in Mexico 😀 Wooo.

The surf is a bit windblown, but the water’s warm. I took out my hull, perfect for gliding around chop. Sure it was a little closed out, but it was fun out there.

I traded Beamer my hull for a wavestorm. Those things feel so fast. I have no idea why. Got a good laugh out of it.

Ahh warm water.

The place we’re staying is cute and cozy. Much more jungle than beach, but still charming. Beamer and I stayed out in the water past sunset and saw plenty of little glowing jellys, just like the last trip.

We made dinner, ate ice cream and watched movies. Yay vacation.

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Finally!

Surf: Chest to Head high. Clean.

After yesterday’s timid approach, I wanted to spend my last morning in Mexico giving my favorite spot my all.

I paddled out, I went for a wave, I almost didn’t make the wave and opted for my patented Linda Mar mush move: jump on the nose and get in a good two handed paddle to push you over the edge. It worked.

Keep in mind, I had not yet actually ridden my Vaquero on a wave over waist high. And now, I’m standing on the nose on a head high wave realizing that these boards go really REALLY fast.

Holycrap.

I stepped back mid way through the drop and laid on the rail trying to make the bottom turn. I don’t think I’ve ever leaned so far into a wave without falling over. I made it. SWOOOOSH.

Top turn SWOOOOSH.

Rocks OHNO.

Kickout! WHEW.

I finally got a real wave! Yesssss.

Alan, a regular I’ve seen on our last few trips down, yelled “Nice one, Barbie Doll!” and laughed. “Oh, you got a little board now! Yeah? You gonna get all the waves now!” Ha.

I got another fun swooping wave at the main peak, then headed over to where Aaron was picking off lefts.

I struggled a little bit there for a while. We didn’t have a ton of time. We had to get back, pack up, and hit the airport.

After a few failed attempts to get into something, I got set up perfectly for a nice long steep wave. I got in and the board was off like a rocket. I was barely holding on. I saw Alan on the shoulder. He threw me a shaka and pretended to snap a pic. I hear Aaron on the inside cheering. So, so stoked.

I headed in, happy to have finally got a few good waves in Mexico. 😀

Additional note. If you step on like, a dozen sea urchins on your way in, def get those spines out before sitting on an airplane for several hours. All the spines I got right away: fine. The one I didn’t get around to until after I landed in SF still hurts almost two months later.

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Familiar breaks

Surf: Waist to Head high. Little windy.

Ahh. Finally away from Sayulita to our old familiar break and some surf time with Ed.

He’d been out a while when Aaron and I hiked in (we had some logistical trouble with the truck) but we showed up just in time to see Ed getting a fun looking wave.

I still struggled a little bit, including nearly taking out Ed in a duck dive gone wrong, but did manage to finally get something fun. Aaron got a really nice one too. I saw him zipping by on his fish.

Mostly I spent the whole time being a scaredy cat. Worrying about duck diving. Fussing about bigger waves. I’m still a little traumatized by last winter. This break is soooo forgiving, there’s no reason for me to treat it like Pleasure Point or Ocean Beach. Sigh.

Ed went on and I got a couple more over at one of the lefts. The last one in, I went to get out at a spot I’ve gotten out at a million times. I waited for the water to get still and saw it was all sea urchins. The whole rock shelf was just black. I shuffled out through a little trench, happy to still have all my toes intact.

We hit up the Oxxo for some Electrolit. Mexico’s adult version of Pedialyte. After frying myself this whole trip, I knocked back a coconut electrolit and ice cream so fast. I’m def getting overheated out here.

We ran into Steve and Jesse who’d just finished surfing La Lancha. They were headed off to look at a boat slip in the harbor. We grabbed some beer and headed back to the house for pool time and dinner. The lightning over the sea looked really beautiful and the tuna steak dinner was, of course, lovely.

Sure, I didn’t get any really substantial waves. Surfing with good people in a spot you love (plus electrolit!) does wonders for a grumpy mood.

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Getting Frustrated

Surf: Knee-Shoulder high. Glassy.

Pout snarl growl snarl. Okay okay, taking a new board on a trip might not have been the best idea. I’m really struggling to get into waves and having a hard time with the crowds a Sayulita. Yeah, I know it sucks when you’re break is overrun by tourists, but man, between the kids and the tourists, sitting inside was getting scary. Sitting further outside I plain wasn’t getting in to anything.

I don’t think I’m paddling properly. I feel like I’m getting close to getting into the wave and just not making it. There’s a lot of timing work I need to do and being on a new board and an unfamiliar break is not the place to do it. I’m also getting cooked in this heat. Even early in the morning I’m roasting. It’s not helping me keep things in perspective.

Leaving the beach, I was waiting for Aaron to buy some pastries when I felt a weird tug on my board. I look back to see a street dog gumming away at my tail. I stared at it, and it quit with no damage to the board, but that was just enough to put me over the edge to really grumpy.

Time to surf somewhere else.

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Crowded.

Surf: Waist to Shoulder High.

By evening, the surf had come up and so had the attitude.

Lots of people in the water including local boys who were shoving each other off waves, dropping in on everyone and their brother, and generally being cocky teenage boys.

I got into a few waves, but had to either swing left to avoid the fray, or kick out. Left was shallow and rough. I skinned my knee pretty good on the coral. Yeoow.

A storm started to roll in and we headed up the beach for drink’s at a friend of Johan’s. I showed up bloody and full of sea urchin spines. Johan’s friend grabbed me a first aid kit and a beer. Patched back up in no time and got to watch the lightning over the sea from a lovely porch on the beach.

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Not as easy

Surf: Knee to Chest high. Glassy.

Aaron and I got up early to Hit Sayulita again. The sun doesn’t come up till 8am, so “dawn” patrol is pretty relative.

There was a fleet of French women out, swooping in on all the waves. I snuck in a few as ALL of the women would take the same wave at the same time so I could pretty much pick up the next wave.

I was still struggling tho.

The first day had been so easy. Now I couldn’t get into anything. I was paddling so hard and getting nothing. I don’t know what happened. :\

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Hot.

Surf: Very soft waist to shoulder high.

I hadn’t been to this break since the first Mexico trip. In fact the last trip, I drove right past it. With the guard tower and the fancy new fence, I’d assumed it was closed off to the public. Turns out the property owners decided to meet the surfers somewhat halfway. Rather than block off access, they made a rule that you had to have a surfboard or boogie board to get through the gate. They’re trying to keep people with picnic gear, beer bottles, and diapers away. I suppose it works, the beach was pretty clean. They also won’t let you in if you have an umbrella.

There’s pretty much no shade on this beach. If you don’t have an umbrella or a surfboard, you’re gonna be hot.

I was hot. The water was the same temperature as the air and I was boiling.

I like to surf early morning and late afternoon, but with all of us and logistics of getting to and from places, we got there at high noon. Yeow. I was floating under my board during lulls trying to keep cool.

I struggled quite a bit in the soft waves. I also was extra weary of the rock in the lineup. Perhaps a brand spanking new board wasn’t the best thing to bring to reef-bottom mexico.

I did managed to get a few waves and a kid in the lineup yelled FINALLY! I laughed. That was exactly the kind of session I was having.

After sufficiently frying ourselves in the heat, the 5 of us piled ourselves and the boards into a pickup and headed home. I laid in the ac in the dark for almost over an hour trying to cool off. Missing 55° water right about now.