Spanish, Surf, and un poquito Sun!
Wrapped up my two weeks of learning at the Escuela del Mundo today. It’s been fantastic, and I’m a little bit sad to leave this little oasis in Jaco.
This past week, I switched my photography class to surfing. The school’s main focus is really on surfing. The teachers are chill but professional and they really make sure to teach you at your level. On Monday, my first surf class here, I was with C & K, a German couple, and J, another German. The four of us were with Estanban, one of the instuctors. It was a rough day at sea, with light rain coming down and fast choppy waves. Not a good day to begin learning surfing. Very soon, it was apparent that the boys were getting the hang of things quickly, but K and I were struggling. K managed to stand up a couple of times, but I was struggling all the way to the end of the lesson.
For the second surf lesson, they put K & I with Ivan, one of the other instructors. Meanwhile the two German boys + the new student, a Texan with a big beard, went with Esteban again. This was a good move for everyone and Ivan was patient with us girls while we tried again and again to stand up. The waves were much better; softer “baby” waves as I called them, the sun was shining, and I was actually having fun! Ivan managed to coach us to stand up time and time again. Whoohooo…Let’s not get critical about positioning of the feet or getting low!
Tuesday was definitely the perfect surf day; by Thursday, another storm came rolling in and despite everyone getting ready and driving to the beach, Carlos, the head surf instructor made the call to not go surf. Too risky with the wind blowing in crazy directions and a lightening storm on the way. Not to mention the croc risk. The river nearby is home to many crocodiles and during a big storm, they can get washed into the ocean. True story.
For the final day of surf today, it was again rough, with rain and wind coming down. I could hardly push my board out back to the instructor each time. Rough, and not a day to learn to surf really, but when you run a surf school, you gotta go out everyday, unless there is seriously bad conditions.
I am not a surfer, nor do I have aspirations to be one, and this week of trying to surf has confirmed that. I will happily continue to admire the surfers from afar 🙂
