Surfing in Sayulita...

Anyone out there actually following my blog may have noticed that's it's been a pretty quiet month as far as posts are concerned and that's because I've been down in Sayulita, Mexico soaking up some sun and trying to learn to surf. I've tried in the past while on vacation to pick up surfing but living in a land-locked state like Colorado it's tough to get any kind of practice. I figured that after a month in Sayulita, a place known for consistently good waves - especially to learn on, that I'd be tearing it up! Boy I couldn't have been more wrong!

While I've made some progress and am getting up on some decent size waves it is by far the hardest sport I've ever tried hands down. I'm a great snowboarder and grew up skateboarding so I always figured surfing would come naturally to me but as I've learned it's much more than just standing up. It's about ninety percent paddling and getting yourself into the right spot in the line up where waves are breaking as well as sucking down massive amounts of salt water - I can still taste it now! If you're lucky or good enough to catch a wave and ride it out there's always the following ones in the set to contend with to get back into position to catch the next wave. More than once I got absolutely "maytagged" - no idea which way was up or down and under water like in a washing machine. I can also count a good number of cuts and scrapes from the coral, a nice welt from a jellyfish sting and a colorful bruise on my arm from a surfboard fin and a lump over my eye…all in the name of surfing.

Margaret kept asking me why I continued to go out every day and get beat up and rag-dolled by the relentlessness of the ocean. I can only point to the fact that I've always been the type that never lets anything get the best of me.

So far the ocean's definitely gotten the upper hand in this battle but it's by no means over just yet. It is by far the hardest sport I've ever tried and I have a newfound respect for the surfers I watched out there on some days that the waves were pushing ten plus feet.

Above are some photos of some of the local surfers in Sayulita just tearing' it up on days that the waves were just a bit to big for me - actually WAY to big! It's been amazing to watch a few of locals just own it out there - a few of the surfers include pros Adrian Rodriguez, Adan Hernandez and a few others.

You can view more of my surfing images here.