My experiences trying to learn the art of surfing

I am five months through a six month journey to improve my surfing with the sole (soul?) intention of surfing waves comfortably that will get me in the green room. I've spent three months in Indonesia and have been scatting around Central America surfing the El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. I'm travelling with my fifth board, Zak (6'3 / 18 3/4 and 2 3/8).

I thought I'd blog about my experience learning to surf as its such a tough, long journey. Somedays you get it, your timings perfect and you zip down the line, most days you don't. Surfing has been so good for my ego. I've never been so bad at something, despite trying so hard but something just keeps me out there, no matter how bad I am. The sea, the ocean, the soul.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Let the games begin

So I've quit my job, saved a bucket of money, sorted my mortgage, packed my backpack and bought a new board........I have six months of surf travel ahead of me with the one goal to be surfing waves that will eventually get me in the green room. All going well, I'll be surfing most days in waves that will challenge me.

Once a journey is designed, equipped and put in process: a new factor takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness, A journey is person in itself, no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing and coercian are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip. A trip takes us. (Rolf Peters, Vagabonding, The Art of Long Term Travel).

Quitting my job and bucking the trend is one of the scariest things I have ever done. In general people have been supportive but there a few who find it a little hard to digest. I am not in my twenties any more and I am supposed to be seriously thinking about children..........However I have a really strong belief that there are a million ways to live a life and the lessons on the road are as important to an education as an MBA or a PhD. Particularly when those lessons are learnt in developing countries........Monday - Friday, 9 - 5 is an honourable way to earn a living but its not the only way......I'm going to live my dreams regardless of what others say.

My travels will take me through Indonesia and Central America with a little of the US thrown is for a bit of fun. My focus is predominantly on surfing, a little on language development and a lot on self development. I'm starting out with yoga teacher training in Canngu, Bali and ending with a few weeks in Hawaii. In between, I really don't know and that is half the fun!

The artwork is by a Hawaiian artist, Heather Brown..........I'll definitely be picking up some of her work when I am surfing the islands......