Jan 19, 2025
Okay, WE did it! All six of us took surf lessons this morning and all six of us got up on our boards. It makes me smile! And kind of giggle inside. I am 45 years old and I’m learning to surf. I promised myself when we made this big life change that if my kids were going to do something, I was going to do it too! Now, did I do it well? Absolutely not, although the surf instructors were kind and said we all did great. It was really fun to watch ❤️Adaira ❤️ hop up on that board and make it to shore with the biggest grin on her face. Josie was rocking her wave choice—she has a knack for seeing the ocean. Delaney aced it. And even Alex, who was refusing to try it, got out there and rode a wave on his own board right next to his daddy!
I wish my phone hadn’t been in my bag locked in the car because I would have loved to have gotten pictures of any of it. Naeema and Jerri were our instructors and were just fabulous. Fabulous. Clear. And positive. We met them at 7:30 on Playa Grande, just south of Playa Uva. The sun was hot so the ocean felt great. I had read some things about surfing the night before. Not quite research or homework, but trying to get an idea of what the heck you do to surf. I’m generally athletic so I figured I could do it, but honestly wasn’t so sure. Knowing HOW to do something and actually DOING IT, as you likely know, are two different things! But at least I now know a little bit about surf etiquette, the line up, what to do if you “drop in” on someone else’s wave….
We practiced on the sand how to hop up and where to put your feet. Figured out who was regular and who was “goofy” (Johnson and Alex, in case you are wondering. And in this sense, goofy is leading with your right foot. Regular is leading with your left. Although they’re both kinda goofy anyway 😜). We learned about the leash. And then we paddled out. Ha! Not quite! I wish. We walked into the waves and practiced timing of when to actually get ON the board and when to stand up. I need to work on getting lower, feet wider apart and keeping them perpendicular to the length of the board (according to Jerry, which I am sure is accurate feedback). My timing is a bit shabby. But I got up! Rode that little wave to shore! Probably need to work on my dismount as well, but you gotta make it all the way in to worry about that! I do now appreciate the starfish and bellyflop since the ocean can be pretty shallow.
Everyone had a blast. No one got hurt (I might have surfed right over my 6 year old and one of the girls might have gotten bonked in the head by her sister’s board, but since they’re soft beginner boards, no harm done.). My FitBit recorded my heart rate in peak zone for quite a bit of it but it was so much fun that I would never have realized I was exerting myself. Such a lovely thing. Activity and fun being your workout for the day!
We passed through several small beachy coast towns on the way to meet the instructors. What a cool vibe! The lush greenery and flowers are amazing. A smattering of houses, what we think was a children’s school. The little mom and Pop “sodas” but also just stands occasionally selling empanadas and the like. Bikers (both bicycles and motor) and little red tuk tuks (Toritos!) everywhere, quite a few with surfboards strapped to the roof! We passed a group of people that had congregated under a tree, and it was too late before we realized it was a sloth (or maybe a monkey) hanging from a pole. Everyone in our car wanted to see it but no one wanted to actually stop—they were spent and wanted to get home.
Overall, 10/10 and we have signed up for several more lessons for our short stay on the Caribbean coast. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of our surf story!
