Let's Go Surfin' Now, Everybody's Learnin' How!
Wheeeeeeeeee!
My buddy started teaching me (and a couple of friends) how to surf! I had SOOOOOOOO much fun. I LOVED it. I can't WAIT to go again. The waves were small, and I just stayed on my belly on the board, but YAY! I stayed out longer than anyone, and this was AFTER my 3-mile run and QUITE a long time snorkeling with another buddy who'd just come in from the mainland.
Uhh, I guess I should start with the snorkeling, since that came before the surfing.
We went to the Old Airport Road in Kailua town, and out from the little bay at the end of the old tarmac. We explored a few little canyons, saw the world's largest species of butterfly (the "hog-nosed" butterfly); I even saw an endemic fremblei. Neat!
Just down the tarmac a bit, we went in again with my buddy's surf board and a couple of little boogie boards. I tried the surf board first, and just had the time of my life, even though I couldn't do a damn thing with it. I even had fun with the boogie boards. As far as I can tell, I'm doing alright thus far.
I stayed out even after everybody else had gone back to shore for a drink. I actually rode on a wave! It was SO EXCITING!
After a while, the waves pretty much died and I started to come back in until one more BIG set came through. I hopped on the board again, but as I was paddling for the first wave in the set, I hit a rock with my hand. Almost instinctively (and at my buddy's previous warning), I just slipped right off the board and braced for the wave. Didn't want the board to get damaged. The wave ripped my mask off. I mad a mad dive for it, but couldn't see anything underwater without it. I couldn't have found it to save my toosh. Ironically, there were another 7 or 8 sizeable waves that came in then, so I couldn't even try for my mask again. I got thrown, wave after wave, against the rocks. I couldn't brace for it because I couldn't see them. I just tried pretty desperately to stumble along and try to get the hell out of the water, but I just kept running into rock after rock.
My buddy noticed that I was having trouble and came to the shore to look after me. I motioned to him that my mask was gone, and he understood and kept watch over me a bit. I just kept getting thrown, over and over. I landed on every rock from there to the shore, I swear. I finally started being able to brace myself against the waves and started making my way south to a clearer area to exit the water. Another wave. I stepped again, and screeched like a girl when yet another diadema urchin met my foot. Ohhhhhh gahd, this one HURT!! I reached down. The spine was still in! Fuck! I pulled it out, swore, and threw the damn spine, then made a grimace at my buddy. He knew what had happened, and I was glad he wasn't very concerned; the way I'd screeched, you'd think I'd have been attacked by a herd of sharks or something. I limped in, as best I could, then limped to our group at a picnic table.
My friend and our recently arrived buddy donned snorkel gear to go look for my mask.
My friend is more fish than man. I saw him go out, look around a bit, dive down, then made a beeline for the exit point. I figured it had been too rough for him to stay out in such shallows. As he walked up, I couldn't see anything in his hand, and had a sinking feeling that I was going to have to drop another $180 on a new mask.
As he passed, he looked up at me with a HUGE grin, and handed me my mask.
I couldn't believe it. He really is something else entirely.
I need to find a good way to give him a thank you of some sort.
So now I'm even MORE bruised and bloodied, and I have more diadema urchin spines in my foot. Ohhhhh gahd, they hurt.
AND I CAN'T WAIT TO TRY SURFING AGAIN!!!!
My buddy started teaching me (and a couple of friends) how to surf! I had SOOOOOOOO much fun. I LOVED it. I can't WAIT to go again. The waves were small, and I just stayed on my belly on the board, but YAY! I stayed out longer than anyone, and this was AFTER my 3-mile run and QUITE a long time snorkeling with another buddy who'd just come in from the mainland.
Uhh, I guess I should start with the snorkeling, since that came before the surfing.
We went to the Old Airport Road in Kailua town, and out from the little bay at the end of the old tarmac. We explored a few little canyons, saw the world's largest species of butterfly (the "hog-nosed" butterfly); I even saw an endemic fremblei. Neat!
Just down the tarmac a bit, we went in again with my buddy's surf board and a couple of little boogie boards. I tried the surf board first, and just had the time of my life, even though I couldn't do a damn thing with it. I even had fun with the boogie boards. As far as I can tell, I'm doing alright thus far.
I stayed out even after everybody else had gone back to shore for a drink. I actually rode on a wave! It was SO EXCITING!
After a while, the waves pretty much died and I started to come back in until one more BIG set came through. I hopped on the board again, but as I was paddling for the first wave in the set, I hit a rock with my hand. Almost instinctively (and at my buddy's previous warning), I just slipped right off the board and braced for the wave. Didn't want the board to get damaged. The wave ripped my mask off. I mad a mad dive for it, but couldn't see anything underwater without it. I couldn't have found it to save my toosh. Ironically, there were another 7 or 8 sizeable waves that came in then, so I couldn't even try for my mask again. I got thrown, wave after wave, against the rocks. I couldn't brace for it because I couldn't see them. I just tried pretty desperately to stumble along and try to get the hell out of the water, but I just kept running into rock after rock.
My buddy noticed that I was having trouble and came to the shore to look after me. I motioned to him that my mask was gone, and he understood and kept watch over me a bit. I just kept getting thrown, over and over. I landed on every rock from there to the shore, I swear. I finally started being able to brace myself against the waves and started making my way south to a clearer area to exit the water. Another wave. I stepped again, and screeched like a girl when yet another diadema urchin met my foot. Ohhhhhh gahd, this one HURT!! I reached down. The spine was still in! Fuck! I pulled it out, swore, and threw the damn spine, then made a grimace at my buddy. He knew what had happened, and I was glad he wasn't very concerned; the way I'd screeched, you'd think I'd have been attacked by a herd of sharks or something. I limped in, as best I could, then limped to our group at a picnic table.
My friend and our recently arrived buddy donned snorkel gear to go look for my mask.
My friend is more fish than man. I saw him go out, look around a bit, dive down, then made a beeline for the exit point. I figured it had been too rough for him to stay out in such shallows. As he walked up, I couldn't see anything in his hand, and had a sinking feeling that I was going to have to drop another $180 on a new mask.
As he passed, he looked up at me with a HUGE grin, and handed me my mask.
I couldn't believe it. He really is something else entirely.
I need to find a good way to give him a thank you of some sort.
So now I'm even MORE bruised and bloodied, and I have more diadema urchin spines in my foot. Ohhhhh gahd, they hurt.
AND I CAN'T WAIT TO TRY SURFING AGAIN!!!!