Surfing in the sunset
- Nov 29, 2014
- 3 min read
Current location: 9°36'54" N 84°37'46" W Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
It’s hard to describe bliss in words, but paddling out towards the setting sun in a bright orange sky gives an image of what it could look like. I woke up 6 am on Friday to find dark skies and a small but steady rainfall. That’s when I made up my mind to go surfing for the weekend. I found a cheap hostel online and set out to catch the bus. As easy as that. Two hours later I was walking on the beach talking to a guy about renting a surfboard. He talked me into another surf-class and I figured its money well spent in the beginning. It turns out that he was a pretty good surfer that he had competed a lot in the past, and his lesson did indeed help me to catch waves easier. I was invited over to his house for a genuine tico-meal with two of his friends, I was hesitant at first, but then decided to take advantage of this opportunity to hang out with some locals. Professional athletes are interesting, but more so, very hard to find. Most of the time they will not flag their profession and they are always very humble. This guy took himself a little bit too seriously, and so I decided to go surfing with another company the next day – which brings us to today. I woke up at 6 am after not having slept many hours at all. I had a headache (not caused by alcohol) but was determined to follow through with my plan to go surfing the entire day. At 8.15 I hit the water on a smaller board than the day before – an 8 ft board. After an hour or so I said hi to another guy lying on his board in the water. He had the stereotypical surfer look and judging from the size of his board he was probably at least better than me. He asked me where my rash-guard was from, the ActionQuest one that says “STAFF” in enormous letters on the back. I explained to him that I was a scuba instructor working on sailing boats in the BVI, but that I might have become a surfer had I been given the chance earlier. I guess that watching my pure joy of sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing at catching waves was enough to break the ice. We spent an hour or two surfing, him giving me amazing tips on which waves to go for and me just being an entertaining but dedicated newbie at surfing. I told him that I think I would do better on a smaller board, and he offered for me to use his 7ft 3” board. I did do better, and I impressed him because he though I wouldn’t even be able to stand up. The smaller the board the more similar to snowboard – something I know how to do. It made sense in my head and it seemed to have worked. We grabbed lunch, and it wasn’t until I found magazines upon magazines with him in them that I understood that he indeed was a professional surfer, and a good one at that. After a nap, I went back to the beach for round two. We hung out with two local kids and he spent most of the time helping them to catch waves. In my eyes he is what sport is all about – just enjoying it, all that it can give. I wish I had been more like him when I played hockey, I probably would have done better. In case you’re curious, his name is Josymar Fuentes and I hope that he can keep surfing as a pro because he deserves the success with the love he has for the sport. Hey Josy, if you're reading this - thanks a lot, I had an amazing time, and I hope you don't mind that i posted a video of you surfing:
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