For more on my surfing experiences, check out this article I wrote for the website My Costa Rica

I left Canada in November with a fear of water and an urge to surf. Interesting combination I know.

Within the first two weeks of our travels, I rented a board and Shaun took me out to “catch some waves.”

I wasn’t a total novice. I had taken a lesson during one of our first trips to Costa Rica, but that was in 2008 and I never actually stood up on the board. Needless to say, I wasn’t feeling all that confident! Shaun showed me the ropes and started pushing me into waves. After about 30 minutes I caught one. That is right, stood up, on a board, in the ocean. Woohoo! It was very exciting. My urge to continue surfing was overpowered by my urge for a celebratory beer, so after catching my little wave we headed in.

We went out again a few days later and I trudged right into the water with the utmost confidence.

It was short lived

I went to catch the first wave and distaster struck. I bailed off the front of the board (such a rookie move) and the board came down right on the top of my head. It was one of those moments, where I needed to do a body check. Anything broken? Are you concussed?

When I finally emerged from the water Shaun was standing in the waves with his hand over his mouth with that “eeesh, that didn’t look good” face. I put on my tough surfer girl bikini bottoms, wiped the tears from my eyes and headed out for more.

Despite my bravery, I didn’t surf much for the next couple months. The waves at several of the beaches we visited were really big. Not ideal for a beginner like me. It wasn’t until we were in Samara that I tried again. I took a surfing lesson with Samara Adventure Company and it was so awesome. I was riding waves like a pro at the end. You wrote an article about it, you can read all about it here. 

After a couple more sessions in Nosara, you could say that the surfing bug took a little nibble. I’m certainly not the hardcore 5 hours a day surfer like my husband, but I did fall in love with the feeling of catching a wave. Now that we are back home in Canada, I have promised I will sport a wet suit and try surfing at least once here in the cold water. Only time will tell how that will go!

I learnt a lot of tips about surfing during my learning process and I’ll be sharing them in the next post. Thanks for stopping by!

Pura Vida!

Kate

Coming Soon:
Stay tuned to the blog for the next chapter of Hostels and Hot Rollers.