Lost in the UK: Surfing Devon

Ever have one of those trips where even if the conditions aren't exactly perfect it's still fantastic? This would be one of those trips. I have to say, despite the forecast, the waves are pretty crap. With my luck they'll smooth out on Monday when I'm back in Frankfurt for my VERY LAST DAY. Whoohoo!

Anyhow, crappy waves aside, the trip is pretty fantastic. Great girls, great food. Even some good music. We heard a band on Friday night called Scaramoose. Totally local, and with a kind of Jack Johnson/Ben Harper sound to them.

So it's been such a trip to far. I arrived on Thursday, Kerry gave me ENDLESS crap about my board bag. Which is a lovely board bag, if you have 3 boards which I do not. Anyway, we manhandled the sucker into the car and headed to her house. Our 5am start time didn't pan out quite how we had hoped, but we still managed to get onto the road by about 6am and we missed ALL Of the Glastonbury traffic somehow and even squeezed in a quick session before the other girls arrived.

It has been incredibly windy so far. So bad in fact that the other girls tried to put up their tent and one of the tent poles BROKE! Can you believe it? Crap tent if you ask me, but anyway, they've managed to swing themselves a camper that has heat and a real shower in it so I suppose we're making out well in the end. Kerry and I are actually camping which is great. Wake up to the birds calling and the waves breaking. And when you step outside the tent you can do a surf check right on Croyde Bay right then and there. Absolutely lovely. And there are two other breaks that we've been surfing as well, Putsborough Sands and Saunton Beach. The surf culture here in North Devon is truly amazing. There are surf boards and surf shops everywhere. When picturing the dream world of surfing, it's always been SoCal or Hawaii that really pop into my head, but man are they hardcore here. And they have so many places to go. Incredible.

Anyhow, I'm so glad I was able to squeeze this in before I leave Europe. Hopefully I'll be able to find more opportunities to travel with her even when I'm back in the States. . . .

Lost in Belgium: Surfing in Oostende

After traipsing around Brugge for a few hours, Nick and I decided on a whim to head up to the coast and dip our toes into the North Sea in a beachside town called Oostende. Immediately when we pulled into the center of town it was clear that this place was a summer tourist beach destination, probably in the order of say the Jersey shore or Rehobeth beach in Delaware. But because it's only the end of May, it was still pretty quiet.

We got down to the shore and my first thought was, 'Why didn't I bring Kyma!' That would be my surfboard, yes, Big Red actually has a name. Anyway, the waves weren't amazing, but they were there and just as I was starting to wonder if anyone surfed in this town, Nick looked over at this van parked along the boardwalk and said to me "Hey, do you think those guys are surfers?" They were pulling on wetsuits, so my bed was yes. And sure enough about 30 minutes later, there was a solid handful of guys out in the water, leaving me on the short to wade up to my ankles and get all windblown. Sad, but honestly if I had known you could surf up there, I'd have probably been making weekend trips there for the last two months. Oh well, next time I suppose. First I have to learn to read the weather charts so I can actually make it worthwhile. Nice to know there's surfable water nearby though.

Oh, and Oostende was actually quite cute, even though it was touristy. After he managed to drag me away from the surfers, we walked down near the harbor and were met with the site of fish stand upon fish stand upon fish stand. Most of them were selling a combination fresh fish, smoked fish and some kind of fish stew usually. I walked away with a lightly pickled raw herring and a smoked herring that I thought might be kind of like the smoked whitefish I love having with my dad at home. (FYI: It turned out to be quite tasty, but also completely whole. I've never had to clean out a smoked fish before but this one, well lets just say that in addition to de-boning it, I also had to clean out the innards)

We ended up having an amazing meal of mussels before we left. I mean, I don't think it's possible to go to Belgium and not has the trifecta of foods it's known for: Mussels, Beer and Waffles. Oh and chocolate. I can't forget chocolate. Because I love chocolate almost as much as I love little critters that live in shells for eating.

Lost in Portugal: Surf Castle

So it's hard to fly all the way to Portugal, which has some of the best surfing in Europe along the coast, and not at least attempt to get in the water for a few sessions. Unfortunately this entire weekend was massively blown-out with super high winds, mostly coming on-shore Saturday and Sunday. But today, today it is better. After a grey start this morning, we headed out from Sintra to Peniche so I could once again tempt fate in the water.

I had heard about this place in Portugal called the Surf Castle from a couple I met in Famara in March. So when I knew I was heading to Lisbon, I looked them up and got in touch to see if I could get a local heads up on the wave conditions and also maybe score a lesson. Still lots to learn after all.

The owner, Joao, was incredibly helpful, besides giving me the insider update on the conditions (which led to me NOT dragging my board along with us this weekend), he also helped me set up a session with an instructor named Pedro. All in all, a pretty sweet afternoon although I was only able to get a single, hour and a half long session in and the water is sooo much colder than it was in Famara. Once you start moving though you don't really notice, besides it's going to be a lot colder in Chicago this winter. Yes, if you look very closely at that little black dot in this picture, that is me, actually surfing. Albeit not as well as I would have liked . . .

The waves were small, but Pedro said it was the glassiest day they had all weekend, and besides I wasn't complaining, it's not like I can afford to be picky after all.Anyway, even a short session is good for me. The more time in the water the better I say! Gotta work on my timing paddling into the waves though. Practice makes perfect!

So a funny bit of the day actually took place over a late afternoon snack that Nick and I had with Pedro and his girlfriend. They asked me how I had found out about the the Surf Castle, as I related my Lanzarote story, talking about this kind of crazy Italian guy and his Irish girlfriend, they said, "You know Allie and Jenny? They're hysterical. They're coming back in September."

Not that I was really that surprised that they remembered those two, but Pedro even commented on Jenny's board, which isn't really her board since Allie rides it ALL the time. But anyway, love the small world connections.

Surf School Stories Part II: Last Night Out

What a week it's been, new board, no clothes for 8 days and a couple of wonderful new friends.

Before I get to our big night out, I supposed I should elaborate slightly on my 8 days without clothing situation. When I arrived in Lanzarote last week, I was amazed to discover that while the airline had managed to deliver my surf board to me in one piece, they had some how left my duffel bag with everything else in it behind. Keeping in mind that the plane I flew from Frankfurt to Madrid and the plane I flew from Madrid to Lanzarote were the exact same one I was pretty amazed it had happened, but oh well. So after a few days of being told the bag was on the island and would be delivered only to have it never show up, the airline finally confessed on Sunday that they had NO IDEA where my bag was. So I called. Every day five times a day until finally they asked me for a list of "Identifying Objects" in the bag so they could put out a search to the entire European network to see if they could locate it.

Long story short, after calling for days on end, the owner of the surf school finally just swung by the airport on Friday only find my bag and have them telling me that it had been sitting there for at least THREE days. Yup. Three days, and every time I had called the airline had claimed that they had no idea where my bag was but they were looking for it throughout the European network. I hate to say this, but honestly, so Spanish. Fortunately I got everything back just in time to leave, but it did mean that I was able to spend a day surfing on the fin set-up that came with my board. So much better. I am in love with my new board.

So last night, my very last evening in Lanzo, I went out with a couple of new girls, Kerry and Suzie who just arrived on Thursday to this bar/restaurant/club kind of thing called Lago Mar. Apparently this place was built for the actor Omar Sharif and before he ever moved in he lost the house in a bridge game. I don't know much about that, but the space was incredible. It was built into the lava flows and is this huge complex of tunnels and lagoons and caves.

Plus the bar was fantastic. The bartender, Nino, was from Columbia but learned English from some American that had taught down in South America. Such a funny guy, and he made absolutely excellent capirinhas and mojitos. Who doesn't love a tasty drink on a Saturday night?

George and his newest girl showed up around 11pmish, just in time for the DJ to get things going in the bar. A few shots of rum, a few capirinhas and a lot of pictures of shoes later and I managed to find myself lounging down by one of the lagoons staring up at the stars. I guess there was only so much excitement I could handle in one night.

I have to say, it was a totally different Lanzo experience than Christmas/New Year's was, but it was still a good one. Quiet, reflective, sans my own clothes (you learn a lot about yourself when that happens by the way), and major progress in my surfing, or at least that's what I thought. I did learn to do a flick jump this time around! For those who don't surf that means I can now get up with out using my feet, I can basically just kind of flick myself into the air. Pretty exciting.

Anyway, I'm off now, already at the airport, and although I didn't manage to get a morning surf in today with Kerry, I did manage have breakfast with George, his new girl, Suzie and Kerry before heading off today. I do love the fact that I keep coming away from these surf trips with new friends. I'm hoping to get to Croyde this June with Kerry before I have to head back to the States. Oh well, gotta board the plane now, I'm homeward bound to rainy Frankfurt.

Surf School Stories Part II: Learning to Ride the Egg

So I've been back in lovely Caleta de Famara now for about a week with Tim, Simon and George attempting (and I used that in the broadest possible way) to learn how to ride the rather expensive piece of sporting equipment I purchased after my last trip here over Christmas/New Year's.

On the one side, I'm utterly relieved to know that my passion for surfing was not simply a passing fancy. I completely adore this sport. I think it's one of the first times in ages that I've fallen so completely for something this quickly and enjoyed it this much even though it takes a incredible amount of effort. But there you go, I'm in love with surfing and particularly my lovely red board.

So about this board. It has been so much harder to learn to ride it than I thought it would. Compared to the big long boards (all over 9ft and super heavy) that I learned on last time with Tim my board is a Takayama 7'6" Egg and it's super, super light and much more maneuverable. I think it's taken me full five days to just learn how to paddle out and sit on my board let alone ride it with any sort of grace, but I tell you when I do get those few and far between waves and I'm up and ride, it is a sweet, steady and FAST board. It's perfect. I have this odd feeling that many of my vacations in the coming years will be surf oriented. Fortunately lots of the places I want to visit also happen to have good surf. . . .

Unfortunately the last few days have been pretty miserable conditions, everyone in the school has been having what Tim calls a good "grovel" out in the onshore mush we've been seeing. I'm off today, but think I'm going to go have a surf with Tim, his girlfriend and his youngest son at one of the other breaks on the island. Should be fun. It looks pretty miserable and cold out right now but that's what wetsuits are for.

Speaking of wetsuits now that it seems the airline has completely lost my duffle bag with all of my clothes in it, I believe I may invest in a wetsuit. Might as well if they'll have to pay for it, right?

Who says there's no surfing in Chicago?

Surf School Stories: Bittersweet final moments in Famara

Well, my two weeks in Famara have finally come to a close. I can't quite believe how fast the time has gone. It seems strange actually to think that by tonight I'll be back in Frankfurt getting ready for my next trip to Lausanne for work. I feel like I could stay here forever. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that, so after a quick coffee with Anne today I'll be heading to the airport for what I hope to be a manageable trip home.

It's been an amazing two weeks. Completely re-energizing. I think we've got it all wrong in America when it comes to vacation time. We wear our overzealous worklife like a badge of honor, but finally after having taken a real vacation I feel like I am ready and capable of going back to work with energy and perspective. Something I think is a pretty valuable commodity in todays work world.

But enough of my rant on how I truly do believe that we as American's work far too much and don't actually know how to disconnect. Let me rant for a moment on how fantastic my surf experience has been. I have met the most incredible people from Ireland, Britain, Australia, Romania, Italy, Canada, you name it. I have people to visit all over the place now and it's fantastic. Plus I have a brand new sport that I will be pursuing with a passion. I've already hit Tim up for recommendations on what type of surf board I should get for myself.

I can only say the best things about Tim and his surf school. If you happen to desire to learn to surf, then this school in the Canary Islands is the place to go: Surf School Lanzarote. Amazing coaches, great conditions and warm water.

I definitely want to make a trip back as soon as I possibly can.

Surf School Stories: Last day surfing and almost back to reality

The last day has finally ended. I hate to say it, but it was crap conditions for my last day. A massive storm system had created big surges of water on the beach where we have the course so the conditions were such that I couldn't do much more than just play around in the white water and fight the massive currents running along the beach. Actually I think I might have spent more time pulling my board out of the water and walking back up the beach so I could stay in our surf zone than I actually did surfing. What are you gonna do though? I mean it's not like I can control the wind, although that would be kind of fun. But that's ok, somehow I still had a blast falling in the water as my feet got sucked out from under me.

So part of the whole surf course is being given a rating at the end according to the British Surfing Association Standards. They come in three levels (Bronze, Silver, and Gold) and each level gets broken down further. I managed to make Bronze level 3 which means that I can drop down an unbroken wave and then ride the white water. I'd been hoping to make Silver level 1, but the conditions just weren't right for it. Oh well, gives me something to shoot for next time I do surf school, which hopefully won't be too far away. I'm completely hooked on this sport. I'll never be able to do massive tricks or maneuvers, but I think I might be a decent surfer. Good enough to at least get out and play around on a fair amount of waves and have fun.

Tonight is Jenny (our Swedish Amelie)'s 22nd birthday, so George and I have gathered up a bunch of people from the group to take her out to celebrate properly. I think we're having a big dinner first at one of the local spots and then off to, you guessed it, the Surf Bar. Do we ever go anywhere else?

Regardless, a great way to end the trip.

Quick shout out to Nick: Happy Birthday! Sorry I can't be there to celebrate with you, but I promise we'll do something fun when I get back to Frankfurt.

Surf School Stories: Big drops and near death

Today was a big day. I was out on a long board and Tim paddled a group of us out back together. Apparently the waves are supposed to be getting really big and really rough the last few days I'm here, so this is one of our last chances to get out the back and paddle onto some unbroken waves.

I think today is the first time that I realized just how rough this sport can be. Exhilarating but rough. The waves were pretty big today (at least by my reckoning), and as Tim brought us out back, I got caught slightly behind the group. I paddled and paddled until my arms felt like they were going to fall off, but I missed the lull between wave sets and suddenly the waves were just piling on. I rolled under wave, after wave, after wave. It felt like and unending pounding with a massive struggle taking place between me and my board as I tried to hold on under the tumbling water. Finally, finally another lull set in and I was able to make the rest of the paddle out.

Wow. I dropped onto one wave right from the peak. I felt like I was staring down a cliff in the Cinque Terre it seemed so high. Before I could even process it, I was on my way down and the board kicked right out from under me. I was overwhelmed by it all. I couldn't wait to get back out and try again.

And then I had my near death experience. The waves pounded with unceasing force and I paddled desperately towards the surface only to realize that both I and another girl in my group, Mary, were sitting right under the crashing peak of another wave that tumbled us together like we were the most insignificant flecks of seaweed. We gasped for the surface together and started to clamber onto our boards when we realized that the wave had twisted our leashes together and another wave was about to bear down on us right then.

As soon as we came back up for air again, Mary pulled off her leash and we hauled our bodies on top of the boards. Mary started to turn back but ended up rallying and together we turned around, determined not to be shown down by a few waves.

It makes me appreciate just how much you are at the mercy of Mother Nature when you're out playing in the waves. And it gives me a much better idea of how long I can actually hold my breath. It's funny how the first time you go down and you scramble for the surface of the water, you panic a little, but after that, you relax. Somehow I knew that I would get up to the water's edge before my breath ran out, even if was going to be pounded by another wave as soon as I broke the surface.

Afterward, exhausted on the beach, Tim had us running drills to learn how to make a series of turns on an unbroken wave (I managed to fall over on the sand during my turn and broke into peals of laughter, as did everyone else as they laughed at me lying on the beach, all three coaches included). Over lunch, Mary and I both agreed that we are now quite good friends given out shared near death experience and we should plan a surf trip this summer. I think might actually try to go to Ireland to surf with her sometime in June if I can break away from the work madness.

What a day.

Lost in Spain: Lanzarote- The Hawaii of Europe

Today I got up early to head to a resort called La Santa, it is the sight of 3 world class waves. On my way out, Tim poked his head off the balcony to see if I knew where I was going (which I didn't of course, he then proceeded to direct me to the telephone box, where I was to turn right down a dirt road until coming to a little white church where I should turn left. Amazingly I actually made it there). He mentioned that Lanzarote is considered the Hawaii of Europe with 15 world class waves located around the island, three of which he said would be great today.

So off I went. And after following his cryptic landmark directions, I arrived. And what a sight it was. The video above is of a wave called El Quemau, basically it looks like Pipeline in Hawaii and it was thumping today.

Just next to it are two other waves called La Izquierda (a long left breaking wave off a rock reef I think) and La Derecha which is a point break. All three spots had lots of surfers on them today while I was there, and there was actually a guy with a massive camera shooting guys surfing El Quemau. I know that I'll never surf anything like that, but wow. It was an incredible sight to see, really. I could have sat there all morning long if I didn't have to get back for my lesson.

You can read all about the different spots on the islands here.

Surf School Stories: On the green wave

So today, Simon, one of the surf coaches, took me “Out the Back” meaning paddled me out beyond the white water waves to where I might be able to attempt catching a ‘green’ or rather unbroken wave.

Let me just tell you that paddling out the back is so much harder than it looks. OK, I have to admit that my first paddle out wasn’t that bad because we caught the rip tide out so we didn’t have to work that hard but I was still exhausted. Of course once we got out there, Simon said “Wow, that was easy, but we didn’t get to work on any of the rolls under the waves, so we’ll have to catch a wave in and do it again.” Ugh, but so right. Practice makes perfect after all. I will be in much better shape when I finally make it back to Frankfurt.

I did manage to catch one green wave before we headed in, I didn’t quite stand up because I was so surprised, but my god what a rush! I can’t wait to do it again. I really hope the conditions stay favorable the rest of the time I’m here.

Surf School Stories: Bang up on a long board

Finally I’ve moved off the soft training boards onto a proper surf board. It’s about time too because those Swellies have been tearing up my hands the last few days. I’ve had to wear latex gloves to keep from completely ripping them to shreds. Entertainingly enough, it makes me look like I’m about to give someone a medical exam of sorts.

Anyway, today I moved off the foam training board and got put on an enormous 9+ foot longboard, which means I had a lot of surf board to handle in the waves today. But it was so much fun! I fell off more times than I could count, but by the end I was up and riding again although I didn’t get to do the big paddle out with Aari, my new best competitive friend. He’s a fantastic Australian guy from Sydney who happens to be living in London right now. But he’s annoyingly fast at picking up surfing for someone who’s never done it before.

Oh well, always good to have a little competitive spirit to push you further.

Today was such fun though. I love playing on a hard board although I have this feeling I am going to come home with immense bruises all over my body because of it. So nice to feel alive again.

Surf School Stories: Ballerina on a board

Well, I’ve earned myself the nickname ballerina from George, one of the three coaches, for how I dance around on the board. I can’t quite seem to plant my feet once I’m up on them. But regardless of my challenges staying upright, I’m loving the experience.

Surfing seems to combine some of my favorite activities, the obvious ones of course, swimming and surf, but also things like yoga and skiing. The element of balance and speed combined is unbelievably fun. I have a sinking feeling that I may be acquiring a new piece of sports equipment before I leave the island.

Surf School Stories: My first day

For the last few months I’ve been itching for a vacation that lasts longer than a four day weekend, so when I realized that all of my clients would be on holiday over the Christmas/New Year’s period I decided to seize my chance and escape for two weeks. Although Asia was first on my list, the flight was so incredibly expensive that I went to my fall back, surf school in the Canary Islands. For less than the price of a ticket to Hong Kong I have managed to secure myself two weeks accommodations, 10 days of surf school and airfare to Caleta de Famara, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain.

And here I am, I arrived yesterday and I have just finished my first day of surfing. So far, I love it. The coaches are fantastic. Two guys from the UK, both what you’d imagine surf instructors to be, typical beach blond boys who must be somewhere between 26 and 30 years old. But hugely knowledgeable about their sport. I’ve been so impressed already. And! I’ve actually managed to stand up one of the soft training boards. Not bad for having never surfed before.

It’s funny how after months of having no time to do anything active, I find myself so comfortably, physically exhausted at the end of the day. I really do miss this feeling when work gets too crazy and hectic to do more than just stumble home and fall into bed. I think it’s a good reminder that there’s more to life than just sitting behind a desk all day, every day for 12+ hours at a time.

I have a good feeling about this holiday.

Oktoberfest 2007: Day 2

OK, I think we were all a bit in need of a calmer start to the day, and possibly some recovery from all of the beer we consumed last night. Thank heavens our reservation for the tent tonight isn't actually until the night.

So instead we have spent the day wandering through Munich. Top on the list was a surf spot (yes I know, I didn't believe it either) in a park that TJ wanted to to and check out. And sure enough, there it was, a bunch of guys and a girl or two in wetsuits surfing in a river. I guess what happened was that a log got lodged in the river one day and someone figured out that it was surfable. So now they've actually secured it under the water with cables so that it is always present. It was pretty unbelievable but cool to watch.

After a very leisurely afternoon, we headed back to the hotel to get back into our now, very unattractive smelling clothes (amazing how beer can permeate fabric, really amazing) and piled back downstairs or round two of the Oktoberfest madness.

Once again, the pictures tell the story so much better than I possibly can. But suffice to say it was another night of crazy drinking and dancing and singing. The tent we were in was a bit more exclusive than the Hoffbrau tent from last night, a bit more civilized but so much fun. And the food was unbelievable. If I were ever to go back to Oktoberfest, this is where I would want to have a reservation. Much more fun in some ways than the first day.

Of course, no Oktoberfest night would be complete without at least a brief stop at the carnival rides, unfortunately this time we managed to drink until all of the rides had closed. So instead part of the group went off to the arcade, I guess that's what I'd call it, where apparently Marc, my fearless and oh so talented brother, schooled the rest of the boys in how to play hoops. Talk about family pride.

Anyway, all in all a pretty amazing Oktoberfest. I don't think we could have had a more wonderful group of people to hang out with for this trip. Hopefully Vienna will be just as much fun (albeit with slightly less alcohol), and even more so, I'm very seriously hoping that this cold that is threatening me doesn't actually turn into anything. At least I have the train ride to sleep on. . .