After surviving my first week in Dominical I finally woke up early enough to catch some waves (white wash to be exact) before the afternoon/evening showers set in. It’s been over nine months since I’ve been on a board and it was refreshingly frustrating to go through a long overdue wash cycle courtesy of the majestic cleaning lady known as the Pacific Ocean. The current at this beach is ridiculous, it moves south and takes everything it can with it. The locals understand the current well, made very obvious by their calm paddling out in the northern part of the beach, surfing and exit at the south, followed by a pleasant walk along the shore back up north for another set of rides.
My ‘captain insano’ attempts at paddling out diagonally against the current while fighting white wash from many directions must have been a fantastic dose of comic relief to the moments of deep introspection being enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. In my mind I was going to dominate that current and the white wash with my dolphin like paddling, hop the first ride-able wave I could, and carve it like a boss. The reality was more along the lines of a soaped up gorilla having a Logrolling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logrolling_(sport)) competition with itself…Ok maybe it wasn’t that bad, but it was pretty ridiculous.
I’m ready to buckle down and take it day by day to improve. It’s worth it…to me surfing is an activity that slowly and peacefully allows the wisdom, power, and reality of the ocean to broaden and hopefully enhance the mind. The process of learning to surf continues to be my physical metaphor for being a living, conscious entity. You’re in the middle of something absolutely limitless and infinitely complex, the rules and conditions change constantly, the best that can hoped for is a glimpse of understanding or at least an idea about what’s coming. Past that just ride it out and hope for the best. Hopefully it will be fun. And maybe, just maybe, there’ll be a chance to ride again! 
I’ll be sure to take some pictures and possibly some video once I move into the mildly interesting instead of painfully goofy category of surfing expertise
P.S. I also tried a Papaya for the first time, no idea how I’ve never tried this amazing fruit before. I’d describe it as a cross between a mango and a (water?)melon and absolutely delicious.
“You’re in the middle of something absolutely limitless and infinitely complex, the rules and conditions change constantly, the best that you can hope for is a glimpse of understanding or at least an idea about what’s coming your way and try to ride it out as best you can.”
This is very similar to the way I feel when I’m hiking somewhere new and challenging.
Keep on keepin’ on.
Miss you.
Posted by Christy on October 15th, 2011.