22nd blog - Juan rides a barrel...

Life here has sort of settled in to a rhythm now, I hesitate to say "like every day life", because it is rare that people get to have the life I currently have every day, but you know what I mean. There's wave hunting, chillin' on the veranda with a book, beach walks, the odd social occasion and some more wave hunting.

We have had a long spell of mediocre swells and I started to feel pretty secure in my surfing, enjoying "hanging out" in the line-up chatting with cute surfer boys (;-) and working on my turns and tricks. I guess Alvaro thought I'd started to look a little too comfortable so he figured we'd give some barrels a go this morning. Ooohhh...... my..... god! I forgot what it was like to be out there and feel like you have all your nerve-endings on the surface of your body, a mix of fear and excitement in your eyes at the possibility of riding the wave of your life...or getting the pounding of your life. I mostly got the latter. Your worst enemy riding these kind of waves is hesitation. You have about a 10th of a second to pop up and turn your board into the wave before it picks you up and you are staring down a big void (please note that while 5 feet doesn't sound that big in theory, standing on top of that wave with nowhere to go is terrifying). A "normal" wave will supply you with a slope to ride down, it may be steep, but there is a surface to aim for. The "barrel" wave sort of sucks itself in, creating a tunnel between the back of the wave and the break. If you are not in that tunnel however, the wave just inhales you and you feel like your body is being torn in half as the tumble dryer starts working you. Hesitate for even a moment, and the wave wins. When that happens.... if you want to be a surfer... you paddle out and get on that next wave because you may have lost the battle but there is no way you are going to loose the war! Most people give up, and trust me, I wanted to...so bad, but Alvaro pushed me and pushed me. "I know you hate me right now but I don't care" he stated as he instructed me to get ready for the next wave. Alvaro is what gives me a shot at being a surfer, he is what is going to make the difference between riding that barrel or packing it in for cocktails on the beach. I may have hated him today but I am eternally grateful for the part he plays in my pursuit of happiness.

So, did I ever manage to catch that barrel? Well, no, not really. But Juan did. The wave came when the stars aligned and I got everything right, except I got so incredibly confused when "time stopped" (the feeling you get in a barrel). I stood up and looked back at Alvaro to try and make some sense out of it all, just to be greeted by a ton of breaking water. As I joined Alvaro in the line-up again I still hadn't figured out what that weird thing was, I was in a ton of water and yet there was no noise, no surface. Just stillness. "That Anna, was a barrel. Your board was in the barrel and you decided to stand up and look back?! Never look back, it is terrifying." Well, today may have been an "almost" but apart from bruises, sore muscles and some tears of pain, it left me with a hunger that is just not going to be satisfied until I get in that barrel!! Wish me luck!

21st Blog - 3 minutes

I love how surfers have all these methods for predicting the waves when it is blatantly obvious that no-one has any idea how it all works. "3 days after a storm is when the swell comes". "When it is flat and glassy the next day the swell will come". "If it rains out on the ocean the waves will come 2-3 hours later". "If my grandmother wakes up on her right side and eats crumpets for breakfast the waves will be big......" Well people, whatever the weather or the sleeping habits of grandparents, today the swell is finally here!Quite choppy and windy, but we had a great surf and I stayed in until my arms wouldn't carry my weight anymore...and then I stayed a little longer! Even Alvaro, who is a machine when it comes to paddling, admitted to being a little tired at the end..

So, on a particularly slow day in the water I started counting up the amount of time you are actually actively surfing a wave during a session.... In 1 1/2 hours, if you are lucky (and fit..), you can catch about 15-18 waves. You probably spend on average about 10 seconds on each one which gives you under 3 minutes of surf time...3 MINUTES!!!! In theory, it seams insane to quit your job, move half way across the world and spend 3-4 hours a day working your butt off for..... 3 minutes! Yet I sit there, waiting, willing, hoping to see a block of water starting to rise on the ocean's surface so I can get my 10 seconds. I'll sit for hours if that is what it takes, because in practise, being allowed to feel alive for 3 minutes a day is, as mastercard puts it, priceless.


However, it is now pretty clear why it takes years and years to become an accomplished surfer. Can you imagine learning to ski if all you had was 3 minutes of turns a day at your disposal?! And the humbling part is that there is nothing you can do about it. I can't make the waves come more often or get on a "lift" to take me out to the breaking point quicker. Nature allows me 3 minutes and that is that. I keep getting frustrated that I am not "snapping" or "floating" or doing aerial acrobatics yet (like my friend Durby on the photo) but when you think about it, the fact that I am now managing to surf a big boy short board (not kiddin', that is what the tiny Costa Ricans call a 7 feet board here..) on 4-5 feet waves and at least look like I have some idea of what I am doing is quite an achievement in one and a half month of 3 minutes.

20th Blog - The re-cap

This has nothing to do with surfing or life in Costa Rica, but I just discovered my brother is a genius (well I always knew he was but it was re-confirmed). He has released another fantastic song “last bottle, lost battle” that happens to be the perfect sunset on the veranda song and hence..here I am..on my veranda…as the sun is setting.. with the song on repeat. You have to check out on:
http://www.thesixtyone.com/psychicstunts/#/psychicstunts/

In my last blog I was pretty much speechless after having had my first ride on Juan (I thought I’d reiterate here, especially for any new readers, that Juan is a surfboard, not a hot Costa Rican surfer boy). At the time I just couldn’t find enough words to explain the experience so I thought I'd give you a re-cap now instead.

It was the worst day the ocean could have thrown at us; Alvaro actually said he hadn’t seen it that bad for a year. The waves where coming from all directions in frequent but irregular patterns and it was just messy. Sort of like dodge ball. You keep ducking and divin’ but never quite know where the ball is.. As always, a bunch of surfers where standing on the beach staring at the crazy French mistress looking for a sign that there was something in there worth suiting up for. Me and Alvaro where doing the same… I so longed to give Juan a go but I wanted it to be a good experience and after binch-drinking in NYC for a few days I wasn’t all that confident my body could keep up with a smaller board in these conditions. As Alvaro and I grabbed our boards and walked along the shore, he kept telling me he would be right next to me every step of the way and that I needed to get in the water and give this a go. “You are ready” he said and I decided he should be called by his rightful name – Yoda – from now on. Then the fight began. I have gained a lot of strength over the past month and Juanita was becoming a pleasure to paddle out on, but now I was back right where I started. I had to muster every single bit of strength and when that ran out half way, every ounce of willpower, to get through the break. There wasn’t really a breaking point to hang out at, instead we were dodging freak waves and paddling up and down just hoping we would be in the right spot when a surfable wave came along. It did. We where. “You have to turn hard”, which is code for “this wave is breaking really fast” was all I heard and then the world became irrelevant. All that mattered was to get on that wave and with a strong push from Yoda, I was up and dropping so fast while the foam was all around me threatening to take me down. Now I know it is hard to imagine that surfing a wave can be such an emotional and profound experience. I don’t understand it myself. But as I danced on water, as I rode up and down the wave just a hair from its breaking force, Juan following every move I made like he knew it even before I did, I cried. When Alvaro joined me afterwards he just looked at me and his eyes where saying “I know”. We turned around and began the fight through the break all over again; just to get another “hit” of that potent drug called surfing…

Now needless to say, I was rearing to get back to training after that experience so it was with great disappointment that I woke up the next morning with a fever (although a bit of a relief since it turns out the trouble with paddling wasn’t all lack of muscles). Now I am stuck in bed for the second day running. I have cashed in all my good karma and hope to get a clean bill tomorrow morning because it is secret spot day, and I am going to get on that board again darn it!!

Ninteenth blog - Parallel universes

I live in parallel universes. Seriously. There is the place called "reality number 1", a big city packed dense with energy from people with concentrated faces working 3 blackberries while making big decisions with serious consequences. Full of responsibilities and pressure to perform. Then there is "reality number 2" where the biggest decision you have to make is what bikini to wear. Nothing you do is of much consequence to anyone else and "have to" is replaced by "want to".

When you are in the first reality, it feels like the second one doesn't actually exist. Like it was some weird dream that you had before you woke up and realised it is 6 am and you have to go to the gym and drop by the dry cleaners before you have to be at work where you will probably spend 10 hours at your desk. Then you have a cocktail party followed by dinner and you are trying to squeeze in a "fly-by" at your friends birthday drinks... Reality number 1 is the only reality for most people I know. I however, have the great fortune of being able to catapult myself to this parallel universe that is reality number 2 and live in slow motion for a while. That my friends, is pure magic!

And as I am in the world of magic, it isn't strange that something extraordinary would happen on just another Tuesday...... I danced on water. I did. Juan and I danced on water and it was magical.

Eighteenth Blog - New York, New York

The Havaianas are getting exchanged for Manolos, frizzy saltwater ponytail getting replaced by blow dried, glistening hair and the bikini is left behind for a glamorous bridesmaids dress...Yes, I am going to the Big Apple for Alison's wedding!! I have to admit, as much as I love it here I am looking forward to a bit of "sex and the city" living :-) Manicures, pedicures, red wine, food that doesn't involve beans or rice... and it doesn't hurt that I have an awesome tan to show off!

In the past couple of days I have experienced the "Central American beach living" as my friend Fiorella (who is from El Salvador) calls it. First the airconditioning broke... which they fixed but then the electricity went out... which they fixed but then the airconditioning broke again.... which they fixed but then the internet broke....which they just fixed and hence I am sitting here wondering if the fridge is going to break any minute now or if the water is going to disappear.

The waves today were fun. Just small enough for me to catch on my own, but big enough to give you a little thrill as you drop. I would write more but the current was really strong today (=a lot of paddling) and then I had a training session in the evening followed by pizza with the Vista Guapa family, so I am pretty knackered now!! I'll be back on Tuesday

Seventeenth Blog - It is not writers block...

I know I have not been as good with the blog writing as I should be, but the truth is that somehow, this lady of leisure who has nothing she HAS to do has been really busy! Now that my body has gotten somewhat use to the abuse I put it through I no longer have to spend my waking hours horizontal and in agony, so the sewing machine is out and the bungalow is a creative mess... I made a beach dress a couple of days ago and one of the expats here fell in love with it so now I am making her one... and then her friend wanted one too and before you know it my place has turned in to a sweatshop :-)

The surf has been small for what seams like an eternity! Although I am hungry for bigger and faster, it is a great opportunity for me to practise catching the waves myself and I have been paddling my little heart out the past few days. Catching a wave is all about timing. The last 6-8 stokes are what makes the difference and what you have to put every last bit of power in to, so you want to conserve energy by minimizing the amount of paddling you do before those last strokes. Most people when they start out would normally try to catch the wave too early and paddle for a long time just to watch it pass them and break 20 meters ahead. When you are surfing with Alvaro however, you don't waste your time on those kind of mistakes... :-) Instead, you get to practise sitting RIGHT in the break and your decision is when to start paddling for your life... start too early and you have about 2 tons of water breaking down on you as you enter what I call the "tumble dryer". Paddle too late and the wave has already past you. Get it right and you catch the wave just as it breaks and maximize the size and speed of the drop. I have about a 50/50 success rate currently, which means I spend a lot of time in the tumble dryer... I find the best thing to do in there is to curl up into a ball with your arms over your head, pray that the board stays out of your way and just enjoy the roller coaster ride :-). Unfortunately my leg and Juanita's fen decided to have a bit of a run-in yesterday when I was caught up in a wave and hence the latest surfing injury on the photo (there is another cut further up the leg and one on the arm as well..). Could be worse though, like for the girl who got caught a bit later and popped up with a board that was snapped in half....

Sixteenth Blog - A typical "winters" day

I guess it was inevitable..the heat, 3-4 hours of training a day and a sneaky 3 glasses of wine and it was "hello heat exhaustion...". Wednesday morning my body basically decided to put on the screen saver until further notice and I had no choice but to go horizontal with buckets of re-hydration fluids for a couple of days. Luckily I did not miss much. The ocean has been grim for the past 3 days - the French mistress is in one of her inexplicable bad moods I guess.... Although starting to feel the withdrawal symptoms from not surfing for 3 (!) days, my body has come back stronger than ever after its little sabbatical. I did my usual training program this morning and for a change it didn't feel like my arms where going to fall off. There is hope that I'll be able to give Juan a go when he is ready next week after all!!

Today the locals told me "winter" has arrived here in Hermosa. I am still trying to figure out exactly what the difference is. In Sweden we would just call it a cloudy summers day.... It is true that the temperature has gone from somewhere around 32-34 to 26-28 and as I went for my morning walk I did put on a tanktop over my bikini, but it is not like I am scraping frost off my car in the morning. I have never been a fan of winter (unless there is snow and a mountain nearby..) but this I can get use to!