Laura "only" had to be at the yoga center from 6:00 - 9:00 AM and then again from 7:00 - 9:00 PM today (which believe it or not is less than a half day for her), so we planned to go to the beach. April and I were signed up for surf lessons with a great couple, Amy and Alex. After about half an hour of onshore coaching, we paddled out to see what damage we could do. The surf here is amazingly smooth and predictable. We had 2-3 foot swells that were perfect for April's first time and my first time in 25 years. Amy and Alex brought long boards for both of us which are easier to learn on and better for the smaller waves.
Here is a breakdown of how it went:
Matt's first attempt - no popup what-so-ever, rode on my belly the whole way in trying to remind myself how to pop up without wiping out.
April's first attempt - belly ride all the way in because Alex pushed her into a wave before she was ready and told her to just get used to the ride without trying to pop up.
Matt's second attempt - made it to my feet but it was an ugly, knees first monstrosity of a popup that no one should have to witness from the beach.
April's second attempt - perfect popup, perfect form, rides the wave all the way to the drop point and jumps off the board like she grew up in Southern California.
The rest of the hour and a half was pretty consistent with both of our second attempts - April surfed like a pro the whole time and I struggled to find my popup form and speed. I think I can safely say that I have never been more exhausted than I was by the end of the lesson from all the paddling, jumping up, riding or wrecking, and paddling out again. When I was nineteen and spent a summer living with surfers in Nags Head, North Carolina, it was all a lot less effort even though it was on smaller boards and bigger waves. Apparently I am not nineteen anymore!
While we were surfing, Laura and Fiona were hanging out on the beach and in the warm, blue water. No jellyfish! The sun was scalding so we set up a makeshift tent for Finn with driftwood and our beach blanket.
From the beach, we dragged our sun-drenched, weary selves (mostly me) across the beach road to Tico Mex for lunch.
Sounds like a whole day but we iced the cake by getting to see a sloth in our neighbor's yard. Costa Rica really is an amazing place.
Adios!