Shortboards & Puppies

The waves are back in San Juan and I was there last weekend to catch some. I set out alone as my companions bailed out because of an emergency, which I thought would be a bummer but the weekend turned out great.

I tried using my newly-bought second hand shortboard but the results were dismal. My instructor's assessment was that it was too early for me to transition to shortboards, and I should instead use progressively shorter longboards until I get used to short boards.

I did managed to surf a lot using longboards - at one point I surfed for like 3 hours straight. The conditions were very good so I decided, what the heck, carpe diem! I was able to do lots of long rides, and I even managed to wall at one point. And the best part? A veteran surfer, a Japanese who founded the first surfing school in San Juan (it was said that he discovered surfing in that town), actually complimented me with my surfing!

After surfing for the last time on Sunday I went to have beer (and watch the sun set) with some folks I met there: Mikael, an Austrian and his Filipina girlfriend Jessie [and their mutt, Filaus], and an American student, Dawn, who is working for an environmental NGO in Baguio. We ended up having brewskies until about 10 pm, after which we parted ways.