BARBADOS BAAA-BAAAY

I've decided that I have to go someplace warm every January or February. For the last three years, we've done just that. This year, my surfing buddy, Robin, suggested that we meet her in Barbados during January. As a lecturer on a British cruise line, she was joining and leaving the cruise in Barbados. She joined them in December and got off Jan . 3. Her husband Dan, Rob and I decided to meet her on Jan. 4. She had done a lot of research ahead of time and found out that surfers at her and my skill level could actually find some waves that weren't "over our head" so to speak. She had also found out about a couple of surf instructors.

Our first surf lesson was at Surfer's Point, a short 10-minute drive from our hotel. The surf school operation included three main instructors Olly, Junior and a third instructor (I think his name was Jason). They handed me a board and I went out on my own, but was advised by Olly to stay closer to the are a where they were giving lessons. I did so and was proud to say that I caught many waves that day, despite cutting my foot on the rocks my first step in the water.

Our second third lesson came from Christian Boos of Boosy's Surf School and included two great sessions at South Point and at Freight's Bay. The water was incredibly blue. The only drawback was the rocky bottoms at all the beaches and the entrance to the water, which was only accessible by walks down narrow, rocky paths. The paths weren't bad if a person was just walking them, but holding a board and trying to maneuver a path could be a bit tricky. All in all, though, the surfing was fabulous and I/we had a blast.

We were even able to rent a board one day outside of our hotel, but the surfing area at our hotel was close to shore, which meant we only had short rides while surfing. The experienced guides that were part of our hotel had no trouble making it look exciting and fun, but for me and Robin, the rides were short and the paddle-out was a tad time consuming.

One day, we hired a driver to drive us around the island. We made a stop at the famous "Soup Bowl" at Bathsheba where experienced surfers go to seek their thrills. We watched from a cliff, which made the waves look smaller than they probably actually were, and half-heartedly decided that we might have been able to surf one or two of the waves coming in. (hee hee) The waves just looked so small from up above.

Can't wait to find a new surf destination! Exploring islands and small coastal towns is definitely a lot of fun.

Winter flatness

I haven't been surfing in two weeks! I went in mid-November on a Friday afternoon and got pushed around with some rough and mushy waves, but, since then, no waves can be found. Forecasts predict waves for this weekend, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Friday. I've been staying busy though. I've decided to run a half-marathon in February despite the fact that I haven't run more than four miles in ten years. This will require some training on my part. So, I bought new tennis shoes last week and started running. I might have overdone it a little the first week. I ran Monday, Wednesday and Friday for approximately three miles. My legs and hips were hurting, but after cycling on Saturday, I was feeling back to normal. A friend from spin class has agreed to help me train, which is incredibly kind of him. This past Monday, he took me on a 5+ mile run. I didn't break any records with a 9.5 minute mile, but I am proud of the distance. Tomorrow we are supposed to do interval training, which is not something I'm really looking forward to but something that I probably need to do to increase my speed. I hope the day-after pain in my legs stops soon. My hip-opener exercises are helping. And, I think surfing will also help. Here's to hoping for waves!!!

A couple of days of waves

After several more days of flatness, the waves returned briefly on Wednesday. Fortunately, I was able to make it down on Thursday before dark for about 30 minutes and again on Friday for an afternoon of fun. Although it was a little rough and cool (wore my 3-2 because of the air temp), I still had fun. Thursday night was interesting 'cause, although there were other surfers out when I first arrived, by the time I unloaded and made it into the water, they were leaving. The only one left behind was a fisherman on the jetty, but I felt comfortable nonetheless. I started on the east side of the jetty. However, after about 15 minutes, I quickly realized that the waves might be better formed on the west side. So I moved and had several good rides. Pshewww...it made the night of surfing all worthwhile.

By Friday, the best waves were on the east side. It had warmed and I was able to just wear my springsuit. A strong current pulled east and, before I knew it, I was pulled almost to the 41st street pier. But, all in all, it was a decent day of surfing. I was a little tired from the night before, so I didn't go to the outside every time. Sometimes I just stayed near the end of the pier and caught waves from there. At the end of the afternoon, that was about all I was doing. It was great to have waves though! Tons of surfers found their way out that afternoon. At least 10 other surfers were at 43rd when I packed up to leave.

(The waves didn't last. On Saturday, it was flat. Sunday, they looked like they were going to make a comeback, but not enough for surfing. Oh well, there's always next weekend.)