Chica Brava 2010

I'm having a blast in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua! For the second year, I treated myself to the Chica Brava Surf Camp, and it is fantastic. Not only do we have warm weather and sunny skies, but we have great surfers sharing their expertise with us. This year, our instructors are Anna from Holland and Candace from California. Both can surf long boards or short boards, and each offer a little something that the other may not.

Although I have stood many times on the board while here, I still haven't conquered the complete surfing experience, which includes catching a wave on the outside and riding it down the line. Some may have the ability to catch them on the outside within the first year of surfing, but I haven't been able to do so yet. Maybe I should feel worse about it, but I don't. I know that when it all starts to click for me, I'll be successful. I won't give up. I'm getting really close. I just need to master the pop-up. I'm not getting up quickly enough. I watched many of the more experienced surfers today, and came away with some great techniques. One of the women in our group is from Hawaii and is very quick, fluid and smooth with her pop-up. It's what I aspire to as I surf. Oh well...only practice will help.

Today we went out on the boat, which requires us to swim into shore, then surf and, then, a couple of hours later, requires us to swim back out to the boat. We didn't have as far to go to get back to the boat as last year. And, I was able to do it rather easily. Most of the girls got tired out and opted out of the next beach, but I decided that I needed as much practice in the waves as possible and jumped back in when we got to our new destination. The waves weren't as good there, and after I wiped out a couple of times, our two instructors and our wonderful surfer from Hawaii decided that the waves were closing out. So, we just swam back out to the boat.

Pictured above are my fabulous surf instructors Anna and Candace.

Sea urchin spines and the podiatrist

My foot started swelling about two weeks ago...one month after I stepped on the sea urchin down in Mexico. It doesn't hurt badly, but it hurts just enough for me to wonder how it will do once I start surfing in Nicaragua. I finally decided I needed to see a doctor, which resulted in a visit to my primary care physician, an x-ray at the Memorial Hermann Imaging Center and a visit to a podiatrist. My doctor recommended Dr. G as my podiatrist. Amazingly, after I made the appointment, I got a text message from a friend of mine who insisted I visit her boyfriend podiatrist. As it turns out, Dr. G was her boyfriend. So I packed up my x-rays and headed to Dr. G's office. He explained that the sea urchin spine has little thorns on them. Sure enough, once we looked closely at the x-rays we could see where it had come off. He explained that it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack if he were to go in looking for it. So, the best we can do is treat it with super-strong antibiotics. I asked if he thought I'd be able to make it on my trip to Nicaragua and he said that as long as I don't feel pain in my groin muscle and that my foot was not swollen to the size of a grapefruit, I should be okay. Of course, immediately I thought my foot was bigger and the pains started shooting up to my groin muscle. :-) I started the medicine immediately, and after four days, the swelling has gone down considerably. I am, however, still having some pain. I sure hope it goes away soon. I'm on my final countdown to the big "Surf Nicaragua" dream trip. Four, three...

Winter Surfing Sucks

Wetsuits keep you warm when the water is cold, but they sure are cumbersome, not to mention, difficult to get out of when they are wet. They imply winter because they exist. I've been wearing a 5-4 since November, and I'm definitely ready to revert back to a 3-2 or a springsuit. I've been hearing how great the waves can be if you are in the water just as a norther goes through. I haven't been there at the right time though. I'm either surfing just before it comes through or just after it starts to calm down. I only got to surf one day last weekend, and I didnt' get to surf today (Friday). Last Sunday's surf was odd. I wasn't mentally in the game, and my new pop-up prevented me from getting a good ride. However, I think in the long run that my new pop-up will pay off. One mishap with Brian's board, though, left me badly bruised. He let it go to tell me something just as a wave pushed it into me. He felt bad about it, but not as bad as I felt when it pounded me in the kidney. The purple bruise covers part of my lower back and feels sore, but I know it will heal.

I should have listened to my heart last week and stayed out of the water. I think another kind of workout would have been better for me. I debated whether to go down today or not. Waves were rough most of the morning, but when the north wind came through, the waves were good...or so I heard. In the end, though, I'm glad I didn't go. I had to work later than usual, and I had errands to run. I wish I had some great philosophy to share about knowing in one's heart when timing is off, but I don't. However, I guess "to thine ownself be true" works. I need to always remember to listen to myself.

SUNDAY (2/28) update -- No surf today! The south winds didn't kick up enough surf. So, I rode my bike instead. It was a great ride.