Apr 13 2008
Welcome Back My Friend To The Show That Never Ends — Part I
Yes, even perfection can get tiresome when not taken in moderation.
I honestly don't know how those professional surfers (and many amateurs) can stay in the water surfing for 6, 7 or even 8 hours a day for weeks on end. Luckily, I had a some great quality time here in the water with absolutely fantastic conditions and a low body count in the water (pictures to come).
But after a couple of weeks going out for several hours a day, my shoulders were constantly aching from all the paddling, my chest was (and still is) bruised from laying on the board so much, and I was just generally waterlogged.
So I hitched a ride with Andy (the owner of the Karang Nyimbor Hotel) to Bandar Lampung for some shopping, to get money from a working ATM machine (which I did), and to simply take a break from paradise for a couple days.
The morning we left, I went out for a quick paddle, hoping to get a few good waves in the swell that came in overnight. It was great — I paddled out easily, missing the set waves, got to the lineup just in time for a set, caught a screamer for a few hundred meters, paddled back around and did the same thing twice more.
Total time in the water: about 10 minutes. It was short, but it was the most satisfying session I had in a week — much how I like my sex (for any hotties reading, I'm just kidding; for everyone else, yah, not so much).
Then we headed into town - a 4-5 hour drive one way, up and down and around the mountains of southern Sumatra. It's a beautiful place, hardly touched but for the occational coffee plantations, rice patties, or small mountain village.
Matt,
I think those 6 to 8 hour sessions are for the 20-something and under crowd. You are just going to have to get used to the fact that you left that age bracket some 15 years (or more) ago. Anywho, its good to hear that you are still surfing and living the dream.
Later,
Scott (Sepo from T-Rosa)