Saturday, July 16, 2011

Sumatra!


So, we have been in Sumatra a few days now and it was no easy feat getting here.  It began with a 7 hour (insane, winding, passing around blind curves at 60 miles an hour) drive from Arugam Bay to Colombo, then slept on floor for a few hours in airport, then a 4 hour flight to an airport (can't even remember which one) then stayed there for about 8 hours, then an hour flight to another airport, didn't have time to sleep there but waited a few hours to check in, then a half hour flight, then waited 3.5 hours for the ride that never showed, then another 7 hour drive through the jungle.  Needless to say we were exhausted for a while.

Sumatra is BEAUTIFUL! The coral reefs are really pretty.  The waves (as I expected) are very heavy.  The place we are currently staying for the first week (Mandiri Surf Club) is not quite what we expected. I have re-named it "Boys Club" because besides the girl who runs it, I am the only girl here (with 14 guys) (not totally complaining about that).  There are 2 toilets, no sinks at all and the shower is a pipe with a hole that hangs from the ceiling (i prefer the outdoor shower at this point).  It's not all that bad just took some getting used to.  The food is good and fresh but a lot of starches and carbs.  

The boys have been surfing the main point which was really big the first few days (out the back it was well overhead).  I surfed Mandiri beach break the other day and got a few waves. Also got WORKED.  It's a very very heavy beach break, and the waves are bigger than they look from the beach.  It breaks very shallow on the inside so there were a few duck dives where I was pinned under my board on the sand (Surprise!).  That always bothers me because if anything, I feel I am a strong duck diver.  I managed to get a few waves anyways before heading in from that session. It was however, enough to put a little fear into me as to how heavy the waves are this side of the world.  I am trying not to let that shake my confidence but at the same time I do not really want to get worked like that again any time soon.

To get around, we have been riding motorbikes with surf racks.  For now, I am just riding on the back of Danny's bike.  It's funny, I am so nervous about them and you drive around and see a pregnant woman and her 3 small kids all on one bike, no helmets and a sack of groceries.   The best part about driving around is that all of the little kids are so stoked to see you.  They yell out "Hello Mister!" to you and try to high five you while you cruise bye.  Pretty fun!

That pretty much sums it up so far.  We are meeting a lot of great people here which is always an advantage of traveling and surfing.  Before the end of the week we are going to ride elephants! I will update again when I can and add photos (the internet is very slow here so it has been difficult to be in touch).  

I hope you all are creating your own adventures this summer!

~Peace and Waves~

Rachel

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