I was starving for this. Now it is over, and for the moment my cup is full. We escaped winter for six days, Andy, Ryan, Deb and I. It was a roller coaster ride of joy and despair. Traveling makes one rich, no matter how you measure things. I surfed every single day. The above photo is one I took that first afternoon we surfed at Wilderness.
I will start with the first day, and I will try to pare it down to the main points. It all began at 6 a.m. on January 27th, when I pulled up at Andy's house. Andy's dad was waiting to drive us to the Orlando airport, a generous gesture that was not lost on me. This was the easiest trip I have probably ever been on, in terms of actual logistics.
On the plane, a large Puerto Rican woman sits next me. No sooner do we take off then she is unwrapping something that I notice is a McDonald's bag. I feel like someone is staring, and I look over to see Andy, Deb, and Ryan, all laughing at me. "What? " I ask. Andy leans over and says they feel sorry for me, a vegetarian, siting next to someone who is inhaling a sausage biscuit... excuse me, two sausage biscuits. Next thing I know, she is asking the stewardess in Spanish to heat them up for her. About ten minutes pass, and the stewardess returns with a seatbelt extension. Andy tries to stifle his giggling. I don't even mind her elbow pushing into my space. She smiles at me, she is happy, and I smile, too. I'm on my way to Puerto Rico!
The plane lands on time, mid-afternoon, and before we know it, we have been upgraded to a bigger car that the boards fit into, and we are fifteen minutes away from what we have been waiting for. As we bump along the sienna dirt road, we can see the aqua ocean! White water! Our hearts are beating fast.
As we pull up to the break called" Wilderness," I can see that the waves are overhead, a solid four feet, and we are scrambling. There are only about six guys out, we can't believe it. It's a bit windblown, but no matter. It's offshore! A local sits in the shade and fills in the details. The crowd just left, and it is ours for the taking. I watch a guy paddling in to see where to paddle out. A scary reef lines the shore, but I see one narrow keyhole, about five feet wide, of sand, where we can paddle out.
There is nothing like that first entry into warm water after you have been in a full suit and boots! I want to freeze time. We are filled with joy at this moment, looking into the crystal clear water, feeling our arms move unrestricted and free! Glorious, just glorious, seeing the walls of water moving in outside, aquamarine and groomed by an offshore wind. The first wave was magic, as the Dominator came alive under my feet. I heard Andy hooting, as he rode one all the way inside.
We had it uncrowded for about an hour and a half, until the after work crew showed up. Then it was off to check into our room, and a fantastic dinner at the Tambuu where we laughed and talked under the palm trees in the night as a gentle tradewind made its way through a scene that will remain.
Deb promises: photos are coming...
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