This week of Semana Santa the beach is no longer barren, rather each day brings more children and families who wade in the water and wander in the surf. At this moment I estimate under a hundred people in the water where just days before it was only a handful. Now, not only are there people, but music, a man selling ice cream, and lifeguards. In my list trip to Nicaragua, I was told that most Nicas do not know how to swim. The young men, under 30 are more likely to have learned the basics but generally they are not comfortable swimming. Women and girls of any age I am told, rarely if ever, know how to swim. So what you see on the beach or at the lakes is people wading in the water, running from the oncoming waves and rarely going beyond waist high water. Having grown up in the states, I iniatlly found it a bit odd, but it did not take long to appreciate the small groups of people enjoying the water despite their limited swimming abilities. The lifeguards have been brought in specifically for this week and you can guess there have been incidents of drowning or near drowning. Little swimming experience, the inconsistencies of the ocean, and alcohol are each problematic on the beach and when added together, well it is almost predictable that some unfortunate accident will occur.
The women who work here told us of the fiesta that will occur tonight in the town square. Promises of music, dancing, alcohol and fun have not elicited much excitement in the group. No one has expressly said why but I imagine it may have something to do with the high men to women ratio, the delicate balance between locals and gringos that becomes tenuous when alcohol is consumed, and the exhaustion that sets in at about 7:30pm after surfing since 5 in the morning.
Speaking of surfing, I have a new surf teacher. He is less guru and more teacher which is fine because the guru is still here and available for periodic moments of enlightenment. The new teacher, a new surf instructor who arrived directly from Hawaii, is patient, confident and direct in his teaching. This morning’s lesson did not result in my successfully standing on the board (standing on a board for under 3 seconds generally does not count and with this teacher you must be up for at least 5 for it to count), but it was successful in that I was made to ride over, in and through waves that normally I would have turned away from. As the guru told me after a frustrating session yesterday, it is time in the water that will make you a surfer not time on the waves. The former financier, the travel companion who has yet to earn a respectable moniker for this blog, is still acting as my trainer. We are out almost every day to work on my paddling, turning and balance, it is this type of training which will enable me to withstand hours in the water no matter the weather.
The teacher suggested a few additions to the training routine, mainly more balancing exercises and a few days of what can best be described as getting hit with walls of water on purpose. Of course improved balance should need no explanation and apparently it is a concern of all surfers, no matter their level. The other suggestion, that I willingly paddle and float into breaking or almost breaking waves, is logical if you remember that a significant portion of surfing is getting out past the breaking waves. Still, when laying atop a 8 foot piece of fiberglass and facing a wall of water that is at the apex of its life, the only logic accessible is “let’s get the hell out of here!”
There was a moment, as the day was coming to a close, when I looked along the beach and saw the sky. It occurred to me that since I arrived, I have looked more toward the sea than the sky. Two beautiful sunsets aside, I have watched the waves and begun to notice the subtleties of the water pouring forth. So at this moment, I looked up to see a light blue sky with scattered puffy white clouds. A wind blew, stronger than the past few days, bending the small tree branches, lifting the hammocks and sending the plastic water bottles flying among the tables. Back home this might mean rain, but here it means…well I am not sure, I need more time to know that.
Until next time...Enjoy Passover and Happy Easter!
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