I was sat in a Mexican restaurant on my first night reflecting on what the fuck I’ve just done with some new friends and we were talking about how it’s better to do something wild and go ‘oh shit’ than be sat at 80 wondering what would’ve happened if you’d just taken the risk.
I might take this philosophy a little far, if you remember back to a 2019 post where my New Years resolutions were not to hold any fear (my fears at the time being heights and the ocean) so I drunkenly booked a skydive, snorkelled the barrier reef, learnt to surf and partially completed my PADI dive course. I could now happily spend every day in the ocean and my only regret was not doing it sooner. I missed out on years doing things I now love out of fear. So now I feel so compelled towards fear, as I think most good things are on the other side of it. It’s not always worked out, but it’s always been a good story if not! I’m sure anyone who knows me has a list as long as their arm of ‘great ideas’ I’ve had, some actually being great ideas, others not so much.
It’s been a while since I’ve been in the ocean surfing, everyone says it’s like riding a bike, I actually can’t ride a bike, so find it quite fitting I am now learning to surf again from the start. Alongside my dear friend Carola who I actually took my first lesson with in the Phillipines many years ago, while Carola is out surfing the big waves, I am learning all over again and having so much fun in the process, laughing so much I don’t close my mouth as a fly of the board and have probably swallowed half of the ocean in 4 days. I have been trying to live each day with intention and goals, day one was to just stand up on the board and to have fun, once I stood up, I ditched the board and had a hilarious time body surfing (badly) and laughing with the girls in the water. Yesterday my goal was to catch 5 waves independently, I hit 5 within the first 30 minutes, then went to 10 and then even 15! At which point I collapsed on the beach but with a massive smile I’d smashed my goal.
Today, my body is a little achy, so I am taking a rest day from surfing and heading for a beach day. Currently writing this from a bus to distract myself from the fact I’m desperate for a wee and this 30 minute journey has so far taken over an hour. I couldn’t have asked for a better start, not only reconnecting with Carola who I haven’t seen since before covid, but landing in a hostel with the most amazing bunch of people. We went for a group dinner and realised that there were 18 girls, all different ages, nationalities and backgrounds but all with the exact same vibe. A fucking brilliant one. Carola and I will be moving on to a new spot tomorrow for 4 more nights before I head to bali, where hopefully I can ditch the wetsuit, but I will never forget the most amazing few days to my adventure I could’ve asked for. It feels amazing after months of stress and hard work, my biggest stress this week was that I couldn’t attend the flamenco dance class because I had a bit of heatstroke. And relax.
Until next time ✌🏻
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