When I got home, Brad asked me what was the best thing about my trip. It wasn't the surf, unfortunately. I'd hoped for fun-size, user-friendly warm waves to ease me back into surfing after a long hiatus, but instead they were mostly overhead and powerful. Warm though!
The best thing was the people I met (excluding Awful Amanda). Everyone was so nice: Sherri, an accountant from Vancouver Island; Max, a neurology resident from Nova Scotia; Sara, a yoga and kite surfing instructor from France; Myra, a retiree and tandem surfer from Malibu, and her friend Ellie, an actor from LA; and Jordy from Australia's Sunshine Coast and his friend Scott who transplanted from Oz to New York.
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| Myra, who tandem surfs, teaching Max how to lift her |
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| Sara and Ellie watch Max and Myra |
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| Myra and Ellie at Nan Tal restaurant |
The coaches, Academy staff and hotel workers were all nice too, and made the camp well worthwhile and comfortable. And the medical personnel who helped me after my injury were amiable.
Unlike
Surf Simply (which now costs a small fortune),
Puro Surf Performance Academy does not have an exclusive hotel or communal meals. Instead, the hotel and restaurant are open to anyone, and surf campers get a room and breakfast included. Without the planned togetherness, it took longer to build comraderie, especially for someone like me who's not a social butterfly. The lack of a set schedule also contributed, since I felt like meals were catch as catch can and was oft eating alone (except for the cats) at odd hours. But as the week went on, I increasingly felt like part of the group. We shared laughs, stories, encouragement and experiences, and enjoyed each other's company in the lovely tropical setting.
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| Hotel restaurant cats |
Will I go back? Maybe. Due to my injury, Puro Surf did give me a credit for one day of training on a future visit in 2024. We'll see...
Update: No, I won't, given the crickets from the surf camp after I told them what my coach perhaps had not, that I was endangered at La Paz and missed surf and training time as a result.
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