PLAYA ENCUENTRO

The waves took a significant turn overnight, and the lake ocean from yesterday is no more. As the instructors catch glimpses of the ocean on our drive over, I hear a series of, “I’m so sorry, guys” from Luciano. That's not what you want to hear from your surf instructor; it is a bit choppy today. When we are getting our boards, I graduate to a real surfboard—a hard top! It is a bit stormy, so on the beach, we are briefed on what to do in the case of thunder or lightening–ride the waves back to the beach and get away from the water. Paddling out is more challenging today against the waves, and my hip bones are definitely sore (and bruised). The waves are big enough that I manage to accidentally push myself into one. I turn around, preparing to look for a wave and paddle. I am not quite ready yet, so I don’t paddle for the one coming up, thinking it will just roll over me. No such luck. The wave is powerful enough that it scoops me up, and my board and I are riding the wave. I’m not prepared to stand up, so I just throw my arms out and stay on my belly. It feels like I am flying. As I paddle back, Luciano asks, “What was that??” I respond, “Fun!” He tells me something along the lines of that’s what makes a real surfer. Does that mean I am becoming a real surfer?? I’m not sure I would go that far just yet. 

We return to Swell for another yummy breakfast, and then many of us decide to go back to the beach for the second session, although only Parker and Karmyn actually surf. Bree, Megan, and I are tired from the choppy water this morning, and Mom is off to another dance class with Anderson. We have been coming to Encuentro Beach all week, but we always go straight to the water. There is actually a lot to explore along the beach, so Bree, Megan, and I go for a little walk. We go both directions down the beach, try a little coconut baseball, and stumble upon some cows. There is a little restaurant—Pura Vida—where we order smoothies and smoothie bowls. A cute kitten joins us at our table, and Megan makes friends with it, as we warn her of fleas. 

Returning to Swell around 12:30, we take a beat and then start in on lunch plans. Bree and Megan walked by a Pho place yesterday and want to try it, so Bree, Megan, Parker, Karmyn, Sebastian, and I walk there—Pho King. The woman, who we assume is the owner, is very friendly. She is from Canada and all smiles as she asks us where we are each from and takes our order. The food is good, and it is a nice, relaxing afternoon in the AC. On the way back, we stop at an ice cream shop and pop in the surf shop next door. 

We arrive back at Swell a few minutes before 3:30pm to find the yoga instructor waiting for us. We thought yoga was at 4:00, not 3:30, so rush to get ready. The yoga session is similar to Monday, a nice stretch that somehow ends in headstands. Between all the surfing and the canyoning yesterday, my body is feeling it, so this is a nice stretch, minus the headstand that I opt out of again. 

After a shower and a little reading (I brought two books, after narrowing it down from three, and am less than 50 pages into the first), we get ready for dinner. I know, a little food to food to food today. But what can I say…we need a bit of a break. T invited us to Bahia—a food truck concept—tonight, where there will also be live music. It becomes apparent that our wires got crossed somewhere in our communication, as Sebastian tries to go left onto the main road and I try to go right. We realize that I am going for food truck concept while they are going for food truck. Easy mistake. We peel off from one another, with Bree, Megan, Karmyn, and Sebastian craving burgers from the food truck, and Parker and I going to meet Mom and T. 

Bahia is a collection of restaurant stands—food truck concept—with tables spilling out onto the beach. We find a table in the sand and start sorting through the various options. I find a vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free chocolate pie that would be my dinner if it weren’t for needing to fuel myself for surfing tomorrow. So, I get some vegan tacos and then have the chocolate pie. Inside Bahia, there is a stage with live music and people dancing in front of it. The drummer is the same middle school boy that we saw at open mic night on Tuesday. The combination of being in the sand, the waves crashing on shore, and the live music make for a very pleasant evening. T makes a good point that there are very few places that have restaurants spilling out on the beach like this; I don’t think I have seen it anywhere else. 

On the way back, T shows us Ojos and where all the dancing will start up at 10:00pm. That is past my bedtime, but it looks like a cool spot. We retire to bed as soon as we return to Swell. One more surf morning tomorrow! 

Coconut Baseball