As winter drew in, it was time to embark on another adventure to the tropics, this time – Indonesia, a place I’d heard so much about and always wanted to explore.
I had just spent three months in North Africa – Morocco, as the in house yoga instructor at a surf camp. I’d experienced an epic autumn of delicious right hand point breaks, where I was able to work on my back hand surfing and hang out with a great group of local surf guides who all shared a bit of their knowledge. Now it was time to move on.
The journey was to start just before Christmas in the Big Smoke. Packing my bags and loading up my boards onto a flight from Agadir to London, I soon found myself feeling like a fish out of water, lugging surf boards and back packs through the heart of the city, hustle, bustle, buses and of course getting ‘tubed’ 🙂
Even though I was miles from the sea it felt good to have a bit of chilly festive fun, knowing that a flight awaited on Boxing Day to whisk me and my boyfriend Ben Hall away.
Packing for this journey took as much time as usual – my whole life in a couple of bags. Snorkels, fishing rods, spear guns, spare leashes, fins, reef boots, bikinis, rash vests, camera equipment, lap tops, Go-Pro, yoga mat. I thought I had it all until – d’oh… No wax – a 2 hour mission around the city on Christmas eve and luckily we got our hands on some!
Having spent five days in London, my wallet soon reminded me that I’d spent the same as what would probably sustain me for a month in Indo.
Full of Christmas cheer and having drunk lots of beer, we made our merry way across the globe. 24 hours of airport transfers to finally land in the final destination of Sumatra. Thinking the journey was nearly over, we hopped in the car that was waiting for us, only to be told that we still had a 6-hour drive ahead of us.
Once we pulled up to our new tropical home, it was obvious that it was well worth the gruelling journey – the waves were FIRING. A left-hand reef break called Ujung Bocur just a stone’s throw away. with our own aquarium right out front in the form of a crystal clear reef lagoon.
Due to it being the offseason out here, the lineups are completely empty, however, there is no lack of swell at the moment, just the occasional splash of rain in the afternoons, which is actually quite refreshing.
For me, it does feel quite advanced – the reef breaks pack a punch. I’m glad I got plenty of practice in Morocco and my surf fitness is on good form because I definitely need it out here. This is certainly not a place I would advise anyone to come to who wants to learn to surf. Even the beach breaks are incredibly heavy. Keeping up with my daily yoga practice helps to relax the mind and body for when those monster sets roll in.
I’m now also feeling a lot more comfortable on my little 5’10” Hypto Crypto. It seems so funny that this time last year, I was paddling around on my chunky 6’8” single fin, which I had no chance of duck diving! I can’t wait to see how it will work out here in these challenging, but awe-inspiring waves.
Until next time….
“Damai dan Cinta” (peace and love)
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