Heaven

Newquay is surfer's heaven. Surfshops and surfers everywhere, and I got to go there!!! So I took the Friday and Monday off to indulge myself in a little surftrip. I caught a plane from Amsterdam to Bournemouth, rented a car at Bournemouth airport and took off to see a bit of countryside before I would reach the sweet waves. The Ford Focus was pretty good, quite a surprisingly low car actually. I found it a bit annoying that there are no signs indicating the speed limits, but it still took me about 4.5 hours to drive the 170 miles to Newquay, so I guess I didn't really speed. The first bit was a bit difficult, but that was because I didn't have a decent map, as soon as I got onto the main road it was very easy to find.

I arrived in at the Surf lodge around 4pm, doubleparked my car (there wasn't much space in the private parking, but no-one could fine me) and checked my stuff in. As it was very quiet they set me up in an 8 person bedroom, so I chose the bunk bed with the best view on Fistral Beach :) Then I headed off into town to explore and for some fish and chips. On the way back to the lodge I saw a fish monger "milkman style" (with a van driving around and you could just buy stuff in front of your house). I went to Fistral for the first time, which was crowded with people surfing and people watching the surfers and when it got dark went back to the lodge and drank tea with Dan and Ralph (staff and former staff, now regular customer at the lodge).

On Saturday the party really started. Around 10.30 we were at the beach, ready to surf. I immediately caught a nice wave, so my day had been made. I caught some more, and at 12:30 it was time for lunch. I went into town with Jilly, Lucy and Ash for a delicious powerboosting smoothie and scrambled eggs on toast. And at 2pm we were on our boards again. This time we stayed in the white water really close to the beach to practice our popup and balance, which was also filmed so it could be analysed later. Later was after a lovely relaxing yoga session. At 7.30 pm we had a nice dinnerbuffet at the Chy bar, lots of salads, spare ribs and spring rolls, and after that I decided to go to bed.

After a good night's sleep with the sound of the sea in the background I woke up pretty much aching over my whole body the next morning, but as soon as my muscles started to warm up again it went away. This time one of the instructors took the ones who wanted to the outside, and of course I was one of the ones who wanted that :) We were going to surf some green waves!!
The instructor got us into the right position and so I caught my first big green wave. And it was fantastic!!! I had a lovely clean long ride almost onto the beach and I've been yelling and laughing and cheering the whole ride, I don't think I've ever felt more on top of the world than when I was standing on that board. I've been smiling from ear to ear for the rest of the day, and I'm still in a very happy mood. I managed to catch a few other ones, but the rides were shorter, and my last ride of that session was a lovely long one again. After some bacon, lettuce and tomato wraps and tea it was time for our last session. There were only 17 girls left, because others had to get back home to work or go to school again on Monday, but the lucky few still had a few more waves to catch. Unfortunately everyone was tired so it wasn't the best session, but still, making your way through the surf, seeing rainbows in the sprays from the waves, getting taken up by a wave again...for everyone who has never surfed before, trust me, it's a great experience! After that we went for a soothing Indian head massage, after which everyone nearly fell asleep. After saying goodbye to everyone I went into town for a pizza and a walk back to Fistral where I saw a surfer cooking a meal next to his van. Back at the lodge I watched the last bit of Sin City with Chris and Ralph and I got into bed at 9.30pm, exhausted but happy.

On Monday I bought a board bag, so I can travel with my own board, and I got a yellow miniature beetle with a surfboard on the roof. Around 12.30 I left Newquay with a smile, a tan (though only in my face and on my hands and feet), good memories and a promise to come back soon.