TEMA 12/10
I heard someone whispering my name as my eyes battled my eyelids to see light once again. When my orbs of perception finally won the conflict, I saw Venicio standing over me trying to wake me from the depths of my subconscious. I was on the playa in Sayulito, right where Venicio and I had lugged our sleeping bags out at three in the morning the night before and fended off stray dogs licking our faces underneath the practically full moon glowing down upon us. The locals were already setting up beach umbrellas and lounge chairs for the plethora of tourists who were in no small supply in this small oceanfront town. It was on me to wake those who wanted to surf in the morning but I was exhausted and as I squinted at the reef break laid out in front of me I saw that it was tiny and decided to lay my head down for a few minutes. When I woke up an hour later I jumped out of my sandy sleeping bag and headed for Patricia (the bus) which was a crow’s hop of a centerfielder’s throw away from my resting place. I roused Summer, Ryan, Hannah, Blitz, and Ulises and spread out my sleeping bag on Patricia’s roof to dry out. The waves were small but fun as we all did the familiar rock dance on the way out, attempting to traverse the boulder’s in the shallows with as much grace as we could muster up. Ryan and Summer made it out fine, but Blitz (who was attempting to surf for the first time) didn’t make it out of the shorebreak and had to return to the beach for a brief respite. Ryan, Summer and I shared waves for an hour or two before we noticed Blitz making a second effort at combating the impact zone. Every time he would make a few meter’s of progress a wave would come and drag him back to where he started. I paddled in to try and navigate his way through the lineup, to no avail. The set’s had started to become more frequent and they were intent on landing upon his head, without fail, every time.
Blitz finally succumbed to mother nature and went in to recover on the sand bank for a bit. Ryan checked his watch and realized it was time for some of Venicio’s magic so he and Summer went in for some Desayuno. I was feeling the hunger but the right hand reef break a little to the North was calling my name so I paddled over to the crowd. There was one local out and a handful of long boarders so I paddled to the edge of the pack and waited my turn for a while. Finally a set swung wide and came right to me so I swung my board around, paddled a few times and felt the ocean lift my board up to start hydroplaning across the face. I jumped to my feet and pumped down the line, using the vertical face of the wave to generated my speed as I felt the ocean air and the soft breeze against my face. Racing as fast as I could I took my board up to the broken white water and floated my way across the section, freefalling with the lip. I paddled back out with a smile on my face as the local kid took off on the next wave and ripped it to shred like Johnny Depp did when he had scissors for hands. I chatted with him for a while when he paddled back out, his name was Adrian and he is 21 years old. Around here his nickname is El Gato. Adrian was an amazing surfer, every wave he caught I couldn’t help but turn around and gaze on as he danced upon the ocean’s surface. After trading wave’s with the cat for an hour I was beat down like a doormat, so I rode my last wave to shore and trudged down the beach to the bridge over the river leading to the bus.
Patricia was not welcome in her spot, the policia had informed us. If we didn’t move her they were going to book us and impound our precious mobile home. The problem with traveling with seventeen other people is that once they disperse, it is almost impossible to get them all back to the bus. This is something we have been experiencing at every stop along the way. Just urinating and getting tacos takes us all at least an hour if not more. We needed to move the bus stat, but there was only about five of us at the bus so if we moved her without the group there, no one would know where she was. This was a pressing matter as we didn’t want to wait around too long and have the cops show back up to arrest us and impound Patricia. Finally we decided to drive her across the river and park her in front of these camping grounds in front of the beach. Ryan fiorded the river as I sat on top protecting the surfboards from the high branches of the trees surrounding us. We pulled into the spot perfectly but soon after the owner of the camp grounds came out to tell us that we couldn’t park there unless we camped at his site and paid him 800 pesos. So we reversed our 40 foot school bus back across the river as one by one our whole crew showed up. [In the now, a day later as I sit typing this blog on Sam’s computer as Austin utilizes the internet next to me, I stupidly got up and gulped some water out of the sink not realizing the consequences of my actions. Ah well, from my prior experiences it is best to get sick early on in the trip and allow your body to become accustomed to the inevitable] Ryan coaxed Patricia up the inclinated road ahead of us as we tried to figure out where she could rest for the night, a pack of TEMA’s walking behind her as she perpetually accelerated out of our reach. Katie and I decided to sprint to catch up with her and I successfully made an entry in motion into her open doors [last night I attempted to make such a uneventful admission but she slammed into my shoulder as I ascended her stairwell] All I wished for in life at this moment was a few tacos but I settled with collapse on Patricia’s gigantic bed as she grumbled up the road. At the peak of the hill we ascertained that we could not go any further and all of our attempts at asking our new found amigos for parking were fruitless, so Ryan parrellel parked our animated spectacle in the spot next to us. A few hundred meters down the road from our original spot; we hoped for the best.
We decided to take shifts watching her. I wanted to hit up the town for some taco’s so Allison and I moseyed on into town. We stopped at a place named Chile Relleno Jose’s and I ordered up two polla asada tacos and a Corona to wash it all down. The chicken was beyond succulent, with carrots and cilantro resting atop like a ceramic angel capping a Christmas tree. The best tacos I’ve had on this trip so far. Little did I know what those tacos had planned for me and my digestive system. After devouring the tacos like I had hunted the chickens myself we cruised back to Patricia. Venicio was still passed out in the back, cold. We tried to wake him up but he was not having it. Allison utilized the time to decorate the altar with flowers and scrawl saying on the walls of Patricia. I was still exhausted but I knew that I would be giving some surf lessons in a bit so I tried to keep my eye’s open. Liz came wandering back to the bus and I told her and Allison to vamonose and enjoy the stunning setting that we were all lucky enough to be enjoying. I lied down on the bed and before I knew it, Morgan and Amanda hopped onto the bus. It was their turn to watch her and it was getting late, so I woke up Venicio for his surf lesson. We chugged some (salty) water and strolled down to the beach, surfboards in hand.
Fifteen minutes later we paddled out, a little bit past the reefbreak I had surfed in the morning. There were a lot of people around but I told him when to paddle for waves and he got to his feet a couple times. We just sat on the inside enjoying the 75 degree water and the setting sun. Soon Summer swam out to grab her board and then I heard someone calling my name. Ryan and his mustache were bobbing a few feet from me. We all paddled around with smiles plastered across our sun tanned faces. I paddled back over to the peak and lost them for a while when Montezuma exacted his revenge on me and I ended up sprinting up the beach to the rest room. When I came out, Summer, Ryan, and Katie were all by the public shower so I joined them and we sauntered up the road back to the bus where I collapsed in the bed. The police came by again and asked us how much longer we would be there. After informing them that we were leaving on the marrow they took off into the night.
I was wiped out completely, curled up in a ball on the extra extra king size bed, and everyone on the bus was worried about me. Vinicio and Hannah were giving me advice on our herbal medicine kit. Morgan was making me hot water and Lemsip, a local English cure-all. Amanda was preparing me a Iranian crystal candy tea, and everywhere I looked someone had concern plastered across their face. Weldboy came hobbling back to camp as he had taken quite the tumble earlier and had sprained his ankle. I gave him my walking stick that had been carved with a magnifying glass and bid everyone who was going to go out about the town farewell as I slowly drifted to sleep to dream about whatever wavelength decided to float into my head at that particular moment. Speaking of dreaming, I think it is time for me to do just that as I have to wake up in the morning to hash out all the details of our performance tomorrow at Lake Chapala. Goodnight mi amigos, buenas noches!!!!
Anthony Desmond Breen
www.Theextramileadventure.org
