Bucket List: Surfing

We've both always wanted to try surfing. Like, always. And somehow in all our travels we'd never been anywhere to actually do it. Lagos was the spot. We booked a 2.5 hour lesson yesterday, originally set for 9 am, but got a message last night that it changed to noon. Portuguese time. People are never on time and always underestimate the travel time.

So we headed into Lagos town around 11 and hit up Coffee and Waves again for acai bowls. Kind of perfect for the day ahead. From there the surf shop loaded us up and drove us about 50 minutes out to the west coast. Beautiful sandy beach. We got our wetsuits on (I'm a bit claustrophobic apparently, and getting into a wet wetsuit took every ounce of calmness I had not to panic). We each grabbed our board and headed down this long boardwalk staircase, then trotted through soft sand for probably a kilometer to get to the right spot. Then we waited another 30 minutes because of the tide. Surfing is a whole lot of waiting for the right conditions. You don't really realize that.

Into the Water

Sofie and Lukas went with one instructor who had the four kids in the group. We were all heading into the water and didn't have the camera ready to catch Sofie get up on her board. She's the most cautious and was super nervous, so watching her pop up was so exciting. Until she went down, got hammered by a wave, and taken out by the board. That left her pretty shook up. These waves were no joke. They were supposed to be beginner waves this time of year but at one part of the beach you just kept getting hammered. It was HARD work and definitely looks a lot easier than it actually is.

My first attempt going in was less successful. Trying to battle the waves was insane and I kept getting plowed. I was heading back toward the beach to chill with Sofie and got nailed on the head by the surf board. So Sofie and I just sat on the sand for a bit with another young dude who'd just gotten his eyebrow cut open by someone else's board. It was wild. The instructors ended up moving everyone further down the beach where the water was less unruly, and that's where things clicked. I went back in because I wanted to give it a fair shot. So glad I did. Got up on the board a few times with a smile on my face.

Lukas crushed it like we all knew he would. Such a natural athlete. And I got up not once but four times. I've always wanted to say I stood up on a surfboard and now I can. Sofie tried it and got up on her knees, then decided this was more so not for her. Can't blame her. These were the biggest waves I've seen in person. What was supposed to be a 2.5 hour lesson turned into a full day. Hearts are full. Bodies are sore.

Got home, had work meetings, and ordered smash burgers from Uber Eats for a lazy dinner. They were so good. Then worked till after 1 in the morning. The part people don't see. Late night work sessions after a full day of getting pummeled by the Atlantic.