Me: "Oh really...?"
Michele: "Yes, I spend more fucking time under the water today then I do above."
Bahahahahaha. What a day. Woke up at 4:50am, had an instant creamy cappuccino, loaded up the bike and then we were off. Drove 30minutes in the dark to Areguling, the perfect right point break that we have been surfing. The roads in Lombok are shit, but the final 2 mile stretch to Areguling is tragic -- a mixture of mud and cow shit. Delightful. If you fall on the moto, you are fucked. Not only are you covered in shit, but it acts like quick sand and sucks you down. I trust Michele, so when I know that this stretch is coming up I try to be really centered in my core and I focus on balance and breath.It also helps to mentally prepare yourself for the occasion that you DO fall and you ARE covered in crap. Luckily it wasnt too wet and we made it through unscathed. We got to the break as the sun was rising. It was big. Very big. Much bigger than the day before. Ive actually surfed much bigger, but nothing quite so powerful as this. The tide was really low so we walked most of the way. We took our time, assessing the waves. We just kept looking at one another and giggling...a nervous, excited, anxious giggle. Because it was just the two of us, we made up a hand signal - just in case. If we held our right hand up in a fist it meant "Im spent, its too big, I have no energy, Im getting out". The waves are one thing, but the whitewater is another. Sometimes you simply dont have enough strength to make it back out or to make it over to the channel. As soon as the water got deep enough we hopped on our boards and paddled through the channel. There is a Left as well, but theres lots of current, its quite heavy, and very shallow. The waves were so big in fact that the left and right were nearly connecting through the channel. Lucky for us though, there was still a bit of calm waters to paddle out through. We sat in the channel and watched the first set roll through. The waves were like freight trains powering across the reef. Perfect, clean right point breaks - just firing. Again, nervous, excited, anxious giggles as we looked at one another wide-eyed. We had the break to ourselves for nearly an hour before 2 people joined us in the lineup. Apparently people were stopping at the beach to look at it, but were too scared to paddle out. I actually caught a wave right away, within the first 10minutes. Ive found that if I go more than 20minutes without a wave that my session ends up being shit. I sike myself out and get inside my head. My first wave was big, but more than its size was its power. I flew down the face like a bat outta hell. When I shot out the end of the wave I had a grin from ear to ear, and so did Meesh as she yelled "Yeeeeewww Cailin!!!!". Throughout the next two hours Meesh and I had some good waves, being very selective about the ones that we chose. To be caught inside on one of these sets would be a near death sentence....youd take a tough beating. The lineup began to fill up with a few people, only 8 of us total. I was thankful to have some others out there with us, just in case anything were to happen. It was funny, because the day before everyone at this spot was battling for the peak, trying to paddle deeper than the surfer next to him. But today, ALL of us were paddling AWAY from the peak, paddling OUT past the sets, and over towards the channel. It was a humbling, exciting day in Indonesia thats for sure!! I was really proud of Michele and I for charging such powerful surf. I couldnt have done it without her company and support, and Im pretty sure that she feels the same. We headed home with butterflies in our stomachs, smiles on our faces and sunburned cheeks.
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