Tuesday, July 10th, 2012: El Paredon Surf Camp

El Paredon, Guatemala:  We've been loving our stay here.  It has been very relaxing.  Most days go like this.  Wake up under a canopy of mosquito netting.  Assess mosquito bites and decide if repellant is necessary.  Check surf from the 2nd story of our bungalow.  Surf. Eat breakfast (pancake with a pile of fresh bananas and pineapple).  Backgammon / Mancala / Read.  Hammock time.  Lunch (pb and nutella sandwiches).  Visit local school for english lesson.  Buy supplies in town.  Surf.  Dinner.  Card games/ backgammon / mancala / reading.

glass bottle wall in our palapa

Micah chilling in la hamaca outside our palapa

Bo with the black volcanic sand after a wipeout.

Los Hombres

The surf has been getting more manageable every day. However, the consistency is relentless!  I would catch 1 or 2 waves then get stuck behind the endless set of 20 - 30 waves in a row.  By this point the current would've pulled me a half mile to a mile down the beach.  Then, I would get out, walk down the beach to my starting point and do it all over again.  Beach breaks are fun but there is absolutely no break, no channel to paddle out in, and lots of heaving close outs.  The peaks are everywhere, barreling left or right, but getting in the right spot was extremely difficult.

The best day at El Paredon when the storm subsided.

Papa on a right.  It seems bigger when you're paddling into it!

The fish was outgunned on too many waves! It's my favorite, though.

Leslie with her new "short" board.  She paddled into a relentless set.

Kahlo getting up his courage and taking off.  At-a-boy, mijo!

Kahlo with a nice cutback.

Kahlo after his first session.  Feeling better now!

Bo getting his yoga on!

At the surf camp, we've met some great people.  First, there are 2 British girls who came here 6 months ago and haven't left.  Each day, they teach English lessons to willing students at 2:00.  After school, they run an art program.  They create "found-art" sculptures with the kids.  

[Sidenote] Any of you who have been on non-tourist beaches in latin america realize the never-ending problem of trash on the beach.  La Basura (trash) comes down the inland rivers and washes up on shore.  Most of the trash is plastic and therefore, decomposition is slow or non-existent.  From an American point of view, this is very disturbing.  However, it is a cultural and governmental problem down here.  There is no centralized waste disposal.  Trash just gets thrown everywhere and there are makeshift dumps off cliffs or steep embankments outside of every little pueblo.  Trash gets thrown out of cars, out of chicken buses, dropped while walking, etc.  Before the advent of plastic, everything in Latin America was reused and there was no trash production at all.  So, it is a constant eyesore that you just have to get used to, unfortunately.

Anyways, the British girls (Julia and Karina) walk the beach with the kids, pick up trash and make interesting art projects from it with the kids.  They've even started selling the sculptures to tourist in a nearby resort town.  Unlike most towns, the kids don't really make things with their hands here, so together, the students and  the Brits are finding new ways of using seeds, coconut husks, gourds, bottle caps, fishing line, plastic trash, and wasted plant material to make projects.  The girls have even opened up a studio in town where the kids can come and build things.  The limited supplies is an ongoing issue, but the kids are developing a real love for art, have immense pride in their work, and are cleaning up their beaches in the process.

Also at the camp is Hubert, Hube, or UB for short.  He is a primary teacher in Austria with a professional, sponsored, snowboarding background. UB has the most gentle, friendly, disposition, is extremely creative and has made a very good friend in Bodhi.  He is very funny and keeps us laughing all day long.

Bo and Hube working on a found art project.

El Paredon gang.  Rafa is in the middle.  He is the founder of the surf camp.

A new arrival is Patrick.  Patrick is from South Carolina and has grown up surfing the Outer Banks.  Patrick is a linguist and knows Russian, Uzbeck, Pharsi, and Arabic.  He has contracts with the US Military and currently he is working with oil engineering and management.  He is getting ready to work abroad in Saudi Arabia for the next year.  Patrick is always up for a surf and it is great to have a surf partner when you are out in heavy surf.  

The camp is run by Rafael or Rafa.  Rafa is from Peru, is an avid surfer, and has built the camp from scratch.  He hires local help to build the thatched bungalows and palapas.  Rafa is very easygoing and always willing to help out with whatever we need.  Rafa married a woman from Holland and has his base living set up in Antigua, only 2 hours away.  Rafa and his wife have a daughter and his wife runs a Holland tour company up in Antigua.

For 2 days straight, Leslie, the boys, and I have been visiting the local school and practicing English with them.  They ask us questions in English, we work in small groups with them, and we find things that we have in common.  We laugh so much with them because they find our words funny and difficult to pronounce.  We've been teaching them some slang words and they kids really like that.  "Chill", "Cool", "No-Way", "Right On" and "Chillax" have been a few of the favorites.  The ages that we are working with are older kids 14-16 years old.  The boys have really enjoyed the visits, especially Bodhi, and they have a new appreciation for how nice our facilities are in Murrieta.  The school girls have been going gaga over Kahlo and you can hear all the whispers and giggles as he walks through the school each day.

Los hombres in the English class.

La Maestra Julia in the foreground.

Leslie and the boys answering preguntas de los estudiantes.

The kids were definitely curious about us and we about them.

The English class and us.

The Brits found art workshop in town.

Tommorow, we are leaving El Paredon and heading to Antigua, Guatemala.  This is one of my favorite places in Guatemala.  We are hoping to check out el museo de chocolate (chocolate museum), la finca de cafe (coffee plantation), and climb el volcon pacaya (the active Pacaya Volcano) while we stay there.