Time for surfing me thinks!

hey guys. well, this entry signifies the end of my time in Brazil, and i couldn't of asked for a more enjoyable end. Our stay at the Mellow Yellow hostel had worn as thin as it could possibly get, and the four of us decided it was time for a change of scenery. and that change would come in the form of the surf ´n´ stay hostel situated a stones throw away from beautiful beaches, notorious for the odd surfer or two. the hostel is located in a small town call Recreo, about 40 minuted drive down the coast from Copacobana, and boasts some awesome surf spots in and around the town. the hostel was such a breath of fresh air, from what we had spend the last 10 days in. i use the term hostel, but to put it quiet simply, surf ´n´ stay is actually someones house in a small village type location, where the owners (two semi pro surfers) just charged to use their spare rooms. we spent six days here in total, and surfed every day, alternating surf lessons with just equipment rental. to be as kind to the wallet as possible, but without kidding myself that i didnt need lessons. During the stay i think i pretty much surfed in every possible type of condition, from ripples to monsters. the latter of which nearly killed me. i will explain...After three days on the board i was comfortable catching my own waves, and riding them to the shore. however when i say ´waves´ im referring to 4 footers. on this day however my confidence got the better of me, and i decided to join two of the guys from the hostel (both pretty handy with their surf boards) for a bit of a surf. in conditions that were probably best left to the more experience. a fact which all the other guys knew too well, but agreed to watch my attempt from the beach. now im not exaggerating when i say these ways were at least 10-12 feet tall, from the front of the wave. and proved extremely hard to paddle out against, but shear determination saw that i made it out past the breaks. whether that was a good thing or not is definitely questionable. as soon as i turned around to take a look at the beach, all confidence i previous had, turned to, well, panic. as i knew three days of surf ´practice wouldn't quite prepare me for getting back to shore, let alone surfing back. i was stuck out at sea, constantly battling the waves, to ensure i was never positioned after the break of the wave, meaning a was continuous paddling out. set after set of the monster waves rolled in, and provided no opportunity for me to take a quick paddle in, unharmed. so i gave myself a couple of minutes to just chill out and accept my situation, and decided that seeing as i was out there, i would at least try to surf at least one in. ´Try´ being the appropriate word, i failed miserably on my first and only attempt, and got pinned in the churn of the break for about 30 seconds, which when you have no idea which way your facing or how deep you are, seems like an eternity. the only saving grace was that when i finally surfaced, i was close enough to the shore to just quickly paddle in the remaining distance. coughing and sputtering on reaching the dry land, i was graced with the loudest heckling from my numerous fans that lined the beach, but to be honest i was kinda proud of myself that i even tried. good times.

Death island

apart from that experience, the surfing was pretty successful, and i have definitely been bitten by the bug now. seeing that we also have NZ and OZ ahead of us, i doubt this will be the last entry that involves surf stories. so watch this space.

look at me go

i was also given the opportunity to demonstrate my creative side by giving one of the paddies (Steve) a hair cut. haven't got a clue why he agreed to it, but actually surprised both myself and participant with the final result. So every bodies happy. they tried to get me to join in the fun, and lop off my locks, but OH NO young man, not going to be happening just yet, so dint worry guys. they´re staying in their rightful place, onto of and attached to my cranium.

another random story about our stay at this particular hostel was that one of the residents there at the moment, is an international cage fighter. spending 3 months out here training with some professional gym in preparation for some fights. Nick is a 6´ 5" skinhead, with a pair of cauliflower ears that even the most veteran of rugby props would be damn proud of. despite looking like something you would find bouncing the doors of the roughest clubs in London, the guy was a top bloke, so had some good nights hearing stories about some of his competitions.

me and my mate

Also sam and myself got friendly with one of the surf instructors at the hostel, chad (nice name hey), but if i tell you hes and Ozy then that should explain all. anyways, hes invited both of us to go and stay with him in Melbourne when we reach Oz, to just surf and get shown around. what a legend hey. lets just hope all works out on that front.

well, that concludes our time in Brazil. and i have the feeling it wont be the last time im there, ive left to much unseen. but cant dwell, as were off to Argentina now. so i get to put another pin on my travel map, and another stamp in the only passport. whey. have plans to do a fair bit of traveling around in this country, so will hopefully have alot to report. till then guys take care..xx

new meaning to the term boat house

p.s. if you werent aware, im still able to receive texts for free (00447813454883), so feel free to do so if you fancy. is always good to hear about how you guys are doing. As contrary to popular belief, even the hardest of alpha males (thats me by the way) gets a little home sick now and again.xx

Recreo beach

such a hard life

surf baby

the cool cats

the hostel

the most dramatic fall ever