Off to Chacahua

Another day at Barra

       Well, it came, the massive late-season south swell that I had been hoping for. The forecasts were calling for sets to ten feet and it delivered. I showed up at Barra on Thursday to find meager sized forerunners, but by Saturday morning the sets were stacked to the horizon snapping boards left and right. The winds stayed calm for the entire weekend too, it really couldn’t have been any better.

The swell of the trip

Night out with the Aussies

        Everyone was completely surfed out by Sunday night, which is always a nice feeling; contentment, fulfillment and exhaustion all rolled into one. To make things even better I’ve met a couple of German professional surfers who are going to accompany me northward for the next few weeks. You may ask, German pro surfer? Just like the Jamaican bobsled team eh? Well not quite, as it turns out there are quite a few prominent German surfers in the world who have managed to master their sport abroad while still retaining their national ties, pretty interesting. Anyway, Tom and Eva are quite the hilarious couple. They are kind, generous and easygoing too, really the ideal travel partners. I’m looking forward to the next two weeks with them as we start to retrace the Pacific coast of Mexico northwards.

Tom, and yes, he is wearing pants

       We are headed to Chacahua tomorrow, which is an isolated village only accessible by boat. Word on the street is the right-hand river mouth break is better than Barra at the moment thanks to record setting rains which have deposited generous amounts of hollow wave producing sand at this otherwise fickle break. I will report back in the next few days. Chacahua is also home to an interesting isolated ethnic culture of some of the very few Africans in Mexico thanks to a slave ship that ran aground here nearly 200 years ago, just a little tidbit for all you history buffs out there.

Eva

       Other than that I regret to inform everyone that things have been quite relaxed and hassle free lately, so I have no stories of corrupt officials, machete wielding farmers, drug-sniffing Rottweiler’s or allergic reaction inducing insects to report. The photos of the last swell can take the place of my incessant ramblings for a change. Please enjoy.