Surf at last

Important update, Nov 23 2007. See below.

We awoke before sunrise and continued our quest to find waves. Near the small town of Erendira, we discovered a small cove where the waves were breaking, next to a large fenced-in facility that looked like it used to be a jail. Since we didn't know the name of the surf spot, Dave came up with the clever name Jailbreak. There were overhead waves breaking a few hundred feet off of shore, and we paddled out. Dave didn't seem to have any trouble catching the waves (because he's pro like that), but it was a bit frightening for me at first because the strong offshore winds would blind you with sea spray whenever you tried to drop in on a wave. Dave told me to just "go for it". Although the waves were pretty steep and the winds were strong, Dave explained to me that the offshore winds would slow me down as I dropped in, and help keep the shape of the wave. With his sage encouragement I caught an awesome right that was probably one of the most exciting rides of my life (surfers have a tendency to exaggerate, but this really was an exciting ride ;).

We took a break for lunch then drove further south along the coast, looking for more spots. We passed by Shipwrecks, a wave that breaks right next to a shipwreck along the coast, but it wasn't going off. Eventually we ended back at Quatro Casas. The main right break wasn't going, but there was a little cove just south of the point that was getting some great waves, and we had a great evening session, catching fast, shoulder high waves as we watched the sunset. The best part about the whole experience, and the reason we had to come to Baja for it, was that a similar break in Los Angeles or any other part of California would have been packed with at least 30 surfers, all competing for the same wave. Instead, we had this break all to ourselves (except for one Kayaker who was catching the waves much further out).

At night we built a fire, drank a few coronas, and heated up some instant noodles for dinner. We were all pretty exhausted after the long day, and after the successful surf sessions it was a satisfying sleep.


Update Nov. 23, 2007: I just read a story in the San Diego Union Tribune about a man and his girlfriend who were "robbed by two mean wearing military clothing and ski masks at Quatro Casas" on Oct. 23, 2007. "The assailants shot at his motor home and sexually assaulted his girlfriend before stealing $10,000 worth of computers, video cameras and other gear"

This is pretty shocking as we had slept in our car at Quatro Casas, and it literally is in the middle of nowhere. We saw maybe 2 or 3 people in as many days there. Everyone we met in Baja seemed genuinely quite friendly, but, after reading this story, I would exercise extreme caution if you are planning to surf here, and only come with a group. If something happened to you out here, nobody would know for days or weeks...