Surf's Up Dude - Blogabond

Having secured the extension on my Mozambican visa that I required in order to see Mum and Dad in Vilankulo I was faced with a decision, move on from Tofo or wait out the time there. It was whilst sat on the beach, weighing up the pros and cons of both options, that the decision was, to a large extent, made for me.

The First Lesson Of Surfing!

When someone offers to teach you to surf, which for the record is a damn sight harder than people make it look, you tend not to turn the offer down. When you add into the equation that the someone is a beautiful German girl the answer is pretty simple - and so it was another week in Tofo for me. A week of surfing, or at least attempting to surf, eating prawns and fish, watching sunrises, enjoying Alena's company and generally living the dream - what more could I ask for?

Alena - My Surf Coach

Before last week my surfing experiences had been limited to watching people surf from the safety of the beach, in various locations, and the classic animated film 'Surf's Up'. I wasn't expecting it to be easy, but given my love for all sports, and a very competitive nature, I at least thought I would have a fighting chance of making a half decent fist of things. Wrong.

During the first two hour lesson, which admittedly involved a lot of lying on the board and just talking behind the break, I managed to catch just one wave, and then spent the next fifteen minutes fighting my way back through breaking waves to get to where I wanted to be. It didn't help that the board was shorter than me (not that I am making excuses for my efforts), so every time I paddled it felt like I was on a capsizing boat.

Me and Alena On The Dhow

The second session, for which I had a longer board, was not quite as successful (if you can call the first one a success from a surfing point of view) but confirmed that once back in Cape Town next year surfing is something I want to pursue. There is something quite special about floating on the water, the sound of the water the only thing you can hear, apart from Alena's shouts of 'paddle, paddle, paddle' every time a wave came. But apparently no matter how hard I paddled I was not destined to catch another wave, not this time anyway.

Sunrise In Tofo

Various people had told me that sunrise at Tofo was a magical spectacle, which wasn't hard to believe given the natural beauty of the area, but the idea of getting up at 05:30 to witness it was not such an appealing prospect. So rather than get up for it, why not just stay up all night to witness it - which is exactly what myself and Alena did, and we were not disappointed. They say a picture says a thousand words, so rather than try and do it justice myself, I will rather let you see the pictures and make your own mind up.

The KTM Adventure

With my time in Tofo slowly coming to an end a day of adventure was needed, which consisted in a traditional dhow ride at Inhambane, followed by some play time on one of my dream bikes, the KTM Adventure. If my scooter in Cape Town was the amateur sportsman who plays for fun, the KTM is the seasoned professional at the top of his game. It was a beast, and had the power to prove it - which being the sort who acts first and thinks later I discovered when I gave it horns, hanging on for dear life as I saw the speedometer race past 150kmph.

For now I am in Vilankulo, after saying farewell to Tofo and my surf coach, awaiting the arrival of Mum and Dad and a week away from the rigours of backpacking. Don't change the channel as I will be right back after this short intermission.

written by

MarcusInAfrica on April 8, 2009 from Inhambane, Mozambique

from the travel blog: Cape to Cardiff

Send a Compliment

I think you just lacked focus when it came to the surfing lessons mate...who wouldn't though? Ding dong!

written by

johnnoble on April 27, 2009

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