Surfing Costa Rica

My dad first took me surfing when I was five years old. I surfed off and on after that, but never consistently. I moved away from Huntington Beach, CA to go to UPENN and then later moved to Nashville, TN. Four years ago, I got my fix with a 10 week trip to Costa Rica. On two of the days surfing Playa Grande, I was fortunate enough to get some shots from a professional photographer. They already had one day of photos when they found my wife on the beach and let her know they were shooting me. They gave us all the info needed to purchase the rights to the photos from the local surf shop. It was the first time I had ever seen myself surfing after almost 30 years. I wanted to share them with you as well.

Day 1

First, I'll start off with the most embarrassing sequence. I actually remember this wipeout very clearly. There was a bald spot of missing wax on my board that day, and it got me good.

Okay, now that we're passed that embarrassment...

This next one may not look like much, but I remember it. I remember being right under the curl as it broke just over my head. There are few experiences in the world more amazing than catching a big wave and being in the right place at the right time.

I caught a lot of great waves that day.

Day 2

My little girl, 4 years ago.

On this sequence, I actually got snaked by this guy. "Snaked" means he dropped in on me. I had the right of way by being the first person on the wave, closest to where the wave was breaking. Karma worked out well here, because he ate it. :)

As a "goofy" foot, I surf with my right foot forward. That's a great advantage when catching a "left", meaning you go left just as the wave breaks.

While I was out surfing, my wife @corinnestokes was watching our two kids (we have three now).

Here's another sequence I'm quite proud of. Good bottom turn and good top turn.

Some more strong bottom turns.

So there you have it. The first pictures I ever saw of myself surfing. When you're out in the water, giving it everything you've got, you never know if you look like a fool or at least a competent participant. I'm actually quite happy with how these came out. Other than that epic wipeout sequence, I think I did pretty well for a computer programmer. :)

If you'd like to know more about our 10 weeks in Costa Rica, please check out my wife's post on our whole trip. She'd surely appreciate an upvote, if you enjoy it.

Thanks!

Are there any other surfing Steemians out there? Do you surf? Is it something you've ever wanted to try? Have any questions?

Be Stoked. Steem On.