After a yummy breakfast of freshly blended watermelon and pineapple juice, toast with mango jam and honey, and a big cup of coffee, I was able to have a few hours of alone time to catch up on things with my blog and Facebook and Skype the family back home before the rest of the hostel woke up and came into the restaurant area too.
A few hours later I was walking down to the beach with Ben (from Switzerland), Pat (from Canada), Stacey (from New York), and Dan (from Australia)...all of us who met the night before in our dorm room. The beach was only about a 6 minute walk from our hostel, but Pat and Ben had been renting their surfboards from the same guy about 20 minutes down the beach who would give us all a good deal.
My dad has been a life-long surfer and taught my sister and I how to surf at a young age, so I was excited to surf in the Indian Ocean...but the moment I saw those waves I panicked. They were NOTHING like waves in the Gulf of Mexico back home and I quickly chickened out. The guys each rented their own boards and all of us got our own beach chairs. Stacey and I relaxed on the chairs while we watched the boys go out and get absolutely pummeled by the waves.
But after a few hours the boys came back in, exhausted, and had their surfboards available. Now, I was still shaking in my boots from those waves out there, but I knew that if my daddy were here...I'd be out there attempting to surf those waves with him in a heartbeat. And like I've had to remind myself nearly a dozen times now...I came all this way to experience new things and do things I'd never get a chance to do back home. So, damnit, I better suck it up and do it for my daddy!!
And so I did. And by god it was scary. I lasted out there only about 20 minutes, but was able to get one good ride in. And Ben saw it as proof! haha. But afterwards I was so stoked I didn't care that I had scratches on my stomach from the wax, or that I had lost one of my earrings. I just couldn't wait to get online and tell my dad what I did.
But more than anything, I wish he had been there to see it.
Love you and misses you bunches, daddy!
~Little Blonde Traveler
