Surfing Punta Roquitas again, transporting my surfboard to Huaral

Today was really exhausting. Naomi and I did our usual bus and trek down the giant staircase from Miraflores to the surf. I got worked out there today by the big waves. Took me a good 20 minutes to get to where I wanted after I got pulled almost a football field north by a strong rip current. The waves were big but not super consistent and I found myself fighting currents to stay in position.
Still I managed and paddled in after an hour and a half battle. After an hour of paddling out there I just started to get flexible and felt comfortable again on my board. I guess this is expected after not surfing for a week being landlocked. When I got out of the water my feet were so numb I couldnt feel my toes touching the round rocks and nearly fell over. 62 is pretty cold, anything below 60 and I would have worn booties for sure.

After surfing we went to the local Chili's in San Miguel and got the especial del día. Today was guilt-free Sunday. Grilled chicken, corn, veggies, and Peruvian rice. Eating food was amazing after not having breakfast and burning a ton of calories.

In order to get my surfboard 2 hours north of Lima to Huaral, we had to take two separate busses. One was the "Metalbus" that does a route through Miraflores, Magdalena del mar, and San Miguel before travelling to Plaza Norte. I kind of just set my board in front of me and keep it out of the way of other bus passengers. It's not the easiest thing to do on a cramped bus, but when you're on a surf safari you have to adjust to your surroundings.

Plaza Norte is a shopping center and travel hub just outside the city of Lima and we connect to the "Zeuss" bus which is a much larger tourism bus that travels directly to Huaral. They are very accommodating and you can put your oversized luggage in the storage area below the bus. I wrapped my surfboard in a blanket to prevent it from getting damaged on the way. It only costs 6 soles per person to travel an hour and a half. That's only $2.
Finally we got to Huaral. It takes about 3 hours total to get from San Miguel to Huaral. I'll be resting my bones tonight at Naomi's mom's steam sauna that she owns. This is my home away from home and there are hardly any decent steam saunas in San Diego. She has a fantastic property here in Huaral.
This Tuesday I am planning another surf trip to Pasamayo about 20km from Huaral. It costs 3 soles to take a "conbi" which is a small van to this remote beach below a massive sand dune. The surf report however says this may be an incredibly rewarding adventure. This is not an easy beach to get to but the surf and swell are forecasted to be perfect on Tuesday.

I am going to take all precautions beforee paddling out. This is a very isolated beach so there are no lifeguards and the only people out there might be a handful of other surfers. I also plan on checking out the reef as this is a reef break and that poses a danger depending on how shallow it might be. It never hurts to be too safe, an accident can ruin a trip and I dont have traveler's insurance.

***Update*** A guy at Naomi's sauna had what we think was an epileptic seizure. After seeing him down and life saving efforts going on he was barely breathing but was foaming at the mouth. I was first to suggest we call the fire department or an ambulance **pats self on back** but Naomi made the call and gave the "bomberos" the location of the sauna. So far the guy is semi conscious and we are praying for the best. He is doing better now but he will most likely be transported to a local hospital.

October 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th 2018 - Catching up, anxious for waves

So the past few days I've been hanging out and keeping myself active while in Huaral. It will be a few more days until I am in Lima this Monday for surfing so I have to stay mobile and I've been doing anything to keep my upper body and core conditioned.
I am just going to use this blog post to show photos and food from my trip since things are slowing down for a bit.

 Frijoles peruanos

 Ensalada

 Fish head soup

 Sopa Okinawa 

 Chancay bus

Tiramisu

 Pan con chicharron

Pan con pollo

October 7th/8th, 2018 - Election day, chancay at night, painting in Huaral

  I was so busy yesterday I didn't have any time to update my blog. Yesterday I woke up early with Naomi because she was selected to volunteer at the election booths for the local mayoral elections in Huaral that were held at the same time throughout the country. So I was on my own yesterday, except Naomi's friends from high school accompanied me shopping and walking to the voting booths that morning.
 Voting is mandatory in Peru and if you are a citizen with a DNI and do not vote, you have to pay a fine over 400 soles. I really disagree with this form of voting because I believe no one should be forced to vote for a candidate they might not believe in or they may face a moral dilemma.

 Naomi's friends Milka and Priscilla spent the day with me while Naomi was working the election day. We went to Milka's house later and her parents made tallarines verdes which was very tasty.

 Naomi's eccentric cousin Masahiko came over while I was alone at home and we rocked out to music and later his friends came over and took me to Chancay. There we drove to the beach in an 8 seater "convi" which is like a passenger van. His friend Sergio owns the van and I think it would be the perfect surf van for back in the United States. I entertained the idea to Sergio that he could make money giving tours of northern Lima to surf tourists. Also I suggested maybe he could help me getting to Playa Pasamayo which is about 20 miles from Huaral and has been on top of my list for places to find perfect barreling waves as it isn't far from me and may be less treacherous than surfing La Herradura in Chorillos.

I took this picture after getting abducted by Masahiko's friends. We went to a house in Chancay that his friend was hosting at and drank beer. Later we got back to Huaral late so I couldn't update the blog last night.

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Today I got to sleep in after making a yummy breakfast of pan con pollos and papaya, pineapple, and orange smoothies for Naomi and I. Later her dad called asking if we could help him paint his black rot iron security bars on a window of one of his homes in Huaral. This is in my area of experience as a painter. I cant count how many thousands of feet of rot iron gates and fences and railings I have painted. So I had fun today painting with him and showing him the easiest and quickest way to do this. We used a small roller and brush to fill in the details.

After painting the window bars he treated me out to lunch at one of the best restaurants in Huaral. I got to enjoy one of my favorite Peruvian seafood dishes. I ordered chita frita which is a whole fried chita fish. It is a delicious small striped fish that I would eat everyday if I could.

Naomi ordered suprema which is milanesa de pollo that uses a tenderized chicken thigh instead of the usual chicken breast and is breaded and pan fried.
Naomi's dad ordered tacu tacu and Pati ordered pollo al horno. Her brother Michan ordered his favorite which is chaufa de pollo or chicken fried rice.
For dessert I ordered a strawberry cheesecake and her brother ordered a piece of tres leches cake.

So the internet crashed earlier and so did my motivation to write a lot more. I'll be dreaming of surfing waves next week but for now I'm having an awesome time with Naomi and her family. They really make me feel at ease and I have been to Huaral so times now it feels like my second home. Also, my conversational Spanish has been improving very quickly and I can keep conversations going and make smartass jokes.

Later Masahiko came over and we were listening to VH1 I love the 80s music videos. Here's a song I'm going to end this one on.

October 6th, 2018 - First day out surfing! Off to Huaral for a week

I had so much fun today surfing on my new board. Getting there takes a little more work than what I'm used to when surfing OB with the surf crew. It's about a 30 minute journey to get from the bus to walking down a massive staircase to Punta Roquitas.
On my way out the door I remembered to grab a big Krispy Kreme plastic bag to use as a dry bag for when my wetsuit is soaking after surf. That way the bus driver wont make a stink about water getting all over the floor.

Consider buying a legit dry bag in the United States before you go on a surf trip outside the country. You never know what you'll have to navigate or do to get to the surf spot so it's good to have a place to put your wet clothing if it takes a bit of travelling.
After taking the micro from San Miguel to Av. Ejercito, we got off and walked our way to the long pathway down to the shore.
When we finally made it down to Punta Roquitas. I was a little nervous about the amount of people out surfing on a Saturday.  There were quite a few heads out there, a big change from what I scouted during the weekdays. Saturday has many people off from their work routine so expect a small crowd on the weekends.
Another thing to note about Punta Roquitas. I believe the word for rock is piedra in Spanish. The entire bottom of this break is covered in round stones and boulders, including the shore and I didnt take into account the sea urchins either. I stepped on a few paddling back in later and recalled the website magicseaweed warning about urchins. I am very light on my feet and these sea urchins are relatively forgiving. No damage or pain at all.
Ironically, I stepped on a cheaply made bamboo tatami mat and got a huge splinter in foot that I had to dig out with tweezers later in Huaral. Take safety into consideration when paddling out and this is not a place to catch a beach break with the amount of round stones and boulders across the shore. I would even recommend wearing booties so I could have been less cautious, although I dont like how they feel when standing on my board.

The paddle out was a decent distance but with the 3-4 ft waves and average swell it didnt take me longer than a minute and a half and I was with the breaking waves. You kind of have to wade out with your board a ways before you can start paddling due to the boulders right under the surface so you dont risk messing up your stick.
Today brought a lot of longboards and funboards out in the surf. To my dismay, they were catching a lot of the waves earlier and I had to navigate quite a few surfers paddling for waves they had no chance of getting.
With the crowd and plenty of boats in the lineup and sets decreasing in size I was losing hope of getting a good ride. But sure enough I was patient and saw my wave and caught a nice shoulder-high left that I got some turns on. It had me so stoked to know this board is going to rip in bigger surf but still good enough for average less powerful waves.
I'm happy Naomi got to see me catch a nice wave from the shore as she had been waiting patiently for that. Now I just need to get her hooked up with my DSLR camera back home and a tripod and she could get some footage for the bigger days.

After surfing, Punta Roquitas has a public bathroom conveniently located right by the parking lot. The bathroom has two showers and a large trough or basin. This is really awesome to have, I have privacy to shower and clean off my wetsuit after a good surf sesh. Most surf spots in Peru do not offer this convenience and you would have to bring a few gallon containers to have for rinsing off after you surf.
After cleaning up, we trekked back up the stairs behind me in the photo above. Talk about a real workout after working out!

Today was our last day in Lima before going back to Naomi's hometown of Huaral for a week. She is taking her driving courses in Huacho this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and also has to work the voting booths for the mayoral elections tomorrow. We took the micro and the Risi bus to get from Lima to Huaral. Her mom made a delicious lunch that we had when we returned home. It was bistec a la olla, another wonderful example of Peruvian cuisine.

Naomi's friends from high school are over right now and we're having fun and sharing lots of laughs. Tomorrow Naomi is going to be working all day long for free because the government randomly selects residents to work the poll booths on election days. That means tomorrow I'll have to find ways to entertain myself, educate myself better with spanish conjugations, and exercise. It wont be until next Sunday that I will be back in Lima with my board. This will feel a little heartbreaking after having so much fun surfing my first time ever in Peru. Why the week long breaks? Once I'm back in Lima I'll be hitting the surf 4 days a week. For now, I'll be providing information on how to travel and the delicious cuisine here that is world renowned.

October 5th, 2018 - Grocery shopping, homemade lunch and dinner

Today's post is going to be brief and not as eventful as yesterday or tomorrow will be.
We went shopping this morning at Mercado Magdalena which is an open marketplace that has every type of produce and butcher shop you can imagine.
It is located about a mile from Naomi's house and we take a moto taxi which costs 2 soles to get there. I have been here many times before but it's my first time ever writing about this place. It's basically like a farmers market that's always open from 6am to 2pm and there is plenty of unrefrigetated raw meat and health violations by our standards. People here live by instinct and trust their sense of smell and intuition. Hint: it's better to go buy raw meat in the morning than to wait all day before they close while everything sits out all day.

We started off our morning at one of my favorite places to get a quick breakfast. El rey de Jugos I have been visiting since 2015 and they make some great smoothies and tasty sandwiches. I always get a pan con pollo which is shredded chicken, lettuce, tomato, papitas fritas, mustard, mayo, and ají (Peruvian pepper sauce) and it is amazing. This place is conveniently located right inside Mercado Magdalena so its a good stop before you go grocery shopping in the morning if you plan on visiting here.

Naomi had to go present her thesis again with her class partner from her university. I was here at home exercising and getting ready for a fun day tomorrow. It will be the maiden voyage for my new board and I'm kind of glad it's not firing tomorrow so I can get adjusted and practice on some 3-5 ft waves with a decent swell behind them. Tomorrow I'll be surfing Punta Roquitas which is the spot I scouted out a few days ago and really enjoyed what I was seeing. It's a fun looking consistent break with nice long sections with both lefts and rights.
Well I guess I'll wrap this up and get back to everyone tomorrow when I get to surf my first time ever in Peru. Time for some dinner and some good rest tonight. 🏄‍♂️🏄‍♂️

This song kind of resonates with what I feel American people have been experiencing at home. A level of political distrust by both parties with nothing good in store for everyone watching from the stands. I'm kind of an anarchist in a way and I'd hope both political parties burn at the end of the day and we can return to voting sensibly and electing leaders that reflect the best people we know in our lives.. yeah that probably wont happen.