October 4th, 2018 - Strolling the coast, surfboard shopping, hanging with Jorge (Gordo)

I have been waiting so long to post about this and I just got home. Today I walked with my girlfriend Naomi around the circuito de las playas in Miraflores after buying a surfboard from Klimax Surf. It's called el circuito de las playas because its about a 5 mile stretch of coastline dotted with over a dozen separate surf breaks and nice beaches. Walking the entire scenic coast might take you over an hour and a half.
 I really was planning on window shopping for a high performance shortboard today. That never ends up happening. I talked to an employee there telling him the volume of the board I wanted. 26 liters in volume is what I'm comfortable paddling and floating on for a shortboard. Sure enough he brings out a board in a swallowtail with almost the exact dimensions as the Rusty "sista-brotha" model I nearly bought in San Diego on clearance for $399.

Seeing as this was exactly the shape of board I really wanted and priced at $440 with no tax, I had to buy it. It would have cost me around $80 to risk a bunch of cavemen at the airport handling my board with love and care from San Diego to Lima. Instead I bought a local shape by world class boardshaper Rodolfo Clima, the owner of Klimax Surf and spared myself the worry of having something new and expensive get damaged before ever using it.
I bought the board but I would need the help of Naomi's stepdad and friend to bring her home in the Mitsubishi L200 pickup.

While we waited for them, we walked around and checked out the waves. Our first stop along the coast was Punta Roquitas. This seemed to be the most ideal place to surf with nice lefts and rights. Even better there was a nice public bathroom with two showers inside. I wanted to see where the surf school was so I can get a day to teach Naomi in calmer waters.

The forecast for today at Punta Roquitas was 4-6 feet and 4.5 ft 4 star swell conditions. I really wanted to surf today but didn't have my board until that afternoon. We walked south of Punta Roquitas to "Makaha" and "Waikiki" beach. No this is not Oahu, yes these beaches are named after the famed Hawaiian surf spots based on their appearance and the mellower yet well-formed faces of the waves. Here is where beginners can learn to surf alongside more experienced surfers and still get along in harmony. It was really fun to see people paddle out for their first time ever and get stoked on catching a wave.
After we walked up a bunch of stairs to get back up the steep cliff that separates the city of Lima from the pristine coastline, we had lunch at Pardo's chicken.
We soon got a call from Naomi's stepdad and he was on his way from Chorillos to help us transport the board back to Naomi's home in San Miguel. So we finished our lunch quickly and headed back to the front of the Larcomar shopping mall to be picked up.

Getting the board home was a little unconventional but it worked out. We hung both ends slightly out both windows in the back extended cab of the pickup truck and held her up gently with the wind ripping through the back seat. Got home safe and sound and took some pics.
Naomi's stepdad Gordo is still recovering from open heart surgery so we accompanied him in his 30 minute walk to the department store Tottus. There we helped him shop for shoes and had a fun time together.

We finished the day with dinner with Jorge's friend Danny at the restaurant he owns. We ate an Okinawan soba noodle soup with kamaboko and it was delicious. Overall today turned out to be more successful than I could have hoped for and I really look forward to paddling out this Saturday morning on my new board. I will report back on the conditions and maybe with some clips of me surfing too if I can get this local surf photographer I met to show up again this weekend. Wow it's finally happening!