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.