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!

October 3rd, 2018 - Mercado magdalena, park exercise, cumpleaños de Koki

This morning Naomi made a wonderful breakfast with salchicha de huacho in scrambled eggs and a papaya, strawberry, pineapple smoothie with no sugar added. This was a great way to start the morning and get some easy carbs for energy. I'll end up making breakfast or lunch for her to return the favor 😉

Right after breakfast we went to Mercado Magdalena in search of a yoga mat. This was a sort of fruitless quest but we ended up buying a big blanket to use on the grass in the park and cucumber to add to the salad Naomi's mom made. 

We came back and mami Mari was home with bistec and ensalada for lunch. A very basic lunch but simple in calories and low in unnecessary carbs. We ended up taking an hour long nap after planning on a quick 20 minute rest. 😪😪😪

So after waking up we head down to the park to do a little exercise. I try to mix calisthenics and yoga together. I worked on V situps, boat pose situps, plank position poses, squats, pushups, and mountain climbers from a downward dog position. 

This was good to get my muscles working again and blood flowing because I havent been in the ocean surfing since Saturday morning. All it took was a quick Google search to get some ideas and try it out. I really like the way yoga works and stretches the muscles that are underutilized. Calisthenics pushes yoga further by adding your body weight to the equation to improve muscle strength and flexibility. 

After we worked out we rested before travelling to Panadería San Antonio to buy a birthday cake for Naomi's dad. The bakery has been around since 1955. The cake was 60 soles or about $17 and smoked any cake I have ever seen or tasted in the United States costing $40 or more. This bakery is world class and the ingredients in their cakes are gourmet. 

For dinner we had cabrito which is goat and causa which is a traditional Peruvian dish or entrada (appetizer) made with tuna or shredded chicken and Peruvian potatoes. I enjoyed dinner and I noticed that goat is about the closest you'll ever get to tasting something inbetween the texture of chicken and the taste of beef. Many people who have never tried this before would have an incredibly hard time guessing what kind of meat it is. I still prefer chicken or beef over goat any day of the week. 

After dinner we went home and tomorrow we plan on going to Miraflores. I think tomorrow is the day I'm finally going to get an idea of the surfboard I'll be purchasing. I really want to check all my options before buying a shape so I may or may not end up bringing anything home. But if I see a deal I cant pass then maybe I'll have my first local board from a shaper here. I'm getting closer to paddling out though. Tomorrow I'll be shopping around for a surfboard! 😀😀🏄‍♂️🏄‍♂️

Here's a few songs I really enjoy. I miss my friends back home but I know you guys will always be there! I hope you guys caught some big waves back home for me with the recent storm!

October 2nd, 2018 - My day in San Miguel

Today I needed a bit of rest from a long day of travel. Woke up a second time around 9 am and decided it was time to go out and greet the day.
Naomi and I walked to Plaza San Miguel today to the Western Union so they could change my USD to soles. Later we walked around the mall and window shopped before lunch.
Later we went to a popular Peruvian restaurant that I have never tried the past few years I have been here. Tanta is a restaurant that serves traditional yet more refined Peruvian cuisine in huge portions. Naomi ordered their special which was a tempura cauliflower in a teriyaki glaze served over fried rice. I ordered a cream of squash soup that was delicious. Having a vegetarian lunch was new to me but I felt after that I was full but not bloated at all. A good feeling in the stomach when you're used to stuffing down fatty proteins on the daily.

After lunch we walked back to Naomi's house in San Miguel and I got advice from Daniel and Christian for purchasing a surfboard and he gave me some names of surf spots in Miraflores to check out and south of Lima in Punta Hermosa. Daniel is Naomi's stepbrother's best friend and he is an excellent auto mechanic and works on JDM cars like AE86 corollas and drift cars. Christian is his good friend and also enjoys working on cars. We navigate the language barrier by practicing our poor Spanish and English with each other.

After a good nap, Naomi's dad came and picked us up for dinner. We hit some rush hour traffic on the way. For dinner we ate some true Peruvian food. Cau cau is a dish that is potatoes and tripe stewed in ají amarillo. I have mixed feelings on this dish but I can eat it. I really love the homemade soups Naomi's grandmother makes. 

Today we had sopa de pollo with fideos munición. The noodles are like little pellets so that might be why it translates to ammunition. Delicious soup though!

I'm finally home now. Tomorrow Naomi's mother travels here to Lima from Huaral and we will have lunch together. Mañana en la noche, vamos a celebrar cumpleaños de su papá. Okay that's about as far as I get in Spanish as well as knowing the preterite and future tenses. I'm going to keep active tomorrow and try some workouts in the local park during the day since I haven't surfed or had time to shop for boards. I'll post my routine in tomorrow's blog. Thursday I am hoping to head out to Miraflores and find a board shape used or buy a new one from Klimax surfboards depending on prices. I'll keep everyone updated!!

Here is some salsa and a sweet video of local San Diegan surfer Rob Machado describing the same kind of feeling I get with the awesome people down here. I am so excited for my first paddle out but that may be a little less than a week from now. Good thing I got 6 weeks and plenty of time to wait for the kind of swell I saw a week and a half ago. Let's drink to this. ¡Salud!