We were one of the first to rise out of the van campers, I was thinking that everyone must have stayed up much later. I was fixing to go for a walk into town since we needed some supplies so we hooked Cleo up and started walking along the top of the cliffs.

The Astro boys were up and about so we wished them good morning and asked if it was a long walk to town but they said it was fine. As we walked, we noticed the swell looked great around the point. It was super quiet in the water as well, there wasn’t a single surfer out there. We decided to give up on our walk and head back to camp so we could get into the surf. Walking back along the beach, we saw Charlie and Jazz doing their morning workout routines. Charlie looked like he had brilliant flexibility in his back as he did some stretches on a yoga mat, a brilliant ability for surfing I’ll bet.

By the time we got back to camp, most people were up and admiring the surf same as us. We were keen for breakfast before the water so Dan made us eggs, bacon and pancakes. As he was cooking, we saw the operator of the campground show up. We’d seen a sign for a campground when we drove in, but honestly didn’t think we’d have to pay the 150 Pesos per person he was asking for because there were no facilities or services offered with the parking spot. He man had parked by the ambulance so Ian was the one who ended up dealing with him. From what we heard, he drove a hard bargain and negotiated price like a pro. It sounded like it was getting heated and when we spoke to Ian later, we found out we weren’t wrong. The man had told him in his 11 years of operating the camp, he’d never had anyone try to negotiate the price and that he’d call the cops if we refused to pay. Ian managed to talk him down to 150 Pesos per van and they settled on that.

We took our chairs over to the camp circle and ate with the guys. Per usual surf life, everything happens pretty slowly so it was nearly 10am by the time Dan got into the water and there were plenty of other people to share it with. I sat up on the bluff in my comfy chair and watched him while blogging. For the first time, Cleo didn’t mind that Dan was out in the water, she was distracted by her new best friend Dino and spent every minute with him. Dino belonged to Ian, a beautiful little brown dog about the size of Cleo but a little skinnier. He had impressive guard dog skills and Cleo was immediately smitten with him, barking whenever he barked, playing whenever he wanted to play. It was cute.

Dan spent a good hour or two in the water, catching wave after wave. Scorpion Bay had the best waves he’d ever surfed in his life and Dan has lived in Hawaii and San Diego, so he’s surfed in a few decent places. The waves would come around from the point and roll to the right, all the way into the beach. People were catching waves right out at the point and riding them for minutes, maybe 300 metres, all the way into shore. I couldn’t wait to get out there. When Dan gave me the signal after catching a huge ride all the way in, I suited up.

Most of our camp was in the water, so it was a very social surf. I clambered down the rocks at the point and met Dan. He relinquished the board to me and I tried my first wave. No dice, I nose dived. Dan gave me some advice and I tried again. This time I was too far back so couldn’t get on the wave. Hmmm. After a few rides, Dan got out of the water to go back up to camp which I was happy about, I’d much rather focus on my own. I managed to catch a wave after a few minutes but I went straight for the rocks after standing up, so I bailed out. I didn’t hit anything but I scraped the underneath of the board. It looked okay, so I kept on going. I waded amongst the British guys who were mostly pretty new to the sport but had managed to pick it up much better than me. At one point I was on the same wave as Max. He caught it while I couldn’t get enough momentum. When he came back to me, he advised I should put more of my weight forward.

I kept trying, trying and trying. After a good hour or two, I hadn’t caught a single successful wave, not standing up properly once. I was frustrated that I was wasting this perfect surfing spot by being rubbish. I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong considering I’d seemed to do ok at the other surf spots we’d hit in Baja. I ditched my hat at the beach to see if that improved things any since it was blocking my vision when I paddled into a wave. Still no better. I gave it a few more goes, thinking that if I just catch one wave, it would all be worth it, but eventually I was too tired and I noticed a new piece of damage in the board so I gave it away, frustrated as hell.

When I got back to camp, I was deflated and Dan could tell. He told me what I’d been doing wrong, but I found it hard to listen to advice. I told him about the board damage and we wandered off to the van to fix it. A repaired patch had come undone and we had a look at the scrape underneath. We managed to patch the top bit with a piece of sponge and solar res while Dan was happy with a piece of duct tape on the bottom scrape.

We went back to the camp circle and sat in our chairs watching the surf a while, me trying to understand how everyone else made it look so easy. The sun was beating down so I had the idea to grab our shitty umbrella and set it up behind us. Despite the wind that tried to take it off the cliff, it worked an absolute treat. We got plenty of flack for it from our new mates because it looked even more dilapidated than it had last time we put it in the car. We didn’t sit under it long, the swell was picking up and there weren’t many people in the water since everyone had come in for lunch, so Dan went out again. He surfed with Sam and Jackie, giving Jackie some advice when she struggled in the same way I had.

He had another good hour and I was feeling ready to go in for another round, but he came out so we could go get some lunch. We walked over to the showers that we hadn’t known existed yesterday and made the most out of our 150 Peso investment. They were cold, but it was nice to stand under a shower head and rinse the salt water off our bodies. Back at the car, we drove into town. My mood was still super low and I was quiet. I hated being the girlfriend who couldn’t, especially in a group of people who were pretty new to surfing and seemed to be doing just fine. Dan did his best to cheer me up.

We drove through town a while looking for an open restaurant until we eventually came to the Burro Bar. It was empty as hell, but a nice little spot with plastic chairs and tables sitting out underneath a tiki roof. The family that operated it seemed to live in a huge caravan that had become permanent, with the kitchen out the side. The prices for tacos (35 Pesos) weren’t what we were used to, but we figured we were on for a splurge. We both ordered the same thing and were presented with three grilled tacos but they were Americanized, with bacon and cheese in them. They were greasy and delicious. The restaurant also didn’t seem to mind that we’d brought our own beers in to drink. 240 Pesos later, we were fed and ready to go back to camp. I was feeling a little more optimistic about surfing, trying to get my head in the right spot to go out again.

Back at camp, there were still some surfers in the water, but most of our crew were sitting around the circle, eating popcorn and socialising. Everyone’s chairs were pointed to the water so we could all still watch the waves. We joined them and the conversation, me with always two eyes on the surf to see when would be a good time for me to go out again. Sam was chomping at the bit to get back out, especially considering there were only three or four people out in the water. Earlier in the day there had been closer to twenty, which was much too crowded for our liking. When one of those surfers got out, I decided it was time for me to get back in. Not wanting any attention while I had a second attempt, I slid away from camp, suited up and took the long way walking to the beach to launch the board. Like everyone else, I took the board without a leash this time so I could move around the board easier once (if) I was on top of it.

I took a different strategy this time, staying close to the beach where the waves were still breaking but they were much smaller. I figured if I had any success, I would work my way back. I was surfing nearby a couple of kids being taught by their parents so I thought that was appropriate. To my great surprise, after only a couple of attempts, I was up on the board and surfing a bloody wave! I blame my success mostly on the fact that I didn’t have anyone watching me and Dan’s simple advice. I caught wave after wave, paddling out further and further, riding them longer and longer until one wave came along and I rode it all the way in to the beach, a good thirty seconds. When I came off at the end, I had a huge smile on my face and turned my head to the bluffs where Dan was standing cheering. Woo hoo! I threw my arms to the sky! I was surfing!

Addicted now, I kept paddling out an caught a few more, not having any real trouble in riding anything I went for. Unfortunately, when I’d gone out in the water, so had a dozen other surfers since the waves were looking so nice and I didn’t do well in the crowds. I paddled out almost all the way to the point but it meant I was in the other surfers’ ways and couldn’t do much to get out of it. It was all a bit stressful, so I caught my last piece of swell and walked back to camp, thoroughly happy with myself, my mood had done a complete 180.

Dan was enthusiastic back at camp, glad that I’d finally clicked. I told him all I needed was one good wave to improve my mood. I wandered off to have a rinse off in the showers and when I got back, he was fixing to go in again with the other lads from camp. We did a bit of patch work on the board since he discovered the scrape underneath had taken on water, reattached the leash, then he was off.

I donned a hoodie and walked off to watch him and the others. They were out to the left of the main point where there was another break. The access was tricky with everyone having to navigate through sharp rocks to get out to the water. I sat myself down on a point to watch them all and it was a beautiful show. There were about eight of them in the water, all people that we knew and it was a pleasure to watch everyone’s different styles. If I’d been in the water, there’d have been the complete spectrum of surfers from complete noob to extremely proficient. The boys laughed and joked out in the water and caught wave after beautiful wave. It was a wonderful show.

Just as the sun went down behind us, they came in, struggling to see properly anymore. I walked back to camp and met Dan back at the car. He’d had an awesome session and relished it. Beer and cigarette in hand, he was a real happy man. While he was off having a shower, I made myself a hot chocolate then wandered over to the guys in the ambulance since they had their bonnet up. Since we were all travelling on the cheap, we’d decided to move our camp to a free spot so everyone had packed up and was ready to go. The ambo had a flat battery, or two flat batteries since it was a massive diesel engine that needed two batteries in series to get the thing going. They’d just tried jumping it with Charlie’s battery pack but had no luck. They had a generator plugged in that would work after a few hours, but I suggested putting a battery pack on each of the two batteries and giving that a go. It took a bit of convincing Ian because he’d had a bad experience with blowing up charger packs in the past, but I explained why it shouldn’t be an issue since the batteries were directly connected. When Dan returned, he offered his battery pack and we tried it. We waited patiently for the glow plugs to light, then Ian turned the key. It rolled and growled, but no dice. Close! They planned to stay as long as they had to with the generator running before they joined us at the new camp.

It was dark by the time we left the bluff in search of a new home. A group of Canadians had joined us late in the afternoon and they’d been sent away to find a spot so we were looking for them. Most of the others had gone to a restaurant for dinner so we were expecting to be the first ones there. When we drove down to the beach we’d eyed out, it was deserted except for a single Sprinter van parked by a Tiki hut. No sign of the Canadians so we drove down further. When we got to the line of boats on the sand that were the locals’, we turned around, figuring the Canadians must be elsewhere because there’s no way they’d park amongst or beyond all the boats. We inspected the sand at the back of the beach to make sure it wasn’t too soft and parked up with our doors to the ocean.

We had the whole place to ourselves. We stood and looked up at the stars and were soon joined by Jackie and Sam. They did the same as us, driving up the beach to find the Canadians, but he turned around in the same spot we did, not wanting to drive through the locals’ patch in the dark. We pulled out our chairs and sat barefoot in the sand, listening to the waves and looking up at the stars. When we saw a light shining from the boat area, we went for a wander down there to see if we could find anyone. After passing a few boats, we decided there was no way in hell we’d find the Canadians here, so returned to camp.

Me and Dan were just heading to bed when the rest of the crew showed up. Charlie and Jazz and the Astro boys. No sign of the ambulance, but I didn’t expect to see them tonight. Their generator would probably take all night to put any life back into their batteries. The Astro boys parked up next to us and we apologized for not staying up to hang out. Tired from the surfing, we both curled up in bed.