Chasing the Surf in Cabarete, DR

I attempted two difficult water sports while in the Dominican Republic – kite-surfing and surfing. I’m not sure which one I failed more at, but I didn’t get either one right. Regardless of my failures, I tried, and that’s always the goal, to try, whether or not I might fail. 

Regardless of my level of expertise at surfing, I allowed myself to enjoy it. It helped that I was surrounded by a determined and cheerful group of friends & patient surf instructors.

On the beach, we practiced how to paddle and stand on the board before walking to the water to surf. I think I needed a longer lesson because no matter how hard I tried, I did not graduate from kneeling on the board. All attempts to stand on it were met with water to my face. I was envious of my friends who seemed to get it right with little effort.

The worst aspect of my failure came when my surfboard slipped from under my feet and hit my friend Gina straight in the thigh. She was left with a blood red bruise that covered a significant portion of her thigh [Sorry, Gina]. After apologizing, I took the injury as my cue to exit the water. I was exhausted from numerous attempts to master the surfboard and I didn’t want to hurt anyone else. After this experience, I realized that I’m more suited to kayaking or paddle boarding. Neither of those requires me to have the coordination I currently lack, and I’m less likely to cause unnecessary injury. If I had photos from my kite-surfing experience, I’d share those too but they would only show me falling in the water. Have any of you tried surfing? How did it turn out for you? Leave me a comment to let me know

Until next Friday, 

Thanks for reading! 

Photos shot on GoPro and a DSLR (not sure what model). 

Same footprints, Different sands