Location: Bali
What an excellent day we had today!! Even though it was the first morning after a night out, and the sleep took a little longer than normal to clear out of the eyes, everyone was definitely very excited for the day to come. Breakfast was at 0700, as per the norm, and it consisted of delicious scrambled eggs with onions, optional cheese on top (which, of course, was no option for me! I mean, what’s scrambled eggs without cheese?!?), frozen yogurt and fruit salad. After cleanup, we stripped our bunk sheets for the second sheet change of the trip; then, we hit the dinghies at 0830 to make it to the vans to get to the surf shop/school (Pro Surf) by 0900.
ProSurf was incredibly nice, and all of the instructors were very friendly. Most of the group (all but four: Jack, Keanna, Caroline, and myself) decided to take lessons, which started at 12:45. These lessons consisted of everyone learning the way in which you stand up on the board and why it is done in such a manner, and then they were given soft-top longboards and hit the beach! Before the lessons started, it was free time, and most decided to wander the area, shop, sight-see, and get some lunch. The four of us who decided to opt out of the lessons hit the waves right off the bat. My board of choice for the morning was a 76 fiberglass, which, while great for riding white water.
After an hour and a half of surfing, I took a break for water, food, shade, and a bit of reading. Keanna and Caroline stopped just before I did, as well as Jack, who all went back out a little before me (probably 1215-1230), whereas I waited until the lessons started to hit the waves again. I started off on a 68 fiberglass board, but after completely unsuccessfully making it out the breaks and attempting to ride the white water with the shorter board, I traded it out for the 76 again, which was much nicer and way more fun. Everyone in the lessons looked like they were having an amazing time, and I truly enjoyed surfing amongst the chaos of nearly 30 people all surfing. Once we all finished for the day, sometime around 1530, spirits were sky high, and everyone was just about ready for bed, even though we still had dinner (Shepherds Pie) and an hour of Ocean Biology afterward. Luckily, Carolyn had a great class lined up for us, which is an interactive one where we identified different types of algae (Red, Brown, and Green), as well as IDing microscopic Phytoplankton and Zooplankton through microscopes! All in all, it was an excellent day!