We had a great day today.
Actually we have lots of great days, but this one was extra great. It was the perfect coming together of a bunch of different elements, visuals, and sensations, all shared with the perfect partner.
It came the day after Tam was mad at me for being a grumpy shit in the surf. I was being a little hard on myself, maybe being a bit grouchy as I do occasionally if I am not performing at the level I expect of myself, and it upset her (rightly so) because as she puts it: I need to stop yelling at her friend (yeah, me).
Today, though, what a day…
We paddled out to try a new break that Tam has been wanting to try called Marshmellows (yes, its supposed to be spelled that way. Mellow…?). On some days the surf around the South coast can be a little overwhelming for her. It can be a bit heavy, with some long paddle-outs through a lot of sets. Today, though, she was happily surprised by the surf, and I was happily impressed by how well she surfed and how much fun she had. It wasn’t really that small, but she did really well, and took off on a bunch of good ones with long rides down the line. It was nice to see her so relaxed and in her happy flowy spot today, just enjoying herself in the water. And the water was perfect: crystal clear, and the temperature warm enough that every cell in our bodies was at ease. It felt like we could float around out there all day (and we nearly did, except for the need for food).
The spot. Marshmellows. It is a long paddle out, and it looks pretty flat, but of course about two minutes after Tam took this picture a few decent sets rolled through and I had to work my way under the waves and over the reef to get out there. Tam, being the smarter of the two of us, waited for a few minutes, and paddled out with her hair dry. I could learn so much from this girl if I would just learn to temper my enthusiasm a bit.
Lunch, with my favorite person, about two hundred meters down the beach from where we surfed. Lunch was great. It was actually second breakfast, which is my favorite thing ever, of Avocado toast and a cappuccino. Tam had a smoothie bowl and banana bread (and then drank most of my cappuccino). It is this great little restaurant called Marshmellows (weird, right), over the water in the lagoon. It may be the perfect post-surf spot we have found yet.
From the restaurant we took a nice short walk down the lagoon to check out the palm tree swing and the stick fishermen. This part of Ahangama (about a fifteen minute drive from our house), is completely hidden. You drive on a very busy, noisy, dirty road, past nondescript, crowded storefronts and shops without realizing that this beach and lagoon are about fifty meters away, on the other side of the ramshackle concrete structures. It is so perfectly obscured by what passes as progress that you feel like its a different world.
This guy has his bird friend for company.
This is a traditional type of fishing here. These guys will sit on these sticks for hours on end, without moving. Most often there are a half-dozen of them sitting and chatting out there all day. Nobody is catching anything big, but I do see them bringing in small lagoon fish quite often. In many, less hidden, places along the main road it is also a tourist trap. They charge you a few rupees to go sit on the sticks (which, for tourists, isn’t actually in the water), and they will take a picture for you. Tam says we have to get one of those pictures before we leave. I don’t know.
And then, after the fishermen leave, the birds stay behind to try their luck at stick fishing.
Of course we had to get on the swings. There are so many beaches we have visited with the classic “coconut palm leaning out over the beach with a swing hanging from it” all over the world. I think we have pictures of them all.
Tam is far cuter on them than I am. Thank god.
Nothing more beautiful than this girl with a shining smile and sandy toes.
And a couple more pictures of spots next to our house. We get to drive by these amazing places every day, from surf to home, or even on the way to the store to pick up groceries. The little island here is on the beach directly in front of our house, which we walk to a couple times a day to surf, buy fresh fish off the boats, or just go to see the stray dogs on the beach.
And, last but not least, our trusty Enzo the tuk tuk. He looks so good against the blue backdrop.
Wind, Water, Waves, Wander 