¡Buena onda!

A night bus to Arica landed me on the door step of Sunny Days Friday morning. Yes, I did go there just because of the name. Ross, the Kiwi manger welcomed me to the breakfast table. He is a grandfather like character, super warm and filled with stories. I had a quick jog at the beach, toes in the sand for the first time since the states. I passed a white mustached caballero training a horse, leading it into tight circles just above the shore. In the afternoon I met Yo-yo, the surfing teacher. Just like the movies he had flowing blond streaked locks and a green van blasting reggae music stacked with surfboards. On the drive down to the water my lesson began and he talked about the waves, how to see the sets. I was given a blue whale of a board, and a lesson on techniques and saftey. On the first wave, with yo-yos help, I stood up and rode it to shore.  The next day I was due to go live and volunteer with a family in the afternoon. Yo-yo invited me to join the surfing in the morning I saw red, my new board smaller with a yellow belly rimmed with red. The water was warm and the turtles were sticking close, they appear like hedgehogs, peeping their heads out of the water and then back under again. After hours in the water with withered fingertips we peeled of the wetsuits and headed back to the hostel singing to sublime's Summertime.