Neil Dana shredding it on the outrageous surf of Brazil. (The name of the surf spot is being withheld to protect the sanctity of the location...)

Journal and photos by Neil Dana

Alright, this is Neil coming at you from Brazil on a beautiful cloudy day filled with epic surf!

The day started out in the early AM, about 5 a.m., to be exact, when the generous pousada attendant knocked on our door to wake us up. I told him the night before to wake us up this early so I could go walk up and down a huge hill for an hour to reach the surf before anyone else did. Adam wasn't feeling so hot; his back has been bothering him for a while now, and even though the surf has been helping his back, today he took the day off and decided to be a bro and take some photos of me surfing. We awoke and Adam grunted and moaned a few times before we grabbed our grocery bags filled with bananas, apples, crackers and water and headed out the door. It was pitch dark when we left. We actually took a bus to a different town than we are renting a house in right now because the swell picked up and there is a surf spot that picks up the swell and, quite frankly, GOES OFF!!! ("Goes off", for those of you non-surfers is surf slang for when the waves are epic, fantastic, unreal, dreamlike, or incredible.) This town is closer to the surf spot than where our house is situated. If I were to take the earliest bus from our house to the town that is an hour walk from the surf spot, I wouldn't arrive until 9:30-ish, and that is unacceptable when the crowds arrive a little after dawn.

So it was an hour before dawn, and we were walking up the dirt road to this great surf spot, and I was hoping to be the first one in the water. The walk was long but fresh and filled with biting mosquitos, soon to be called "mozzies" once we're down unda. A quarter of the way there, a car passed, and a big "darnit!" resounded through my head. I guess I wasn't going to be the first in the water; oh well. We finally arrived, and the surf was cranking, and to my amazement there were already 6 people on the bluff getting ready to go out. By the time I ate some bananas and apples and waxed my board, there were two people in the water. So I gave Adam the lowdown about my camera and told him to click away.

I headed out towads the point, which is lined with boulderous rocks that are slippery and encrusted with barnacles and moss. It is really beautiful and set up perfectly for waves. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't exactly sure where to enter the water, so I headed down to one section of stones that looked like a good place to try and jump in the ocean. Jumping in the ocean may sound easy; however, when you have waves smashing against the rocks and you have to time your entry just right in order to jump in as the wave is crashing on the rocks, it becomes a challenge. Also, part of the game is that you can't get too close to the water's edge when the waves are smashing or else you will get pummeled. So you need to wait for an opportune time, and rush down slippery rocks to the jump-off point before a set comes. Well, when I chose the moment to go, I rock danced down to the edge of the rocks, but there were still too many rocks just beneath the surface, and it wasn't a good place to jump in, so I had to turn around. But before I turned around, I was checking out another area to jump off from. A wave was coming in, and I thought I was clear of any danger, but sure enough, the ocean wanted to slap me in the face, so she crashed on the rocks and swept me off my feet and slammed me into the rocks. It all happened pretty quickly, and I stood back up and jammed back up the rocks out of harm's way. I felt fine, a bit shook up and angry with myself for being an idiot, but I wasn't hurt...well not really...as I looked at my bloody feet!! Oh well, I had a big gash on one side of my left foot and other pieces of fresh, gleaming flesh (tongue twister) shining into the sun on the backs of both of my feet, and one slice on the bottom of my right foot.

One of the nice things about surfing ist that if you get cut up by reefs and rocks and your board, you can still surf and not feel the pain and have just as much fun. So I looked at my wounds and laughed at myself, and also watched a few other people get in the water 50 yards up from me, so I saw the good entry point and headed over there. Once I was there, I waited for the right moment and scurried down the rocks and jumped in the water, simple and easy.

So I paddled out to the boil on the point and tried to get some waves. Now, I say "try" because the locals here are pretty cool and friendly, but they still own the surf spot and will paddle around you every single time and sit deeper than you no matter what. And that is cool, and to be expected, I am just a foreigner there for the day. Everyone has to pay their dues. And sure enough, I caught plenty of waves! The first hour-and-a-half was the best; there were no more than 10 guys out, and it was possible to get a fair amount of waves. Once 9 a.m. rolled around, it started to get more packed. It just becomes a fierce arena to get the set waves, and I don't really dig being super aggressive trying to get waves. I'd rather find a spot with fewer people. But I had a blast out there and surfed until I was exhausted, then walked in the blazing sun for an hour back to town. Not to mention, I had to wrap a plastic bag around my foot to keep my sandal from rubbing into my wound. It makes you feel alive, I tell you!

I could describe the waves and the day in even more detail, how it is right point break and hollow at the take off, and describe how the locals here drink mate too, and all the other subtleties. Oh, and how the sun sets beautifully and the local restaurants are empty, and the children are practicing capoeira, even doing flips, and young young kids are jumping off of benches having fun carrying their homework, etc. But, I will leave the pictures to describe many of these details for you. It is yet another day and time for me to go and be a part of it in a more pleasing way, mentally and physically, than sitting here reminiscing about past events in front of the computer screen. Oh, and I am sorry I didn't name the place I surfed. Some things are better left unsaid.

Ciao,

Neil

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