Stormy Weekend Smurf

4-day holidays in August usually mean....

OFF TO SURF THE SOUTH SWELL!

This time, I headed off with the awesome sisters Nicola & Carla...

...and Renaissance woman Mika (on right)

and of course my constant surf & travel buddy, Charlie Gomez :-) who took all the beautiful shots you see here. 

As my friend Mike Ricafort once put it, Charlie can "make the day look good"!

My last surf was over a month ago (6 weeks...*gasp*) so even if the sky was dark & gloomy the day we arrived in La Union, I surfed them 1-foot baby waves like mad!

Trivia: some of us call surfing baby waves "SMURFING" hence the title of this entry. :-)

It was a real treat that the sisters brought their adorable pup ELLIE along for the trip.  

She was as stoked just as the rest of us. Maybe even more. 

  

She even made some friends. 

It wasn't such a spectacular weekend as such when the waves would be breaking overhead and the sun was shining and the waters were bright blue and there were long and perfect "walls" to surf (well, you get the picture), but it was a good one in itself.  

channeling Bono & The Edge here

Mika with Ely the Guitar Man

*this photo from Tonet Jose

As always, when you do not set expectations and are ready to be grateful for what fate gives you, things turn out very well and you bring home much more than what you were hoping for.  

For example: 

1.  Lineup was crowded but it was fun sharing the waves with my girls (shootout to Kage & Jam who were there too!).  

2.  It was rainy & gloomy but the next day brought bright sunshine & glassier surf. 

3.  The beach apartment was creaking & leaking but we watched a lovely Wes Anderson movie in bed while laying flat on our bellies & giggling.  I kept wishing for popcorn & ice cream but oh well, you can't ask for much in the middle of an ongoing storm.  

4.  The beach was full of trash from the previous & recent storms and looked a bit icky.  But well, if a dog could frolic and make friends and have fun on the beach without minding all those things, then I better take it from such a hopelessly happy creature like that.  

5.  One good thing about endless rains is that you get stuck and stranded with your friends inside a cottage and think of things to do like jamming & singing to your hearts content!  We sang all the hits from The Beatles to Incubus that night.  Thanks to the awesome string skills of Ely Cresencio! 

Such a cliche, I know, but REALLY, after the rains come the sun.  The next day brought this: 

Jeff finally enjoys the sun

The long weekend that started stormy & gloomy ended well, in a breathtaking kind of way. 

Looking forward to the next stormy long weekend.

***END***