Barbados is a special place for me as I have holidayed with my family here for several years.
There is so much to see and do in Barbados that each year brings new experiences. This year I tried something that I would never do before – surfing!
My young son has been coming out with us each year. Well I say young, but he’s now ten! Anyway, this year he really wanted to go surfing and so my husband and I decided to take him. After asking at the hotel reception they recommended an instructor called Boosy (they assured me it’s not because he’s drunk the whole time!) and so my husband and son called him to arrange a class.
So we set off early Friday morning for the boys to have their lesson while I would take the photos. However, I didn’t know that really they had been arranging a class for all of us! So when we turned up at the beach on the south coast of Barbados and I was shocked to see Boosy pulling out surfboards for us all. At first I said “No way!” but my husband and son were really keen for me to try and Boosy was very reassuring and said that if I felt really bad once we were out there then he wouldn’t make me pay.
Nervously, I agreed and we ran through the basics on the grass at the top of the cliff. The views over the ocean were breathtaking and seeing the gentle waves rolling into shore, I actually started to get a bit excited (though don’t tell my husband!)
After a few practice jumps, where it turns out that I am “goofy-footed”, we braved the sea. Boosy had found a great beach for us to learn on – the sand gently sloped downwards so that when I was about 50 metres from the shore I could still stand up and know that if I fell off it was only sand underneath me.
There were a couple of other beginners there too, and Boosy was great at making sure that everyone kept getting turns and essential pointers on how to improve. Eventually it was my go and he pushed my board to help me catch my first wave…I was so nervous that I couldn’t even get onto my knees! So I body boarded in but that was great fun!
Next time round I was more eager to try it properly but as I clambered up on my board, in a very undignifed manner I kept tumbling off into the sea! Thankfully the waves were small and gentle so there was never any worry about getting hurt – in fact falling in was fun!
But then I saw my husband and son actually getting up! And of course they teased me and made jokes that I couldn’t do it. Well that got me! I was determined! So with some more coaching from Boosy I prepared myself for my next wave…he launched me forward and I got to my knees, got to my feet and for a couple of seconds I was actually up and standing! Almost as soon as I realised I’d done it I was flying back into the water! But my boys were very impressed and as a treat carried my surf board back up to the top for me.
Another great Barbados holiday with my boys. I’m not sure that I will be a professional surfer yet, but I may have to sneak off for another lesson when we next come back!
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