A few days after I arrived in Arugam Bay I met a super nice dude from France, David, while I was renting a board to go surfing. We immediately became surf buddies and everyday for almost fifteen days until he had to leave we shared a tuk-tuk to go surfing together.
We found a really nice tuk-tuk driver, Jassin, and we drove with him almost everyday until Chili's pizzeria opened. Yeah, Jassin is not only a tuk-tuk driver but also a Pizza Chef!
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| Jassin on a day that he took us to play cricket with his friends |
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| David trying to understand what was this game all about |
At the same time I met many other really cool people from all around the world while visiting the different surfing spots near Arugam Bay. Some of them were staying for a long time, a month or two, so we managed to become close friends.
I was very lucky, this was the beginning of an amazing life in Arugam Bay.
The days went on. The only thing that we needed to worry about was were to go surfing and were to eat. "Should we go to Peanut Farm or Whisky Point? Should we go in the morning or afternoon, or both? Should we eat over there or in Arugam Bay? What about dinner?"
Yeah, we were all very stressed. I'll let the pictures speak by themselves.
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| Ready for a good surf at Whiskey Point |
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| Jamming at Whiskey Point with Pierre, Hyun Jung and Éléa |
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| Road trip! With Pierre, Clara, Do and his girlfriend Audrey. She was hiding somewhere behind him. |
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| On our way back to Arugam Bay, just before we got hit by a storm and got completely soaked. First time that we felt cold in A-Bay |
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| Okanda Road Trip with Clara and Pierre. Oh yes, we took three boards! The tuk-tuk's drivers were really upset but we just kept driving :-) It was our first time driving a tuk-tuk. So much fun! |
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| After an awesome session in Okanda. The whole beach was only for the three of us. |
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| Second trip to Okanda, with my friend Melanie. |
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| We were the only two surfers but we had a large crowd of locals watching our every move. |
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| With Patrizia and Simon. One of the many pizzas that we ate in Arugam Bay |
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| Best birthday cake (banana pancakes) and birthday presents ever. Thank you guys! I had such a good time |
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| And so many chess games with the chess board that I got for my birthday. I'm pretty sure I won this game against my friend Clara :-) |
My favorite Arugam Bay song
During my stay in Arugam Bay I came across many new cool songs that I had never heard before, they might have been old but they were new to me.
My iTunes library expanded and these songs became and integral part of my experience in Arugam Bay. I know that whenever I will hear these songs again in the future my mind will fly back to those magic moments.
One of my favorite songs is "Best Day of My Life" by American Authors which my friend Kim used for a really cool video about surf in Arugam Bay so I can actually share with you both at the same time, my favorite "Arugam Bay Song" and this cool surf video.
You might not be able to see the video on a mobile device, if that's the case try using this link http://yesisurf.com/ or a laptop instead.
| Video "Arugam Bay, Best Day of My Life" by Yesisurf.com |
Learning to enjoy each moment to the fullest
Not many people stay as long as I stayed in Arugam Bay, almost four months in total! Actually from the people that I met I was the only person that stayed that long so I had to see all my good friends leave.
It's a bit sad to see the friends that you have become close with to leave but that's part of this nomad life. I had the same experience before when I stayed for six months in Mysore, India. So many farewell parties and dinners.
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| My last surf session at Whiskey Point with Steffi. She stayed at Another World on Galaxy Road! Suited her perfectly :-) |
But I think it is a really good lesson to go through such experiences. You learn to make the best out of the short time that you have with the people that you meet, even if it is a one day friend. You learn to enjoy each moment to the fullest.
You learn to be present with the people around you cause you know that your time together won't last forever so when the time to say good bye comes you know that you have been there with that person 100%.
You also learn to accept that some people you will probably never see again but some other people you are destined to meet again and again.
I have already met many of the friends that I met at the beginning of this journey, that can be a really beautiful experience, and I'm sure that I'll meet many other of the friends that I've made on this path in the near future.
Dealing with the unknown
Like you've probably read in my previous post "Finding a Destination and Dealing with the Unknown", I was feeling a bit nervous and anxious about coming to Arugam Bay. I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know if I was going to be able to fit in and I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy my stay.
As you can probably guess now, everything worked out just all right and I had a really amazing time. Arugam Bay was definitely the place were I was supposed to be, life took me on the right direction.
But what about teaching yoga?
My main intention when leaving India was to teach yoga, not to go surfing. So, what happened?
Well, I did find the opportunity to teach but that's a long story, I'll tell you about my struggles and successes, the good and the bad about teaching yoga in Arugam Bay in one of my next posts.
Oh, and I guess you wonder if I really learned how to surf or how was my surfing experience. No worries, I'll tell you everything about it soon.
Update Feb 17
"Soon" took quite a long time but finally here they are:
- My Experience Teaching Yoga in Arugam Bay - The Ups and Downs
- 8 Ways Yoga Helped Me Learn To Surf
- The Yoga of Surfing - 9 Essential Mental Habits For Beginner Surfers
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