Richard, our surf instructor, is from Canada and has been living here for 20 years. According to Aaron, the guy who rented us our boards from the outside of a Jui Jitsu studio, he is the best teacher in the Mal Pais / Santa Teresa area. Although I have nothing to compare him to locally, he is the best teacher I have had. Before we even got into the water, he fixed my pop up and I knew it was going to be a great day. My mistake was in the way I was pushing my upper body off the board. Instead of pushing it up like a traditional gym pushup, I needed to push up and arch my back (similar to a cobra position in yoga) then jump up into a crouched stance on the board. The first time I tried it was an effortless jump to a standing position on the board and I spent an hour doing it over and over again in the white wash. Stage one of my surfing conquest is complete and I have a renewed energy and excitement for surfing. It's amazing how a small adjustment can change everything about a sport. Today I took my new skill into the big waves. Most of the 2 and a half hours I was out there was spent watching the waves trying to determine how to tell when a good one is coming (still unsure) and paddling my you-know-what off trying to catch a wave but missing it. However, on my way in, I paddled into the perfect spot on a giant wave, popped up perfectly and glided all the way to the shore. It was incredible and I can't wait to do it again.
I found a great place to stay after the Witwer's leave, Pacific Surf School. It's in Santa Teresa, which is the name of the beach town where we've been staying. Pacific Surf School is about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) north of Playa Carmen. The main intersection of town is at Playa Carmen and the Town of Mal Pais is a south and Santa Teresa is north. Mal Pais and Santa Teresa run together as if it's one town. Generally speaking, the waves at Playa Carmen are friendly and gentle, versus fast and steep at Santa Teresa. From my new house at Pacific Surf School, it will be a hike each day to get to Playa Carmen to surf, but the room, the pool, the ambiance and price is too great to pass up.
