Hitting the Surf in Arica

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Day 579 (28.10.08)

Arriving in at the bus station at the crack of dawn, we pulled our stuff into a taxi destined for a hostel Jason had reserved a room at. When we arrived we were greeted by a slightly bleary eyed but very friendly hostel owner who showed us around dropping us off at our vast spacious dorm room. A great place. After some early morning delerious hilarity we all crashed out for a couple of hours.

After getting washed and ready to face the day we stocked up on a mountain of fruit, veg and other groceries and went back to cook up a feast of a brunch. After whiling away a couple of hours, we decided that whilst we were in one of the most famous surfing areas of Chile, we should partake in some knarley wave action ourselves. Mark and Jason managed to hire a board and a couple of wetsuits from a mate of the hostel owner (a big wave surfer himself) as well as a getting a lift to some of the smaller beginner breaks in the area. They had three hours in the water and loved every second. Mark having had just the two previous surfing attempts was now trying to give Jason tips as it was his first go and both managed to catch some great waves some of which rose to approx 5-6 feet (well pretty big from where they were standing anyhow). Yet more laughter and fun and they were called in from the sea shattered, aching and wrinkly from staying in the water for so long. Amazing.

Back at the hostel, showered and in clean clothes again we settled in for the evening with a superb stir fry and some wine. Happy days.

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