“You mean to tell me there’s surf in Canada
and
you girls are in it?
by Myriah Mulvogue, Tofino
Mid January. The breaking point of the Tofino winter. When your wetsuit-pasty
skin refuses the obligatory 6mm of never quite dry neoprene, your fingers
assume “claw” before the first paddle through icy salt
water, and you get an ice cream headache just contemplating a duck
dive, there’s little choice but to board a plane somewhere, anywhere,
warm with waves. In mid January this year, seven fortunate girls were
able to escape one of the toughest parts of Tuff City and join together
for the first annual Surf Sister’s staff, friends and family
retreat in Baja, Mexico.
A surf trip is one thing. An all girl surf trip is something else
altogether (okay, okay, a couple of lucky guys sneaked in somehow… stowaways
in the luggage, perhaps). Do you have any idea how much toilet paper
a full house of girls go through in a week or two? Or the number of
dripping wet bathing suits you have to fight your way through to get
to the shower? No, but seriously, it was the crazy potential of having
such a big group of kick-ass chicks with all the time in the world
to really focus on what they love to do, catch waves, that really hooked
me. The idea was just wacky enough to work. Lack of time, convenience
of situation, and consistency of surf kept most of us happily making
the rounds between the three popular Todos Santos breaks. There was
something for everyone, close to perfect rights peeling forever, thumpy
hollow lefts and gentler, more forgiving beach break (for when you
just wanted to go surfing, not play keep-away with a death by drowning).
There was even a sunset session or two when the wind died off beautifully
that would have been a perfect longboard wave (had any of us brought
one).
When the surf was not working as well as we’d come to expect,
a smaller group of us made the decision to drive three hours away to
a more remote surf spot on the word of countless traveling surfers
who told us, repeatedly, that we had to go there. It proved to be one
of the sweetest days of the trip. The beach was a Salvador Dali painting,
with the overcast sky melting into the grey water, contrasted by the
expansive desert landscape of rolling dunes and windswept brush. The
shore was littered with giant lobster parts and unbroken seashells.
The surf was even more surreal. Set after set of absolutely perfectly
shaped waves working in all directions. Lefts and rights, point breaks,
reef breaks and beach breaks; there was literally something for everyone.
We caught it on a small day, about waist high, when most of the surfers
camped out there were busying themselves with other forms of distraction
(the most memorable being a guy fishing off his longboard, riding a
wave to shore with catch and rod in hand). But the potential that place
had for exceptional surf was clear. We needed more than a day, but
it was definitely worth the trip.
A surf vacation is all about the waves, but even surf sisters need
to dry out a little between sessions. Todos Santos is a happening little
tourist town with great restaurants, coffee shops, and storefronts
to check out in the day, and bars, clubs and the occasional live music
show to check out at night. Believe it or not, a large group of Canadian
surf chicks can really shake up a Mexican disco or two. There will
be no naming of names or pointing of fingers, but cervezas were consumed… sometimes
in excess… They say every action has its consequence. Let me
just say there was plenty of action. It wasn’t quite Canadian
Girls Gone Wild, (sorry to disappoint) but I’m smart enough to
know it has no place in print. (If you’re really curious you
can ask the 12 year old surf-sister-in-training for the juicy gossip.
The finer details escape the rest of us). But don’t get me wrong,
except for a couple fine indiscretions, we all in all managed to stay
on the program.
So to sum it all up it was surf, sun, surf, sleep. Repeat. Pretty
simple, really. And what better way to spend January in Tofino then
on a Surf
Sister surf trip to Mexico? Well, except maybe on a Surf Sister staff
surf trip to Hawaii? Or Costa Rica? Or how about Indo? (Just some
suggestions for next year, Jenny!)
Myriah Mulvogue is a Tofino based waitress and writer who likes to
surf and help teach surf lessons.
Tofino Surfing
Articles
Tofino surfing girls are taking a surf trip in Baja, Mexico for an all girls surf camp with Surf Sister surf school. Tofino Time article by Myriah Mulvogue.