First, Lissa became the elephant and danced around for the video camera. Next, Christian gave the blue elephant new life when he busted out a few fancy break-dancing moves on the floor of the restaurant. The final day, I put on the pi ata head and gave the elephant her final chance at life. She tried to paddle back out, but her big floppy ears got in the way, and her first duck-dive reduced her paper machei head to a soggy, turquoise pile of paper and cardboard. Like many things in life, it is the people and the adventure that determine the success of a surf trip.
Good waves are helpful, but they can only take it so far.
Surf trips sometimes become fast-paced missions to get the right photo. The concerns for the right lighting, the distance the waves break from the beach, and a good photo angle, have a way of taking away from what a surf trip should be about. We had established a bond of friendship that cut across the often times restricting lines of age and personality types, to leave a group of people who do more than just surf. We caught some great waves, but we also relaxed, went horseback riding, checked out the local wildlife, engaged in hours of conversation, and even tore apart a pi ata.