SANTA CATALINA, PANAMA
Well, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

I’ve met so many people who have done absurd things in the name of surfing that I had to try and figure out why. One tall, pretty Swiss girl bought a Chevy Lumina in Santa Cruz for $1000, stuck a matress in it and drove to Panama over thirteen months. Another guy mounted a board rack on a 110cc scooter and drove through Indonesia. There must be something to this whole surfing business, because nobody does things like that to bake cookies or play basketball.

I came to Santa Catalina, googled “how to surf”, rented a board and went for it. I managed to stand up three times, but after a few hours my arms were so tired I couldn’t push myself up anymore. I also got the worst sunburn of my life and lost a few thousand brain cells getting smacked in the face with a 9′ longboard.

I only had a few hours, unfortunately, and I suspect it’ll take quite a few more tries to understand it. I do, however, understand why surfers don’t seem to do anything the rest of the day – it’s so tiring that a few hours in the morning destroys the will to work on anything else.

I’m not sure I could ever be a surfer, or if I’d even want to, but I’m certainly going to try it again. I’ll be in Indonesia soon and I hear the waves are fantastic.