The flight to Lombok was a bit rough, it was on a smaller plane and a lot of clouds/turbulence.....but we made it. This is a really neat island, much less busy than Bali!!!! YEA!!!! We had a couple hours to kill before we could check into surf camp, so we thought we would stop in the small town of Kuta for lunch. What we didn't know was that you can't get a taxi in Kuta!!!!!!! So.....here we were dragging our luggage down the tiny almost dirt road trying to figure out what to do...... We found a little place and had lunch and I got a iced coffee cappuccino. It was soo yummy and a welcome change from all the water and soda that seems to be what everyone here drinks. We finally had to hire a random person to take us the next 7km to the camp!!!! We ended up having to pay almost as much for this last little ride as the ride from the airport. The road was very bumpy and washed out so maybe we can understand why they wanted so much $$... Oh we'll, lesson learned and a little side adventure. Funny how you can get whatever you need if you have money!!!!! :-)
We arrived at surf camp and have been on the "GO" ever since!!!!! There is no Internet here, so I'm not sure when I will be able post this. We can rent a scooter and drive back to Kuta, but I don't know if we will do that. Once we arrived, we were given our room.
This is the basics.....but, the idea of coming here is to learn how to surf, not sit by the pool and have drinks served while you schedule a mani-pedi......(which we saw over and over in Bali)
When we signed up for this camp I was not sure if I would be in the beginner group or the intermediate. The first night they had a surf session for all the people in the intermediate/advanced group. They wanted me to go out so they could see which group I would fit into better. Once we got out to the wave, I knew I wanted to step back into the beginner group. I'm soo glad I did because I don't think I cold keep up with the more advanced group.
The first day we had a lecture on paddle theory then we went out for 2 hours doing paddle exercises. Then lunch, a couple hours to chill, then a lecture on wave theory, about 30-45 min. of pop-up practice and our first trip out to one if the beginner waves. Now these waves are not what I would consider beginner waves!!!! The beginners were broken up into 2 groups. The tide was low, but in order to get both groups time in the water, we had to go when it was low and it was a reef break. The waves were quite steep and several in our group scratched their feet on the reef. The 2nd group had a higher tide so the waves were gentler and no scratched feet...... Then dinner, a surf lesson movie and pretty much everyone passed out!!!!
Today my group had to be up and ready to go at 5:45!!!! I was not feeling well all night so I went out with the 2nd group at 8:15. Turns out the first group had really nice gentle waves, being out that early. By the time my group went out the tide was higher and beginner break was not working so we went to a larger wave and there were tons of people. The instructors are really great and they made sure we had as many tries as we wanted. Everyone was pretty sore from the day before so I don't think any of us lasted very long.
Each group has 2 surf sessions per day and the times are dependent on the tides. My first group went out for their 2nd session about 30 min after I got back, so I can go out with the later group if I want. One of the instructors is doing a walk over the hill to watch the sunset, and I am going to do that instead. I might actually get to spend a sunset with Mel.
Mel's group, called "Sessions" is crazy busy. We don't see much of each other, but he is getting some great instruction. In his group they take tons of pictures as they surf and then they come back, look at all the pictures and go over with everyone what they can do to improve their skills. He said he has already learned a lot, and it is only the 2nd day......
They are going to have yoga 3-4 times per week so I am excited to be able to try it. The class is in about an hour, so I better close this for now.
Here are some pictures of the camp.
We are staying in a "long house". There are 6 rooms, 2 are couples rooms and the other 4 have 5 beds each. There are 3 bathrooms that are shared by everyone.
This is looking towards the kitchen/dining room and they have a really nice juice bar. We are served 3 meals per day and all the food is really good and healthy. They have definitely put thought into what kinds of foods are needle after a long surf session. Mel is surfing about 5 hours per day!!!! I am really glad I did not stay with his group!!!! :-)
Above the dining room is a large room for just hanging out. There is a large projection screen for watching surf films or other movies and this is where they have get together a for the whole camp.
There are hammocks everywhere and they are always in use......great for resting up between sessions!!! This is where I am writing this.....
They have a large selection of boards or you can bring your own.....that was not a possibility for Mel because of all the flights we had to take.
They have a skate bowl and a rock climbing wall which the local little kids like to use.
They also have a ping-pong table and lots of other bigger kid toys. Most of the kids that hang around are young, maybe under 12. They love being here and hanging around with everyone. Most all of the kids here are boys.....the girls are just starting to learn about sports and fun activities. Most of the time they are at home helping mom with chores.
This is the yoga barooga. We had pop-up practice and our theory lectures here.
Surf Camp Lombok is a wonderful foundation. They have many different things they do for this little community. We are in the village of Gerupuk, ( pronounced grupuk) which is a tiny fishing/seaweed farming village. There is not a lot of anything here......Right now.The surf camp has/is sponsoring many programs to help the local school kids learn English as well as helping fund further education for as many as possible. In order to attend school they must be able to purchase a uniform, which costs 10,000 rupiah. ( A little less than $10 US). The camp employs mostly locals and they make sure all the kids have a uniform so they can attend school. The cost for 1 year of junior high is ($300) and senior high is ($400). There is 1 girl who has completed senior high and wants to go to university. One of the campers from a previous camp is going to sponsor her for university.
There are a lot of big hotels that have purchased land all along these beaches and they are already starting to build the roads and carve away the hillsides. This area before long will be a tourist hotspot. There are lots of good waves here and the word is out.
The whole idea of the foundation is to be able to teach these kids how to be able to work for all these resorts so they can have a job, be close to family and have a better life. Most of the women in the village are illiterate and like in Mexico, most of the girls are married very young and have children very young. The divorce rate here is very high, so they are really wanting to teach these girls to at least be able to get a job and support themselves if necessary. There is soo much more than that, but I m really happy to see a foundation that is a actually doing what they set out to do.
OK, it's almost time for the yoga class.......if I can even move to get down there!!!!!!
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