Walking on Water
Road tripping in Costa Rica with Surf Sistas by Rosie Underwood
With risk of sounding like someone that needs floor length dreadlocks (almost there) a perma-tan (nailed it) and tattoos from head to foot (not even close) I’m literally obsessed with the ocean.
I love how it makes me feel like we’re part of something much bigger than our immediate surroundings. I love how waves have the tendency to put me in my place like no human has ever had the ability to, and just looking at the horizon silences me (and that’s no mean feat.) So naturally, when asked to attempt to surf I routinely jump at the chance and earlier this year, I embarked on a life on the road adventure in South America’s playground, Costa Rica with Surf Sistas.
There’s something about travelling along a coastline to a new place, waking up in a different environment furnished with tropical vegetation, beaches and ecologically minded tourism, where the currents change, the landscape moves and the energy shifts, that funnily enough becomes pretty moreish. On a road trip like this one, the journey is the destination and it’s a freaking exotic wonderland!
I’m talking sunsets that give the opening sequence to the Lion King a run for it’s money, stars that fill the sky like a carpet, Pelicans that dive bomb for fish around you at sunset surfs, cruising in cars and quad bikes along beaches to find secret surf spots, jungles and waterfalls with guest appearances from Rays, Howler monkeys, Sloths, Turtles and Whales!
The joy and the state of flow that your mind switches into when you’re riding waves is like nothing I’ve experienced before. Even if like me you have a tendency to face plant and turn like a ‘spatchcock chicken,’ every wave has a different feeling so you’re guaranteed to paddle out for more, and that feeling only intensifies with time.
When you surf and you travel, you begin to live by the climate and tide, you start to recite down to the last minute the time of the sunrise and the sunset, even how long the light will stick around for once the sun has disappeared, and subconsciously, your life starts to revolve around the ebb and flow of the planet.
On top of that, the playing field constantly changes which means your mindset can never be fixed, a sure fire way to wave goodbye to boredom and the distractions of modern life so that your ideas become expansive.
Feeling weightless in the water is profoundly calming, and learning to walk on it highly addictive. It’s the definition of food for the soul and catching even the smallest of waves is almost guaranteed to make your grin as big as that belter of a horizon!
For more information on Surfing adventures in the UK and around the world with Surf Sistas visitwww.surfsistas.com
Rosie is pictured wearing the Pitusa Inca Sun Dress which you can shop HERE