Surf attempts in Las Penitas

From León to the small village of Las Penitas on the Pacific coast, it was fortunately only an hour's drive with the chicken bus, which was quite pleasant. Upon arrival in Las Penitas, we realized how small the town actually is and that there are only a few accommodation options. Some hostels were even closed due to the low season. In the end, we chose the 'mano a mano' hostel right on the beach, which cost more for two beds in a dorm than we paid for a private room in Granada and León, but was also really beautiful. After arrival, we jumped into the sea, but relaxed bathing is definitely not possible here - the waves are too high and the current is very strong. Paddy was even more motivated for the surf course we had planned, but it took me some additional effort to sign up for a surf course the next day. But sometimes it doesn't hurt to step out of your comfort zone :)

On the evening of our arrival, we met a very nice German couple who has been traveling around with their 5-year-old son Mika for a year. In general, we met some really great people here - on the second evening, after a pretty bad storm caused a power outage all evening (which happens often), we started talking to Laura from New Zealand, and on the next day, Sarah from Canada checked in. We had a few very relaxed and good days with both girls :)

The surf course was really fun. After a few necessary dry exercises on the beach, we went into the water to try our luck (we were only two and each had our own trainer). Paddy did really well right from the start and stood on the board for quite a long time several times, I needed a few more attempts :) Even though it was a lot of fun, unfortunately the fear of the strong current prevailed for me - sometimes you didn't even have the chance to make progress because the water was dragging you along. Paddy managed to surf anyway, and despite muscle soreness, he rented a board from the hostel again the next day. Unfortunately, it didn't go as well this time, despite the many good tips from Sarah - it turned out that the hostel owner had given him a board that was way too small (a few hostel guests who had many years of surfing experience pointed out to Paddy that it wouldn't work). However, the motivation was still strong enough for him to rent a larger board from another surfboard rental with Laura the next morning, and lo and behold, it went much better immediately! And that even though we were frequently told that the beach is totally unsuitable for beginners because the waves are too irregular and the current is too strong. A even bigger sense of accomplishment for Paddy :) So we spent the days in Las Penitas completely on the beach, very relaxed!

On the last evening, we tried yoga for the first time with Laura and Sarah - Laura has been practicing yoga for a long time and showed us some exercises. Even though it was really exhausting and made us realize how inflexible we are, we really enjoyed it - the backdrop of the sea with the sound of the waves during sunset definitely added to the experience :)