Surf camp in Canggu, Bali

After a stopover in Singapore, I returned to Bali. I was a bit nervous on arrival, as I had read that entry requirements had recently been tightened to prevent people from flying out for a few days and then getting a new visa. But that's exactly what I was doing. I got lucky. The woman at immigration just wanted to know how long I was staying. That was it. I stayed one night at the hotel, then I was picked up the next morning and taken to the surf camp in Canggu, near Kuta beach, about an hour away. I had booked a private room with its own bathroom there. The room was super nice and I felt comfortable right away. There was also a pool and two cute baby dogs, who were only six months old. Rufus and Emy. Emy ran away on the first day and eventually came back all wet and dirty. Then I met the other beginner surfers, Sam from Australia, Theresa from Germany, and Remus from Singapore. And then we had some theory lessons. After that, there was a yoga class, because I had booked Surf and Yoga. The yoga was very relaxing and focused mainly on breathing. Then there was surf training in the pool. The next morning, we left for the beach at 7 a.m. It was super exhausting but also a lot of fun. Even after I got torn apart by the washing machine waves for the first time. There's nothing to do but wait, because you don't know which way is up. It's annoying when you come up for air, take a breath, and the next wave comes. We had learned in the course what to do in that situation: bring the board behind you and dive under the wave. Then quickly lie on the board and paddle out and wait for a good wave. Then paddle again, this time towards the shore, and stand up at the right moment. That's actually the hardest part: catching the right moment. The yoga in the afternoon was super relaxing as a balance, and we were almost falling asleep in the yoga class. In the evenings, we usually went out to dinner together. On the last evening, we went to a beautiful pool restaurant on the beach. It was called La Brisa and the location was amazing. Lights everywhere and beautiful seating options. We definitely had a nice last evening and were a bit sad that it was over, as we had become a real group. And it was also nice for me to not have to plan anything, but have each day structured with set times. That was really relaxing.