Arugam Bay - the surfer's paradise...?

Through a quick minivan ride, we arrived earlier than expected on the east coast of Sri Lanka in Arugam Bay. After a hearty breakfast/lunch, we wanted to enjoy the afternoon we gained at the beach and explore the surf paradise more closely. In theory, a good plan... In practice, we had to realize that we didn't find any surfers directly at the beach in front of our hostel, and the wind was so strong that it was impossible to stay at the beach. Slightly disappointed, we walked from the center of Arugam Bay to the edge to escape the wind. Once we arrived there, we finally saw them: surfers! Numerous surfers were lying on their boards in close proximity. We were actually at the so-called "Baby Point" - the beginner's surfing hot spot. Since the waves at Baby Point were actually at a pleasant height for beginners, we decided to rent surfboards the next day. Without a surf course, but with competent surf instructors Philipp and Nina, we found a spot among the other surfers after some short dry exercises. We had about 1.5 hours of fun with our first attempts to stand on the boards. These attempts were further developed during the second surf session of the day, so that we were able to surf the small waves from Baby Point to the beach. In the evening, we admired the professional surfers on real waves at "Main Point".

On the third day in Arugam Bay, a scooter tour was on the program again. We drove to another surfer spot, Peanut Point. There we found an idyllic beach with few surfers and spent a cozy day.

On the fourth day, Philipp and Lukas wanted to start motivated at 6 a.m. to avoid the large crowd of surfers at Baby Point. Good plan... There were only about 15 surfers in the water, but due to the lack of waves (in the surfer's paradise???), they were all condensed on about 10 square meters. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Philipp and Lukas gave up disappointed and found their good mood again during a slightly escalated breakfast (they simply ate everything the friendly host put on the table :D ). Fortunately, the afternoon was more successful. We spent it at the beach with a bodyboard and had a lot of fun fighting with and against the waves.

On the fifth and final day in Arugam, in addition to more surf attempts, we went on an extensive shopping tour. As a conclusion, it can be said that Arugam Bay couldn't completely fulfill our high expectations of a surfer's paradise. Too many surfers in a small space made learning difficult and somewhat reduced the fun. Nevertheless, we made the best of it and had five beautiful days. 