[Download Italian Movie Killer Wave
Everardo Laboy
Sandy and I have gone on two surf trips in the past two years. We have another trip planned in a few months with Sara Wilkinson who first had the idea to try something new. Surfing is completely out of our comfort zones. We cut our teeth on the cute waves of Costa Rica in 2021. Last year, Sandy and I neglected to read the fine print and ended up in Chicama, Peru at the longest left breaking wave in the world. To say we were in over our heads was a literally descriptive understatement. That intermediate course involved full wetsuits, zodiacs to fight the strong current, and other hazards like sea lions and jellyfish as big as beach balls in a location that could be on the moon if the moon had killer waves and ceviche.
First, there were the gnats. Ryan, who spends most of his school days at this site, had warned us the insect repellent with DEET would be useless against them and, well, he was right. The team mobilized into the canoe, sinking into the muck ever so slightly. I transported a ten year old to avoid her shoes from getting muddy.
It took me at least ten minutes to get myself unstuck. This took great effort and I fortunately could use the canoe as leverage. I could feel shells poking me in my boots and prayed they were not oysters laced with flesh-eating bacteria. My legs emerged looking like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, caked in smelly, black mud up to my hips.
Ainslee, quietly weeping and frightened by the situation, was closest to me so I honed in on helping her. I locked arms with her and pulled hard. She screeched about her knee being turned in the wrong direction from which I was tugging. She lost the boot off her left leg which made a disgusting, squelching noise as she scrambled back onto the canoe. Before the gap in the mud could close up, I dove my hands into the mud and located the boot. It took at least five solid minutes to pull that thing out and all of my strength (thank you Sandbag and Ruck Training). Next target: Jack, who was growing more hysterical having sunk further down halfway between the shore and canoe.