First Surf attempts ending up at the Doctor's office

The first week went by so quick and even though I was very determined to get on a surf board as soon as possible (especially after my failed attempt in Bali) it wasn’t before the second week that I had my first surf lesson here in Samara. The first surf lesson I ever had was in Tel Aviv and partly because of the easy conditions I had there mixed with the kind motivations of my surf teacher left me somehow so invigorated or even carefree that I thought I could mix in with the accustomed surfers in Bali (which could have ended fatal but the actual end result was me just laying on the surfboard and chilling the whole time). Now, after having had a proper surfing lesson in Samara again, which included an hour long introduction to the theory of surfing, I realize how naive I was back in Bali and that it takes way more than only being able to keep your balance in order to know how to surf.So, I took my second surflesson ever here in Samara at Choco’s surf school with a bunch of other people from my language school. I can highly recommend that place as the  teachers are very professional and take their job very serious so they know what they’re doing. Also for them, safety is the top priority which also helps to wash away any prior doubts. The first part of the lesson consisted of a theoretical block where the teacher provided us with all what we needed to know before getting on a board. After the theoretical part was over, we were ready to “hit the waves”. The first lesson went quite good, we were given clear instructions by the teacher while being in the water and I was able to stand on my go which was a very satisfying feeling. I was feeling excited about surfing and wanted to make it some kind of a mission for my remaining time here in Samara. So as soon as our school schedule was in favor of the appropriate surf conditions (you can only surf at high tide and that time of the day always changes), we grabbed a surf board for the second time to give it a go ourselves and without a teacher. This time I already had a shorter surfboard and I could definitely feel the difference. Somhow I always ended up tipping over ahead of the surfboard and protecting my head from the surfboard which could possibly hit my head. So it happened that while covering my head with my arms under water,  I felt something hitting me in between my fingers. As soon as I got myself above the surface I saw that I was bleeding. It wasn’t really the fact that it hurt but in the shock I had lost all feeling in that hand and wasn't able to move my fingers anymore. Also there was a fair amount of blood which was kind of unsettling to me. The surfteacher came running up to me and immediately bandaged my hand. Despite me saying I was ok, they still thought it was better to have the doctor have a look at it to see how deep the wound was. Little later I found myself sitting at the doctor's waiting to get stiches as the wound was deeper than expected. I have to say that I behaved like a little kid as tears were rolling down my cheeks while he was doing the little routine surgery on me. This was in part because the three injections which should have numbed my hand didn't seem to work and I could feel every painful stich but also due to the fact that I knew that I was a little handicapped for a while now. Dr. Freddy, who was doing the “surgery” on me tried to cheer me up and when I asked him if it was him moving the bed or if it was something I only imagined he sarcastically replied: “No I’m Petrus and you’re going to heaven”. This was a needed distraction.So I survived (who would have tought that hehe) but I was feeling quite down due to the fact that I wasn’t allowed neither to surf nor do anything else which required the use of my hands for the following two weeks. Yes, I know there are way worse things that could have happened and I should be greatful, and so I am, but at that moment I was just  bothered by the fact that I had to start all over again with the surfing (and maybe also because my competitive side didn’t like the fact that everyone I had started with would be way better by the time I could surf again hehe). So with one mission partly set aside (learn how to surf) I had to find myself a new occupation. So the positive side of this is that it finally got me starting with blogging. I don't know why but I've been putting it up for a while and thought my blog would be anyway unnoticed given the massive amount of already existing blogs. But then again: You won't know unless you try, I just give it a go and I think as long as I enjoy it, its worth the effort!Before I knew it, another week had gone by and a new weekend was ahead of us. As we had a quite eventful weekend the week before we decided to stay in Samara the coming weekend (also because going on a trip every week would be too costly, as most people I was with had still a few months of travelling ahead of them). Still, we decided to at least check out a beach we haven’t been to before, so on Saturday we rented some bikes and cycled (without any gear shift and in the burning sun) to another bay which was called Playa Carillo. Playa Carillo gave me a lasting impression, I mean the beach which we usually go to right in front of our school is beautiful too, but Playa Carillo was just way less crowded and the sand was much whiter. Also, that day for the first time I felt like I was on vacation and that I had arrived in some kind of paradise, so there was a deep feeling of happiness bubbling up inside of me. We topped off that beautiful and hot day with a breathtaking sunset, where we used the occasion to hold a little photo session. Later that night we had a farewell meal at a nice restaurant in order to say our goodbyes to some friends which were leaving Samara the following day to continue their journey.Sunday then was a calm day as we only went to our local beach and were hanging around there for most of the day (which we do here basically everyday anyway hehe). But still it was another nice and relaxing day and I'm grateful for the beauty of every day spent under the warming sun laying at a beautiful Costa Rican beach (especially while back home it was snowing).So that's it for this post. For the next weekend we have a trip to Playa Tamarindo planned, which is located a bit further north on the pacific coast. So stay tuned if you want to hear more about it ;)And don't forget (as the Ticos here like to say): Pura vida! (Translated "Pure life" which should mean as much as living a happy life).Cheers.