We woke up and had a super lazy morning. It was another glorious day on Vancouver island but we’d planned to drive on. Then I accidentally booked something that would keep us here another day.

Before leaving I wandered over to the surf shop to take a few photos. I casually asked about the cost of surf lessons and the lady said she’d need to ring to see if any were available. I wandered around the shop while I waited, only semi serious about it. She found me in the shop and told me I’d been booked on the 1.30pm course. Looks like I’m going surfing!

It was already midday so I went back to the can to tell Mike the news, we had some lunch and headed off to my lesson.

I’d booked on a group lesson but when I arrived I was the only one! So I had a private lesson for the price of a group.

Zach was my instructor and he was your typical surfer dude. Tall, lanky with long blond hair. he was a super nice guy.

He gave me a big bucket and chucked my wetsuit in and said he’d meet us at long beach, about 15 mins drive away.

I was a little apprehensive but the sea was calm with a steady stream of learner waves.

He showed me how to stand up on the board while still on the beach, then we hit the waves. I was expecting it to be cold but it was nice and warm in the wetsuit.

The first wave I completely forgot to stand up on but it was fun to belly surf. The second waved I got up straight away. Too easy I thought. Then it seemed like beginners luck as I struggled with the next few. I was having trouble getting my feet under as the booties felt really cumbersome. So I took the booties off and next wave I was up!

But not having booties brought on an extra challenge. It was slippery. But I caught few waves and it was awesome fun. we were in the water for 1.5 hours and near the end my upper body strength had gone. Trying to push yourself up in the board was like doing push ups over and over.

After the lesson I was really cold and the feeling had gone in my fingertips. So I layered up, put the heater on full and eventually things returned to normal. We camped again at the surf shop.