Coming off of a great time in Tofo, Ponta was always going to be a bit of a difficult stop, but in all honesty it turned out perfect. After our arrival and the first surf which you saw the photos of already it was a really easy beginning. Winds were not perfect and we had a bit of weather, but living right on the beach made it nice and easy to time our surfs to when the waves were best. We took it in turns walking down every half an hour or so and as a result we had several more really fun surfs.
With the trip winding down you value every last moment. Even when the wind was terrible and there were bluebottles we still went and surfed the point just to get in the water, and safe in the knowledge that a surf like that one would probably be considered decent wherever they next surfed and it would probably be in a thick wetsuit too! So we surfed, and we ate, and we lay in the sun, and had a few beers and really just soaked it all in, the 13 weeks which we had spent driving all the way from Cape Town up to Tofo and back to Durban.
I have never actually measured how many kilometres we travel on one of these trips, but it would have to be in the region of 5000 kms, probably a bit more. That is a lot of distance and a lot of time to get to know people. You really get to make strong friendships on these trips and the goodbyes are always really difficult, the longer the time the harder the goodbyes. With just five of us at the end of the trip we all knew each other really well and to say goodbye and see them off at the airport was really hard. At the same time you know that the memories and good times you have shared will not be forgotten. Not by me, but also for most of the people that come on the trip it is a once in a lifetime experience. Not just getting to see South Africa but also learning to surf, it can actually shake your world upside down! In the best way possible that is.
So for me I head back to Cape Town and take some time off in my favourite city, knowing that I will be running another trip late January and that I will be exploring new places and surfing new spots in my time off, but for others there are new and different adventures. To all of you who were on the trip or who have been following the blogs, keep exploring, try something new in your life and have a great christmas and new years.
I hope you have enjoyed the blogs and I will be back with more soon, please feel free to comment on any of the blogs too!!!
Over and out,
Chris