Surf’s up, one more time!

On our last full day in Bali, we decided to take the little guys (yes, that includes William) surfing one more time…one more big fun outing before flying to Scotland where a 3-week isolation order had just been announced. We took a Grab to the beach and found our surfing instructors from the first day. Wow how the beach had changed in 10 days since the last time we were there! Our first time surfing (March 13th) there were so many surfers in the water that we had to carry our boards for 10-15 minutes along the beach before we found a little opening in the crowd of people, but even then we were constantly having to dodge people once we got out among the waves. But this time (March 23rd), there were so few people that we just took the boards straight into the ocean and practically had the waters to ourselves! It struck me what an unusual experience it was to be surfing in the middle of the afternoon at one of the most popular beaches in Bali with almost no one else around. I doubt that happens very often. Our boys made the most of it by getting in one run after another for about 90 minutes. All four of them picked up right where they left off last time, and before too long were incorporating some tricks like jumping up and landing on the board, doing 180s, and surfing all the way to the beach to give Dad a high five while still riding the board. They got so good at it that by the end the instructors let them all have some time in the water where they were completely on their own, setting up the board, paddling with a wave, and popping up into position. It was so fun watching from the beach! I wanted to be out there with them, but with a 30-hour travel day looming ahead of us, I didn’t want to risk upsetting my back. Anya and I LOVED watching and cheering for them, so it was a great day for all.