A Tale Of Dodges And Redemptions At Puerto Escondido

We’ve all been there. 

The wave of the day is coming right to us. We paddle hard but with a sliver of doubt, allowing some air to sneak under our board on the drop. Rather than riding our inside rail straight into the tube, our board flattens momentarily, sending us on a bullet-train toward the shore as we watch the concave wall stack before us. 

Only half-a-second to decide: pull up at the last moment and risk death by guillotine, or follow the straight and narrow path to humiliation?

Guillotine currently scarier. Straight it is. 

Instant regret. 

At this point, you can either hang your head in shame, skulk off the beach and never return to the ocean again, or you can paddle back out and pull into a psycho closeout, partially as a form of self-flagellation but also to confront the fear of a brutal Puerto beating. 

Mex-Pipe local Marcial Monreal had a few unfortunate dodges this past season, but that didn’t stop him from getting back on the pony and riding that bitch into oblivion. There are some makes, some misses, and some brutal in-betweens. 

It’s all very exciting.