By Arabella
Waking up to go surfing, getting ready in the morning, eating breakfast—it all feels different this time.
Today is our last day surfing in Fiji with our friends Pippa and Isla. We started learning how to surf weeks ago and have been doing it almost every morning together. Whether we have to wake up at six in the morning or go through a storm to get there, we will always be out surfing if the conditions are right. This morning, Pippa and Isla came onto Arabella at \[time\] and we motored to the motu island. Alex and Liam observed the waves in the two different surf spots, the left motu and the swimming pool. Swimming pool was our final pick, and we left the boat feeling excited and ready for our last day of surfing together.
As I jumped into the water with my surfboard, I felt the water creep up my spine and felt a current pushing us right away. Pippa, Isla, and I started paddling as hard as we could towards the surf break, while Liam cruised past us effortlessly. Pippa challenged me to use the “impossible” pink board, which nobody likes to use because it’s so small and slippery, but I felt confident that I could ride a wave on it. Today’s waves were gorgeous. Watching others surf these waves, I felt the impatient need to get on one as well.
In the distance, I saw a couple of waves that seemed rideable, so I paddled in a little bit and waited for the set to come in. The first one was a little bit small, but the second wave looked incredible. I started to paddle with all the energy I got from my excitement and nervousness, and with each stroke of my arm against the water’s surface, I knew it was coming. As the wave approached, I felt a surge of adrenaline course through my body, turning on my focus and awareness. As my paddles became more intense and powerful, I felt the wave take control of my board and propel me forward. As I transitioned from lying down to riding the wave, I was in disbelief. I got up on the pink board! I was so excited that I lost concentration and tumbled off my board, landing in a swirl of chaos. As I finally came out of the water, I saw a gigantic wave crashing just a couple of meters away. As it came closer, I held my breath and dove under it, and as I emerged from the other side, wave number two came.
After clearing a couple of big waves, I paddled off to the side and back up to the other surfers. When I reached everybody, my arms felt so weak, and I was not in the state to paddle onto another wave.
While we were waiting for a nice set, Pippa and I saw a person surfing with waterproof earphones in and couldn’t stop thinking about how awesome it would be to be riding an incredible wave while listening to some great music.
As a good set came by, Pippa and I both paddled onto it, and oh boy, was there a drop. After transitioning from paddling to standing, we both dropped down to the bottom of the wave and lost balance, concluding with a couple of somersaults underwater. When we both came back up, we saw Isla next to us. She was paddling back up to the top after catching a wave. We got back onto our boards and started paddling with Isla until one of the biggest waves started forming in front of us! There was no chance to paddle over it in time, so we threw our boards behind us, tried to keep our distance from each other, and dove underneath. When I floated back up to the surface, I checked around to make sure nobody was bonked on the head by a board, and then immediately got back onto my board to paddle away from the surf break.
After a couple of great waves from everyone, we were exhausted and decided it was time to head back to the dinghies. While I was paddling back, some guy on a jet ski came and picked me, Isla, and Pippa up and brought us to the dinghy. While driving, he took his cap off and asked me, “Do you remember me?” I looked up at him, and realization hit. This man pushed me onto one of my best and proudest waves yesterday! I was so grateful and thanked him again for that incredible wave.
We hopped into the dinghy and drove back to the boat to have lunch and say goodbye. Goodbyes carry the weight of everybody’s bittersweet emotions. It brings the sadness of parting but with a promise of meeting again. Our goodbyes were full of hugs and planning for when we would see each other again—Australia, Indonesia, or even Japan! This was such an amazing experience learning how to surf with two incredible friends. I think we’ve all learned a ton from this journey and will meet again to continue our adventures!