Cape Town’s got some good surf spots. Not that I would know a lot about it, but the beach of Muizenberg is a popular place to go. So it couldn’t be avoided that some of my friends took me out there one day to try to catch some waves. It was the beginning of summer, warm with a breeze, and thus awfully crowded. This didn’t stop us from renting some gear and hitting the waves.
I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, but it was quite relaxing to be in the sea on a big surf board. When you see people surfing it doesn’t look all that hard, but even catching a wave seemed to be a challenge. When I had finally gotten one with the right timing, I was so excited I totally forgot to stand up. I rode the waves all the way to the beach, looked back and found out I had to swim all that way back.
It was so much fun though… riding my surfboard on my knees. After some time in the water I suddenly saw something from the corner of my eye. Hmm… wait a minute. Muizenberg is also very famous for its great white sharks. Shit! It’s a fin! My adrenaline levels skyrocketed and I swam as fast as I could, in reality barely moving at all of course. The fin approached me at super speed. What was I thinking? Why did I have to go surfing?
Then the fin got too close for comfort and I looked beside me. There he was, a playful seal that was playing shark. My fear didn’t really change, but at least I wasn’t going to be eaten by a shark. Seals up close are pretty big and impressive. A different experience from the aquarium. After 1,5 hours of surfing I was knackered. Definitely something to try again, if only I could wear my glasses…