One Armed Bandit
As we got closer we could see it looked big. We parked in the town and had a look. It was very big - probably about double overhead and cleanish. Mark and I decided against going in as it was a "World Class" left and crowded. Mat went in, he was a bit nervous at first. It didn't help that we were asking him what personal items of his we could have if he didn't return! After he came out this was what he said...
"Awesome break, lots of people coming and going, went in regardless coz I'll never come here again - lies! I caught three waves, fairly close to the peak - heart stopping drops into long, long walls and needed to stay high on the wave to make the sections. The river was a handy tool making it easy to get back to the line up. I want to live here when I learn espanola!"
That night we went out in Mundaka and met some of Mark's Spanish mates. They introduced us to Tapas - great food and in particular, a dish called 'Tortilla Patatas' which is basically a dish made from eggs and potatoes.
Next day we set off for Biarritz and the first break we got to was Guethary - a reef breaking offshore with a number of people out. It was difficult to tell how big it was as it was quite far from the shore so we went further up the coast until we got to Les Cavaliers.
The waves here were overhead and crowded. The jetty provided a conveyor belt rip out the back. I got out the back and again realised I was out of me depth! I had a few waves but got completely pummelled. Mark and Mat decided to stay in for a while and I moved over to the next bay at La Barre.
I had a few nice waves but it started to close out as the tide pushed in. We relaxed in the afternoon and camped near the Anglet beaches. We waited for the evening and I was dying to get out as I'd had a disappointing surf in the morning.
The initial signs were not good as walking down to the break we noticed a body boarder had been badly munched in the shore break and was being carried out of the water! No mouth to mouth was needed but in Marks words, "there wasn't much f* movement". We carried on and went into the shore break which wasn't that bad. You just had to time it right but it was definitely an area to avoid. I caught a few nice lefts and Mark had a few which was unusualas he normally goes right (always!) We surfed until darkness.
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