Become a surf guru – our surf and yoga holiday in Spain featured in EasyJet’s in-flight magazine this month!

Guardian journalist Trevor Baker had never surfed or practised yoga before but was determined to become the ultimate Zen surf and yoga guru in one week! So we sent him on our popular surf and yoga holiday in Costa De La Luz, Spain last month to see if he was cut out for it. Share in his adventure through his lively account below. His article is featured in EasyJet’s in-flight magazine, Traveller, in its regular ‘The Challenge’ section.

 

When learning to surf, there’s one brief moment of peace and tranquillity…

…that’s a second or two before the wave reaches the tail of the board. You’ve already seen it coming. You’re in position, focused, toes pressed down, looking over one shoulder to the growing swell of water.

You start to paddle, little strokes to begin with, the longer, stronger strokes. You move forward and the wave arrives, lifting the board. This is the time to take your hands out of the water and put them down by your ribs, pushing yourself up, back arched like a cobra.

There’s a growing roar as though an engine’s been switched on as the speed ramps up. You get into ‘the box’ – on all fours, the beginner’s prelude to standing. The beach is getting closer. One foot goes forward, twisting at the same time so that your back foot is almost perpendicular to the board and, for a fraction of a second, you’re there. You’re surfing…

Then the board goes one way, you go the other. The world spins around and the blue sky rolls past through a confusion of air and sea, a spray of foam and bubbles, until you come up spluttering salt water.

I’m not sure if it’s the same for everyone, but that’s what it was like for me on my first day learning with Trafalgar Surf in southern Spain. The regular wipeouts were a reminder of the challenge I’d set myself.

[…]

There’s a new breed of surf schools, like Trafalgar, which offer inexpensive courses with shared accommodation and the addition of a secret weapon: yoga. Apparently, a few hours of sitting with your legs tied up in knots is the perfect way to tune even the most uptight mind to the frequency marked ‘surfer dude’. My challenge then, was not just to learn to surf: it was to become a surfer, with all the positive stereotypes that implies. I would become cool and Zen, like a slightly more law-abiding Bodhi from Point Break. All in just eight days.

 

To find out whether Trevor successfully conquered his 8-day challenge, read the full article.

 

Now, you.

It’s your turn. Challenge yourself. Go learn to surf in 8 days. Only the adventurous will find holidays that last a lifetime.

Check out more adventure holidays at GoLearnTo.com.