Editor’s Note: This adventure was proudly made possible by Subaru. Find yours today.
Ready for an adventure in Mexico. Photo: Alex Smolowe
I’ve always wanted to go to Mexico. I don’t mean a Puerto Vallarta all-inclusive or a Cancun five-star, either. I’ve done that, but I don’t count that as going to Mexico. I’ve always wanted to do it right – full of excitement heading across the border, hunting for street tacos, breathing in red, muddy desert air – but for some reason, conditions just haven’t lined up to get me onto the other side of the border in proper surf trip fashion.
The closest I really got was a few months ago, when a bunch of my friends got together and planned the world’s best trip: six weeks in Baja, fishing, camping, surfing, and drinking in the dirt. Of course, I couldn’t make it happen, and for the entire six weeks they were gone, I cursed myself for missing it.
The only real experience I have with Mexico is sitting in pee-filled pools at a swim-up bar at an all-inclusive resort while pale, flabby tourists flaunt themselves in speedos and suck back neon, fruit-filled drinks. I want real Mexico, with dirty street chicken on spits and old women selling blankets and those perfect waves that take more than just a flight and resort to access.
A few days ago, we had a fire on the beach just north of Los Angeles. Where we live, that’s illegal. We spent the night talking in paranoid whispers, flinching at every flashlight that came over the hill, and keeping the fire down to a few sparks, lest the police come and kick sand on our fire and in our faces. There are a lot of things that aren’t allowed in the United States, and to be honest, we want to do some of those things. Mexico represents a lot of freedom for the traveling surfer.
That’s why when Subaru stepped in and insisted we take that perfect surf trip to Mexico because we were Subaru owners, I nearly choked on my Michelada. There was a twist, though: we had to shape our own surfboard before we left. (Darn! Right?) I have a very vague idea of how to shape a surfboard–some basic design capabilities and a rudimentary understanding of what will make which thing do what–but I am by no means a shaper. We do, however, have a friend who owns Ride Anything and makes his living carving foam blocks into magic. Perfect. We’ll swing by his house, bend his shaping talents to our will, and get him to teach us everything he knows in a few short hours. When we get back from our trip to Las Gaviotas and the surrounding Northern Baja area, we’ll be able to pick it up and see how we did.
So we’re going to do it. We’re going to throw caution to the wind, pack as many of our friends who can drop everything at a moment’s notice into two Subarus, throw our surfboards on top, and point south towards the border, looking for perfect waves and adventure. We’re going to have raging beach fires and purchase blankets from old women. We’re going to eat filthy street chicken. We’re going to find those perfect waves. And you know what? I can’t wait.
First, we’ve got to shape a surfboard. The Inertia contributor and owner of Ride Anything, Bryan Knowles, has promised to be our surfboard sherpa. Wish us luck. Photo: Alex Smolowe
This adventure was proudly made possible by Subaru. Find yours today.
