Views like this made the trip well worth it for Koa Smith. Photo: Screenshot//Koa Smith
Southern Mexico was like a surf vlogger conference when the first south swell of the season lit up the coast a few weeks back. Nathan Florence got his fix in the monster waves of Puerto Escondido, Jacob “Zeke” Szekely found a firing point break down the coast, and Koa Smith hired guide services that got him private access to one of the many exclusive point breaks in Oaxaca.
Smith recruited Nathan Zoller and Max Beach to join him on the Mexico strike mission, surfing a wave that had been so infrequently visited that the road needed to be trimmed of branches that stood in the way. The beach was also behind a private gate with a lock, and the rough road even blew out a tire.
When Smith first feasted his eyes on the right-hander, he compared it to some of the best waves in the world.
“That thing went like Teahupo’o, Sandspit, Skeleton Bay,” he said. “It’s 100-percent doing it. There’s no one around, and it’s really gnarly — really sucked up.”
The trio drove through countless barrels; maybe more closeouts than makes due to a shallow, abrupt sandbar on the end section of the wave. But there were plenty of gems that were definitely worth the broken boards.
