On Tuesday January 10th, 2012 we had to get up extremely early to head to Bathsheba for a day of surfing. Bathsheba is located on the other side of the island (the east side) so we left our dorms by 8am to ensure we could make all our bus times. We had to catch two buses to make our way over but the second bus only ran every two hours so we had to make our 9am stop. Driving around here is probably some of the craziest driving experience I think I’ve ever personally been through. Our first bus was pretty quite but very over crowded because the rest of residents of the island had school to attend to. As a quick side note, the school uniforms are some the brightest uniforms and spread of colors I have ever seen; it’s just so beautiful and they all look so cute. Our second bus ride was crazy though. Since Bathsheba is located on the other side of the island, that landscaping is laid out slightly different from ours over here on the west side of the island. The roads are still very narrow and torn up, but we went on some of the hilliest roads on the island I personally think. Nicole and I were pretending we were on a roller coaster as we went up and down through some of the villages. Probably the best thing about being on the second bus was the fact that we got to see what more of the local residential areas looked like. Finally after about an hour of traveling we reached Bathsheba.
Our next goal for the trip was to locate “Snake” who was going to be our surfing instructor for the day. After searching for a blue house with a white roof for about five minutes we saw a Bajan man staying in the distance waving us down. Since the waves we first arrived were apparently not good surfing material, according to Snake, he invited us back to his house for a few minutes so he could get ready and hoped the waves picked up. We found out that he doesn’t teach professionally, but it’s more of a side job. Apparently how he got his name when he first started surfing he road a short board instead of a long board which means he was able to weave through the waves and people much easier so he was given the name Snake. I wish that one of us had taken a very clear photo of him because he was probably in his early 60’s but one of the coolest guys we had met on the island. While we sat and waited he provided us with fresh picked bananas and coconut, which was incredible. An hour later it was time to hit the waves.
As we reached the beach to our far left we saw something that looked like a nature made pool area. The water reached about four feet deep but there was a little rope swing that allowed you to swing down from the rocks into the shallow pool if you wanted too. The water was so refreshing from the burning sun. While we chilled in the pool for a while Snake recruited a friend to help out with the surf lessons. One by one each of the group members who decided to surf went out there and went for it. Everyone got up at least once but probably the best of all of us was Kelsey. The few of us who didn’t surf walked around the beach to take pictures of the massive rocks that were just standing there in the middle of the ocean. I realized that the east coast the water is much rougher, the waves were coming in and break about every minute but there were rocks everywhere. After three hours and everyone completely their time it was time to head back to grab a very late lunch.
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