Up at the crack of dawn with the usual feeling of excitement, grab my board and head off in the direction of the el Canon Reef Break which is in the middle of the local navy base. Fortunately for surfers, they allow us access to the base by filling out some paperwork and giving them a photocopy of our passport. No board, no entry is the policy.
I get to the gate, check in and receive the thumbs up. The base is full of life with navy
recruits beginning their busy day. As I near El Canon, named for the massive canon in front
of the break, a local rips past me on his bike with his surfboard under his arm. He doesn't
even glance over to check the empty waves. He is heading somewhere else. "hmmm". I
stop for a minute to check out the waves but can't resist following this guy to see what
he's up to.
I arrive at an old cemetery where I find his bike hidden. There is a slightly worn path through
some shrubs with fresh footprints in the sand. I push on. The early morning sun is warming my back and bringing the animals and birds to life. I can hear and see small Lava lizards and
birds of different sizes and colours. I step cautiously across a group of large marine iguana
flopped across the path. They didn't even bother to acknowledge my presence. Luckily the path widened a bit because now I'm surrounded by some massive cactus and thorn bushes that look pretty nasty. I walk on. The cactus forest opens up to a rocky little bay with some waves breaking a few hundred metres out. They look rideable but no one is in sight. A small wave breaks close to shore and I can see a few sea turtles and fish through the crystal clear
wave. Out of the corner of my eye a blue footed booby, a bird with blue duck-like feet, dive-
bombs into the water while some pelicans and frigate birds with their seven foot plus wing span glide overhead looking for breakfast in the waters below.
I lose the surfer's footprints due to the lava rock bay. A hunch tells me to walk the rocks to
the end of the bay. The trail starts again and I see the fresh prints in the sand. It meanders
through some weird looking cactus and a little cove with a white sand beach that looks inviting to explore. At the end of the cove I walk out to the water's edge, look down the coast for any sign of the lone surfer, or a wave he may be heading for. I see him a few hundred metres further down the coast doing some warm-ups and sun salutations. I see the wave, it's a shallow left hand reef break that's got some teeth and breaks freakishly close to the lava rock shore.
A couple of waves of the set swing wider and open up for a longer ride. I walk over to
where the yogi is now doing some downward dogs, give a nod, he nods back but keeps doing his asanas. I decide to paddle out to the empty wave and have a go. I ungracefully clamber down the rocks and wait for a lull in the waves to make my move into the water. I belly flop onto my board and start to paddle, a few strokes and the water starts to suck out. I manage to get grounded on the tip of a rock while a wave builds and decides to push me back to the rocky shore. I luckily fend off the sharp lava rocks with my trusty reef boots. "Oh the joys of learning a new spot".
I can see the set coming in the distance. I let the first couple go, waiting for the one that peels wide, something big is in the wave surfing beside me, it's a huge sea lion. I pump to get closer but he's fast and rides it to the shore further than I'm willing to go. I go for my
second wave but pull back at the last second. Something is in my way. I thought maybe a rock but then I see it's eyes staring at me. It is a huge sea turtle coming up for air. I realize at that moment that I'm surrounded by all sorts of sea life, turtle heads popping up, sea lions
jumping, playing, surfing the waves and rays and fish swimming all around me. I'm definitely not feeling alone anymore.
The Galapagos has some great surfing opportunities that aren't generally very busy. It's also an unbelievable place to interact easily with all kinds of unique and generally friendly wildlife. The islands are one big wildlife conservation project, so the density of creatures is amazing. On any given day you could be surfing,swimming, snorkelling or scuba diving face to face with penguins, sea lions, a few species of sharks, huge turtles, whales, dolphins, whale sharks, manta rays and many other marine species . Or you could be hanging out on land with giant land tortoises, iguanas, boobies, pink flamingoes etc. which have evolved without the typical fear of humans.
It's a once in lifetime trip that every surfer-wildlife enthusiast should try to make.
