Tim West Checks In From His Temporary Surf Pad In Puerto Escondido

Summertime. It sounds so perfect while being trapped indoors during a January rainstorm as the power goes out and a one ton tree branch is heard falling on your car outside. That’s all I could think about to put my mind in a happy place at that moment. Warm weather stretching all the way out to the San Mateo county beaches, a case of cold brews next to the bbq, and an overhead glassy swell lasting for a whole week. Then reality sets in. Insurance doesn’t cover my truck, rain is forecasted for days, and mavericks has gone more dormant than a volcano. The fantasy of summertime waves is shattered into remembering 60 degree foggy weather, a hot coffee mug just to stay warm, and a 2 foot wind swell all while just over the hill it is 95 degrees. Now don’t get me wrong, our surf spots have their days out here in Half Moon Bay during the off season, but they are usually far and few between. With this thought in mind I have been planning summer long trips for years now to surf the best waves that are to be found in the world, and this summer happens to be Puerto Escondido, Mexico.

It’s been a dream of mine to surf down in this part of Mexico. Big powerful barreling waves are the norm here at the beach and then there’s the long right hand point breaks that are just about impossible to find hours away. I’ve always been inspired by surfer magazine photos of Rusty Long back in the day paddling into huge waves out here. And who can forget that day Ken Collins pulled into an XXL wave a couple years back getting the shack of his life. I felt it was time to give it a go, so I packed up my SUV, loaded up the jet ski, and cruised down the coastline of the pacific ocean to find my adrenaline fix that couldn’t be found back home until mavericks lit up again.

Crossing the border had me on my A-game after hearing the news media coverage of death, disease, and disaster in Mexico. Typical news stories, but it had me wanting to get to my destination as soon as possible avoiding any drug cartels, corrupt cops, or pigs with swine flu… I drove all the way down Baja to the east cape of Cabo where right points bend themselves all the way into the Sea of Cortez with nothing but perfection. The crystal clear blue water had a six foot swell and offshore winds dusting off the top of the waves. A beautiful sight to see in and out of the water.

After a week of surfing some of the best waves I’d ever seen it was off to the mainland on a ferryboat that somehow stayed afloat with countless automobiles stuffed inside of it. I stopped at a couple of world class left hand point breaks for a few nights to surf and relax after hours of time in the Pathfinder. My body started feeling like the tin man from the wizard of oz without his oil can. There is one spot just south of Puerto Vallarta I stopped at that not only has good waves, but has some of the most spectacular sunsets to be seen anywhere in the world. The red, yellow, and orange colors lit up the sky like a painting with siloets of palm trees poking out of the cobblestone rocks reaching towards the ocean. Every time I visit this wave and watch the sunset, it gives me that feeling of being 100% content and in the moment, reflecting on the past, present, and visualizing the future.

Three weeks later I finally rounded the corner and saw the beach in Puerto Escondido. The setup here looked just as Picasso as any photo I’d ever seen in any photo. The bay stretches for a couple of miles with two points on either end. The north end is where the magic happens gifting any visiting surfer with a jaw-dropping view of spitting tubes at multiple take off zones. I was lucky enough to arrive in the late evening during a solid swell. The waves were pumping. Within an hour of arriving to my destination I had a comfortable room to call home at Agua Azul with a rooftop view of the whole setup. The next morning was the best surf yet and the biggest for sure in the two weeks I’ve been here. I took out my 6’9” Dick Brewer for the first time and glided into waves with ease finding a couple of wide open cylinders. So many open tubes were up for grabs. I managed to bag a few and must have surfed for 3 hours that session. For a moment there I had to pinch myself just to make sure I wasn’t sleeping through a January rainstorm at home.

With a rooftop view and afternoon sunsets to watch after surfing all day I lay back in the reclining chair on this 4th of July and reflect on another day in paradise. When I left America there was a declining economy with what seemed like almost a civil war between Democrats and Republicans tearing the country apart from its foundation. I’d been laid off from my union pipe fitting job and had no hope of getting back to work for months. But I see light at the end of the tunnel with our country.

There is no place like home for me. The San Mateo County coastline is just that place. Nestled in an amphitheater of coastal mountains blocking us from the concrete jungle lies a handful of small towns, from Montara to Pescadero, that combine to form the coastside. It is one of those communities where you can go into the local coffee shop and be sure to get a hello or a smile with your morning joe. Friendly waves and positive vibes are abundant. Concrete is limited and the hills roll for miles without a single house in the distance. The ocean breeze here is one that I cannot live without and that fog, geez the fog. Growing up here the fog becomes a sense of home rather than a annoyance, which I can’t wait to breath in when I return in September. The beach breaks, the reef breaks, Pillar Point, Montara Mountain, south of town, downtown Half Moon Bay, Raman’s chai tea, Carlo’s sandwiches, Ketch Joanne’s, friends and family. On this 4th of July I reflect on how much I love the coastside and my country of the United States of America for all that it has given me. Half Moon Bay is my home and the outside world are its branches. Have a great Independence Day! -Tim West.

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him” –Abraham Lincoln