~ When I saw the man, I asked him, "Donde puedo encontrar las Olas?" He told me, "Ellas estan mas alla de las montañas."
The mountains were huge and it took time to make it over them. I could smell the Ocean before I could see it. My sense of smell led me to this spot and allowed my sense of sight to take over from there.
I stayed out so long that I had to walk back over the mountain in the dark.
~ After making the way down the mountain, I suited up and shot a final frame before paddling out. Multiple waves were had and the winds cooperated until nearly dark.
I got out of the water and got dressed. I left my board and suit on the rocks so that I wouldn't have to carry them back over the mountain and then back over the mountain again the next day.
When I returned the following day, I saw the man that directed me over the mountain the day before. He asked me about my board and I told him I had left it on the rocks along the shore. He smiled and tapped his finger to his temple. I smiled and did the same before climbing back over and paddling out.
~ On the third day, I walked past the old man's place on my way over the mountain. A big river flowed from out of the mountains past his house. He had a fire burning and he was cooking something over it when I walked up. "Hay muchas Truchas en esa aqua." He had an entire Trout in the pan above the flames. When it was done, he gave me some to eat. We finished and he knew where I was headed. He grabbed a few things and told me he would walk over the mountain with me. I followed him up a trail that he hadn't told me about the other day. It was much easier than the overland route that I had been using the last 2 days.
We arrived at the top and looked down at the Ocean. The surf was still good but, it was clearly the last day of this Swell. The man sat down on a tarp he had brought with him and I walked down to where my board and suit were. I paddled out into the cold water and rode some nice waves until the high tide shut things down. I made my way to shore over the rocks and packed my suit and board into my bag and walked back up to the top where the man smiled at me. He knew that I was stoked and he told me that if he were younger, he would have joined me.
I followed him down the trail and over to his place. He grabbed a net and we walked down to the river bank. As if on cue, a Trout presented itself and he scooped it up in the net. He quickly bled it and handed it to me. Thanking him, and rather blown away by the entire experiences of the last few days, I wrapped the Trout in my cold wetsuit and made the long walk back to the road.
