Lately I have been wondering, “Was it wise retiring my old wetsuit?” (see my first blog entry). It served me well and now, I have abandoned it to a cupboard in Queensland, while I am off surfing Peru.
Maybe my wetty is quietly chuckling in that warm cupboard, thinking “well Jim may be the one with something above the neckline but he sure didn’t realise what the Humboldt Current meant”.
The Humboldt Current begins downs in the Antarctic and then sweeps icy cold water up the western side of the Pacific Ocean. It dominates the coast of Chile and Peru with cold water conditions that would make a polar bear smile and wimpy travelling surfer wonder “was it wise retiring my old wetsuit?”
The truth is that before I came to Peru, I did read something about a current called Humboldt but spent most of my research time dreaming of endlessly peeling left hand point breaks. I didn’t actually cognitise that this current would mean water so cold that after 30 minutes surfing I would get out shivering uncontrollably and cursing my numb, fumbling limbs for failing me on every wave.
I love where we now live. Huanchaco is a small, dusty, surf town, on the edge of the desert with a series of left-hand breaks and not many surfers. But god it’s cold water. On the up side short surfs give me more time to learn Español.