Last Updated on May 28, 2023 by Ellen
One reason we retired early is because we wanted to enjoy life before our bodies slow down and break down with age. When something comes up that one of us wants to try, we want to feel strong enough and healthy enough to actually do it. Things like surfing.
My spouse Tedly is athletic and fit and he wanted to try to ride a wave or two, for the first time in his life at age 53. This is reason gazillion-trillion-bavillion why I love this man – he’s willing to try new things that men half his age wouldn’t try. His adventurous spirit is endearing, and fun.
Tedly took a surf lesson at Playa Carrizalillo in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. It’s close to the famous surf spot Zicatela. A cool cat named Julio gave him some pointers for about 10 minutes.
Another nice young man named Manuel showed him what to do in the water for about an hour, and then Tedly rented the board and was in the water alone another hour.
He got to ride some waves, and I loved-loved-loved to see him smile and laugh, and have fun while I played with his camera and chatted with Julio.
Playa Carrizalillo is a great place for beginners to try out surfing. It’s a small bay with mostly gentle waves that are much calmer than the beastly walls of water at Zicatela.
Total cost was $25. No major injuries to his middle-aged body, just a few scrapes on his foot from a rock near the break.
The next day he said his stomach muscles were a little tender in spots where they normally are not.
What about me? Well, the original plan was for us both to practice surfing in mid-March, but it turned out I needed a surgical breast biopsy. Instead, the week leading up to the surgery I kept jogging, which is my usual routine because I enjoy it. After the surgery, I had stitches until just a couple of days before we left Puerto Escondido.
I’m still not ready to jog yet. I’m still sore. Doc said I’ll be sore for a few months (bleh), but I can start exercise when I feel ready as long as I go slow. My sore body sees the wisdom in that. Better to heal the right way.
Jogging is the key for me in keeping a regular routine during our slow travel adventure because I can jog anywhere once I adapt to local conditions. Whether it’s the malecon in Mahahual, Mexico, a two-lane road through sugar fields in Corozal, Belize, or sand jogs in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, I find my way.
Morning jogs at Zicatela Beach in Puerto for about six weeks were awesome for me. (Week seven I had the stitches, then we left at the start of week eight). Six weeks was enough time for me to see the ocean shift the sands on the beach, witness the days get longer and warmer. I saw two new moons and spring tides, and when the sand wasn’t packed down for an easy run, I played with the level of difficulty.
I pushed myself a little bit and worked up to jogging a 5k several times a week with about 75 percent on loose sand. I felt amazing and strong, and happy. I’ve missed jogging since the day I stopped – three weeks ago today, the day before surgery. It’s quiet time for me. God time. Private time. Magic time.
I’ll figure out my next route around Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, once we get settled this upcoming weekend, and once I’m not as sore. As a young girl, my dad taught me: if there’s a will, there’s a way. If I want it, I have to work for it. That’s a common theme in my life.
For right now, I’m grateful for the benign biopsy results, and I’m grateful I get to go on this slow travel adventure with an amazing human being who has an endearing, adventurous spirit.
We are active early retirees! You might also like:
- Journey into the Sahara Desert
- Living on a floating house in Vietnam
- Hiking up volcanoes in Guatemala
- Playing with elephants in Thailand
- Diving, snorkeling at Banco Chinchorro