Untold stories from the archive. "The Sisyphus experience".

My very first experience on a surf board was at Seminyak Beach in Denpasar on the island of Bali in November 2011. It was a struggle and a highly frustrating experience. As a complete beginner, I spent most of the time just trying to get out to the waves and the fun, but finally arriving there and try getting up on the board? Sorry mate, not this time either and slam, on your nose in the salty water again. Roll around in the waves, finding your feet and board. Orientate in the water; what is up and down, which way is the shore and which way the waves.

Like the myth of Sisyphus, the Greek or Corinth king who was punished by the gods and forced to carry or push a huge rock up a mountain, only to see it roll back down again, and doing so over and over again through his whole life. That was how I felt like those days on that surf board.
As you can see, I did manage to stand on that board sometimes, but not for long.
One thing did give me an adrenalin kick though, and that was the day I was allowed to take a tour on the beach cleaning tractor, what a treat for a frustrated surfer.