Both Saturday and Sunday were equally sunny, packed with surfing sun and sand in places I never thought possible. I am positive I flew home from Coolangatta with nearly all of the sand at Duranbah beach.
Day 3:
The day began with breakfast at Raw Bar Cafe, where we had bummed into Kelly Slater the day before and I must admit, I was hoping for a repeat appearance but no such luck this time around. Quikie action started at D-bah that morning, and then around lunch time moved to Snapper Rocks where apparently the waves had really picked up. We packed up shop at D-bah and quickly made our way around the corner to Snapper where we got a great spot on the beach. The afternoon kicked off around 1pm and we learned right away that it did not matter that we had beat the bulk of the crowd to Snapper. Because year, after year, after year the fans stand along the shore, practically in the water - cheering on the surfers...making it nearly impossible to lounge on the beach while watching your favorites. (That's right - I am a lazy surf fan, and I would like to lay out and cheer and holler from the comfort of my beach towel). We tried to find a better spot, but it wasn't much luck. We called it day a few more heats and went and got ourselves some lunch, at our new favorite hot spot, Azteca which proved to be a much needed morale boost after being a bit frustrated with the crowds at the beach.
If you were keeping track it was our second stop for Mexican food in three days - we're loyal customers.
Saturday evening we hung out on the beach, and if my memory serves me correctly, we went and saw a movie at their local theater - which for those of you have had the pleasure of going to a movie at the Spirit Lake theater or the Milford Cinema (near the metropolis of Okoboji, IA) it was quite similar in size and smell. I believe we saw The International with Clive Owen - Chris thought we were seeing Clive Owen's other blockbuster...Duplicity, boy was he surprised when he learned that Julia Roberts was not the leading lady. It was an "Okay" flick, but nothing too spectacular.
Day 4:
So as I have mentioned we did all we could to stay out of our cramped little hostel - so bright 'n early on Sunday morning we headed out for breakfast. On our way to Snapper Rocks we found a great little place called, Bellekai and we immediately wished we had discovered this gem earlier in the trip. They had a brekky special of banana bread and coffee...and I'll tell you I don't usually get all worked up about banana bread, but this was not your typical nana bread; it was served on a huge plate, two gigantic warm slices of bread sprinkled with powdered sugar and generous side of warm butter...needless to say I was in brekky heaven.
The day of competition started off with the female finals which was an absolute blast to see in person. Stephanie Gilmore, the hometown favorite ended up winning the final match - and it was oh so cool to see her take first place in front of so many of her friends and family, and at a beach where she grew up surfing. After a little bit of downtime the guys hit the water to compete for a place in the semi-finals. We watched all day long, heat after heat, amazing ride after amazing ride - and just before they called the competition for the day they let one final heat charge the waves at Snapper Rocks. It just so happened to be Kelly Slater v. Julian Wilson (a teenager from Coolum, Queensland).
The entire crowd was up on their feet for the entire heat between the legend and the up and coming star Wilson -- and much to everyone's surprise Wilson took the heat, and moved into the semi-finals, smashing Slaters chance to move any further in the Quikie Pro....the beach went wild; cheering for both Wilson and Slater, some in shock over Slater's relatively early round loss to the youngster.
I of course blamed myself for his loss...What if he had been so creeped out by our meeting a couple days before he found it impossible to compete? Maybe he would have been able to dominate had so many fans like myself just left him alone.
....... Don't worry I didn't lose any sleep over this.
But I'll tell you what will make you lose sleep...staying four nights at the Sands (Non-stop Live Music Hall) Hostel. And some of the beach-wear I saw the Brazilians wearing...that could also cause one to lose sleep -- I have never seen such interesting/non-existent bikinis in my life. Oh and speedos are EVERYWHERE! They aren't just for the Olympians any more...
All things considered even with the loud hostel, it was really one great vacation. Filled with sun, surfing, heaps of sand and tons of eating out. Just how I like it.
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