After Friday’s paddle-a-thon, I was sure Lane was gonna be a wash out. heavy, choppy seas and wind blown storm surge. Saturday morning, Pato and I headed back up to Punta Mita for a repeat of the weekend before. We stopped off at Albercas to see what the action was.
La Alberca (or “Pools”) is a small bay with a right point break that takes off just a few meters from a rocky point, breaking in a bowl shape. It’s one of the lesser known spots in the area. The wave tends to stand up much taller then the other breaks in the area, breaking directly on to a rocky bed with a stunning megalopolis of sea urchins. At low tide it’s a suicide mission and at high tide, only slightly less so. La Alberca is, I’d say, the most advanced break in the area and only the most ballsy surfers go there. This spot is kinda like my wonder spot: when I go sit on the sideline and see someone (way more advanced then me) drop-in on an overhead wave and bob and weave maybe 15 feet from the swirling suction pools caused by the rocks just underneath the surface. La Alberca is a triple black diamond, not for the heaviness of the wave, but for the conditions on which it breaks. As the wave gets bigger, the farther outside of the bay it breaks and the better and safer the spot is. Those who brave the conditions are rewarded with one of the sweetest waves in the area. Not for the faint of heart.
This particular day, the tides were higher then I have ever seen them. literally. Waves were coming in glassy, at overhead and sometimes even double-overhead with two sections. The first breaking much farther out then usual, a steep drop with the occasional small tube, nice big faces, perfect for carving and a nice shelf for lip maneuvers. The second section was about 5 feet, tall, steep and fast. This is the more dangerous of the two, as you’re basically landing in a minefield of urchins and rocks and the odds are 50/50 you’re gonna get a urchin needle tuxedo. At least ten surfers in the water. We watched for a few minutes, turned to each other and said screw it, now’s the time to sack up and get in the water.
You enter Alberca from the mid point in the shallows of the bay, no sand, just large and small rocks covered with barnacles for at least 50 meters as you walk out to water deep enough to get on your board. I cut my feet twice and Pato managed to step on an urchin, receiving eight nice, big, long spines to the heal and mid-sole of his foot. good way to start out the session. Once in the water I sat on the shoulder for maybe an hour or so, trying to calm my fear. It truly was a big wave, but nothing I hadn’t handled before, it’s the rocks that were freaking me out. As I gathered my big ball of nerves and took a few waves, the rides were amazing. Fast and strong but not heavy, as long as I didn’t drop in too late and kept in front of the wave, I was in no danger of eating rock. I went for the second section, pumped into it and carved up and down the bowl-shaped wave. As I ducked out the back and the water level slowly dropped, I found myself resting chest-down on a giant rock. No impact, just a gentle big-rock hug. whoa.
After a few waves I got my confidence back and charged the spot. As I waited for the incoming sets it occurred to me that every surfer in the water was more advanced than I am. It felt good to surf with people better then me. Watching, studying their wave selection, take-off point and maneuvers. School was in session. We ended up surfing Albercas for maybe four hours. Glassy the whole time. Truly epic session. I learned how to dive into the face of the wave if for some reason I was being pushed behind or couldn’t make the section, this is a sister move to being in a barrel and punching through the backside. particularly helpful with this barnacle, rock, urchin encrusted wave. I also learned to drop-in on the wave and to come back up to the lip and just sorta float on the ledge of the breaking lip and then drop in again, usually with a two to three foot air-drop before hitting the water again. It’s truly amazing how quickly you can learn by surfing more advanced conditions with better surfers.
For my last wave, i dropped in a bit too late and I could see the crest getting ahead of me, the white foam behind me, easily overhead. Rather then trying to fight my way back to the face and risk getting thrown into the rock shallows, I just dove into the maw of the wave, trying to punch out the back side. This didn’t quite work and the white water pushed me toward the rocks. I knew I was in a bad position, so instead of waiting to surface I just started swimming underwater against the flow, hoping to not kick anything. As i surfaced, luckily the waves coming in weren’t too big. I got on my board and paddled to the left of the breaking faces, trying to stay out of the rock zone. I caught one of the smaller waves and headed in. My last wave wasn’t exactly the most noble of affairs, but it was somehow oddly fitting, a signifier. My close brush with certain pain solidified my appreciation and respect for this spot. I was higher then a kite for the rest of the day, having overcome my own internal fears to surf a local, legendary spot. It’s a surfing cliche for sure: but my stoke meter was off the chart. Thank you Albercas!
