Surfers traveling to Baja fall into 2 categories: there's the dudes that taxi from the airport or landing strip to their hotel, etc., and then there's the individuals for whom part the Baja experience is "enduring" the desert! Not far South of Ensendada, the desert starts to become "user unfriendly". For those hardy souls who are ready to sit it out through the flat spells at Punta Pequena ( a.k.a. "Scorpion Bay), waiting for the doors of Valhalla to open on those rare occasions, there are obstacles to be overcome. Furnace-like desert heat, wind-driven dust bowls, dangerous critters large and small, spiced in with the whim and fancy of local "law" enforcement- all make for the Baja experience!
A favorite motif among old-timers is: "what you have is what you brought"- an incredible economy of space and weight considerations not unlike those of the space shuttle astronauts. When you talk to those Baja "soulbrothers", they'll tell you some of their favorite adjectives used while planning or packing for a trip: light, lighter, collapsable, portable, impermeable, flameproof, bulletproof, thornproof, potable, etc. It's a whole new reality!
Who but these Baja sojourners would better relate to the "Generation of the Desert", of whom it was said: "I recalled the devotion of your youth...how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown" (Jer. 2-2). Just as the giving of the Torah ( on the holiday of Shavuoth), its secrets and its wisdom, was in the desert-a place of no ownership, a barren land open to any claim, so too is the ocean accessible to all those who will only seek out its hidden gems! Become like the desert: a place of modesty, unpretentiousness, simplicity- and I'll teach you from the fountain of wisdom, we are taught!
So it is that the good things in life: knowledge, faith, and........the ultimate swell at the Bay, are available to all-free of charge-in the desert!
Ready for the ultimate tour of the Mediterranean!?
Try the "Surf and Soul" surfing tour at Herzliah Beach!!
--2 hours of instruction by Nachum Shifren, The Surfing Rabbi, former L.A.
County Beach Lifeguard (CPR/First Aid certified), with over 30 years
experience.
--surfboard rentals
--individuals and groups of all sizes
--call or write for brocheure today!!!
NEW! NEW! NEW! Ask us about our "Surf and Study" program while on your
next visit to our shores!!
Find out more about your heritage, introductory Talmud and Kabbala classes
in between surf sessions!!
Rabbi Nachum Shifren "The Surfing Rabbi" Email: rabbisurf@aol.com
Surf & Soul Online: http://www.surfingrabbi.com
P.O. Box 654, Jerusalem, 91006 * Israel Tel: (03) 906-7281 * Fax: (03) 906-7280