Comments...

comment by Anonymous, 2009-10-16 23:44:59

PCBsurfer
Setting up a trip in January, I know thats not prime season, but is there surf at all in january in Chicama? Or should i not go?

comment by Marco, 2009-10-03 14:16:44

Tip
Probably something that world adventurer Tokki didn't pick up
Not the best idea to stay at Delphins
If you hang your wetsuit out it WILL be stolen
If not by the staff then by kids with extremely long sticks who will lift it from the balcony
Good Luck

comment by Sergio, 2009-09-28 07:20:11

Go back to sleep
Sounds like the tokki should stick his nose back into his travel guide book
Hasn't everybody these days been to various parts of the world
At least the Surf camp owner comes across as intelligent and well informed
You come across as another clone backpacker who thinks he knows it all after spending a few weeks overseas
You seem to forget the fact that there are poor and disadvantaged people in you own country. Have you jumped on their boat and helped them
Its up to the individual if they want to spend their money to be babysat overseas
Not everybody lives in lock up garage land

comment by tokki , 2009-09-07 18:46:58

chicama
advice for any travelling surfer. if you guys arent smart enough to catch a wave on the inside before drifting north to alaska, either get fitter to paddle back or give these people a go and stay at their camp. go and see how hard some people live in a world outside ur remote garage door. seems to me that the local surf guides are putting ur cash back into benefit their own towns economy, and protecting u from copping it up the arse from traveling bandidos.....and dropping u onto the take off zone. sounds like a good deal to me and Ill be on it if I get their next yr. Im an aussie and I live and teach english in remote parts of the world and just like chillin with the local villagers and miles from any surf. when I get waves I get it......simple as that. show some respect and support these people.....and get on their boat.

comment by Machapu , 2009-09-04 16:09:10

Anonymous:
Next time you come to Chicama, let me know and I will buy you some beers and we can further debate about the subject. I am grateful to wannasurf for providing this space for the free exchange of ideas.
Saludos!

comment by Machapu , 2009-09-04 16:03:41

Thanks for being Annonymous
Anonymous:

Please elaborate on the:

"basic rules of surfing?"

Were you there when the governing body of the sport decided on the rules? Are you from Hawaii or Peru? Have your people been surfing for 5 thousand years?

Don't you see your own inconsistency in stating:
"great thing about the ocean...its an even playing field?"

"the stronger or more experienced getting the waves."

How is the ocean an even playing field, if the stronger get the waves?

Maybe the rich gringos riding in the boat are economically stronger than you, so doesn't that count?

Since you only spend 1k for a month in Peru, sound like you are the one that wants it to be a free for all.

We don't own this website, but we are proud of what we do, so we don't post anonymous and we don't mind if some people want to hate. We still have love for ya and suggest you talk to Johny B. Goode next time you visit Chicama. He runs a small bed and breakfast and can put you up for a month for about 1K. He doesn't have a boat, but he will show you how to get waves undaunted by the boats, so you can relax and just enjoy the place instead of worrying so much. That is my point, stop complaining and enjoy it now before it gets any worse! Live the moment! That is what surfing is about, living the moment - not rules and competitions of strength. Aloha!

comment by Anonymous, 2009-09-01 02:23:32

Does Machapu own this webpage

comment by Anonymous, 2009-09-01 02:17:56

1k a week
Thats my entire budget for a month in Peru
You must really think that all gringoes are loaded
I also think you missed the point of what everyone was discussing
Just because people are running a business making money from surfing, doesnt mean the basic rules of surfing are to be thrown out the window
The great thing about the ocean in most parts is that its an even playing field with the stronger or more experienced getting the waves.
Locals also have priority as well
But throw a speed boat in the mix and some people who just cant wait their turn and its a free for all.
Not enjoyable for anyone
So Mr Danny its not a cultural statement that people are trying to emphasise but a surfing one

comment by Machapu , 2009-08-18 17:30:56

I wish we could turn back time!
Great comments from everyone. The internet, surf camps, tour guides, crowded lineups, wetsuits, foam blanks, leashes, shortboards, and the millions of people that now make up the world of surfing are definitely having their effect. Blame who you want, but everyone posting on this site, checking online surf forecasts to plan their surf trips and then lamenting the current state of things, are all part of the problem. The boats and all are part of what is called technological advancement and it seems that no one can stop it. I like Geez Louise, who knows what Chicama was like back in the day: nothing but El Hombre and good luck to you! I too wish that things didn't change, but they have and it is no one's fault in particular. Surfer's Journal this month has a great story about us now living in that crowded age, where surfing is a sport for the masses! I am from Peru, Chicama is in Peru and the locals in Chicama have every right to make a living off of traveling surfers that now arrive in droves to crowd our lineups! It seems that too many people from Western cultures have this legacy from the colonial days of Europe, where they think the world, and particularly the ocean is their playground and free to all! Not so. Peru is the homeland of Peruvians and we surf plenty ourselves, so if Mr. gringo wants to come have a surf that is fine, we are happy to welcome him. But, if Mr. Gringo or Mr. Brazilian thinks that Peru needs to remain a poor and underdeveloped place where they can come and just do whatever, then we have a problem. I too wish that lots of our breaks in Peru were as ideally uncrowded as when I was a youth in the 1980s, but that is not the case. I also wish people cared more about helping others and that technology were not continually dragging us away from our natural relationship with the earth, but it is, and it is not the people of Peru that are causing things like the internet and other advances to happen, but you can't get upset if we end up using them to our fullest advantage. So, keep an open mind, know that the planet is overpopulated and that in the future there will be bigger crowds, more boats and plenty of things to remind you that before people started inventing all of this crap, maybe things were better. My advise, hurry up and visit Chicama before it gets more crowded, changes even more and possibly becomes more expensive and exclusive. Right now it is not soo bad. You can spend a week in Chicama, eating like a king, walking, paddling, riding the boat, or whatever you chose, and also helping the local kids for about 1K. See how much it costs for a boat trip to Mentawais and then go ask the islanders of Mentawais who owns the reefs. Or go to Santa Cruz and tell the locals that you have as much right as they have to Steamer Lane! Good luck, good vibes and hope to see you in the water!

comment by Danny, 2009-08-16 19:10:49

Nice wave. Shame about the boats.
Had some long nice waves here. Seemed to work better on low tide. Was really great walking back and seeing where you had come. However, it did get frustrating when holding your postion against the current at the point, having a boat drop a few surfers on the inside of you to grab the set waves. Also the wake from the boats chops up the waves a bit. Boats snaking the line up is not really in the spirit of surfing. Wake up those resorts selling it (you know who you are) - these boats are not necessary or desirable. Even the clients looked pretty guilty. Still plenty of waves to be surfed though.