This is day five of a 10-week South African surfing adventure with Ticket to Ride, a British company that runs surf holidays and camps around the world.
It draws people like Ru Hill, a self-described surf geek from Bristol, England, who runs Surf Simply, a resort that brings a technical, sports-coach philosophy to its weeklong surfing camps.
Here I benefited from the expert leadership of Ben Dumont, who runs Surf and Sail Menorca – one of the kayaking companies that will be involved in this month's event.
The purely functional hamburger… is a pretty well-balanced meal that he who runs (surfs, drives, studies) can eat with one hand; not only the ground beef but all the sauce, cheese, shredded lettuce, and other garnishes are firmly gripped between two halves of the bun.
"Since the storm, the wave typically breaks more in the middle now, rather than at the jetty," said Michael Kololyan, a Rockaway resident who runs Locals Surf, a surf school there.
Surf Berbere is a British-run surf school with accommodation near Hash Point, one of the best point breaks in North Africa; apartments have bathrooms, satellite TV and wi-fi.
Lunazul is a family-run surf school, where lessons start at $40pp including equipment, and they're so confident of their teaching that anyone who doesn't stand up on their first lesson doesn't pay.
He struggled to persuade his original investor, his father Lars, of the demand for deluxe surfers' accommodation: "Then he [dad] went to a Swedish-run surf camp in Costa Rica and understood what it was all about.
It is one of the best-run surf schools I have come across in four continents--and a reason in itself to come to Fuerteventura.
You may be headed to the best biking trails, ski runs, surf breaks or golf courses in the world, but if your trip starts off with a gauntlet of extra fees and restrictions at the airport, your vacation buzz will be killed before you even hit the fresh air.
