I spent the first two weeks of July surfing at Punta de Lobos, Chile. ย I surfed with two penguins on my thirdย day there. ย The water is crystal clear, cold (56ยบF), and full of swell. ย This may be one of the most consistent waves in the world since a large point to the south of the wave blocks the prevailing southerly winds. ย The only thing that ruins the wave here is a north wind, which we unfortunately got a healthy dose of this July.
When I was here last October, the wave was great 20 out of 21 days. ย This month for me it was 50/50. ย I had 5 ok to shitty days and 5 unreal days. ย It was certainly worth it. ย 300-yard long rides, big clean walls, and the occasional tube make Lobos a surfer’s dream come true.
The shitty days were all due to big storms that raged through Punta de Lobos.ย The storm onย July 11th, was one of the biggest storms to hit Chile in 5-years and left 5+ Feet of Snow at Las Lenas, Argentina (just east of Lobos) and Portillo, Chile. ย Even though it blew out the surf, I couldn’t be too upsetย about the big snow since after all, it’s snow that I came to this continent for.
I surfed from July 3rd until July 13th and that last day was spectacular. ย Long rides, no one out, perfectly smooth, overhead waves.
We’ve now migrated into the deep south of Chile. ย The waves are killer down here, the weather is lousy, and the water is damn cold.
Next stop, Bariloche, Argentina where they just got 50″ of snow in 24 hours.