neptune’s piledriver

i went out body surfing this afternoon in front of the only lifeguard station in playa cocles (that i know of). there were some medium size waves, and i swam out to where a couple of surfers were hanging, maintaining a healthy distance on the way out so as not to catch a board in the face. once i got out there, one of the surfers paddled over and we started chatting. he started off by remarking that i was a brave man to be out there. the waves were maybe a little big, but i didn’t think much of it. he caught a crappy wave, and then i got on a really tasty one, and pulled it off. i got tumbled a bit, but i guess it looked ok, because the lifeguard gave me a thumbs up when he walked by as i was resting up on the beach.
i went out again, and the waves had gotten a little bigger. i got out in front of one, but not far enough (i don’t have fins) and it got on top of me, smacked me square in the back and then ran me through a vigorous maytag heavy duty cycle. they were coming in sets of four, and i was stuck in a bad place getting tossed around in a churn hole, popping up for breath just in time to see another wall of white water ten feet away. i think from now on i will body surf up about 100 yards south, where the beach seems flatter. maybe they put the lifeguard tower there for a reason.
i guess i need to take the camera to the beach at one point and get some good shots. when i go swimming i don’t take anything with me besides the house keys, bike lock keys, and a 10k colon note to buy dinner. in other words, things i can zip up in my swim trunks and take with me in the water.