The call hasn’t stopped, it has increased. After a couple of years coming back to Chicama I thought I was going to feel less ‘stoked’. As can sometimes happen with the places you already know, they begin to feel too familiar and you forget the treasures that made you fall in love with it in the first place.
Words by Jazmin Martin | Photography by Mati Quinzio | 10th October ‘19
It didn’t happen. It increased. Even though I live my days in the beautiful lands of Sri Lanka, my heart beats alongside Peru. I vividly talk through my stories with new friends in the dusty deserts overlooking the great Pacific. Walking at sunset to chase the sun, meeting with new hearts against this perfect canvas is beyond inspiring.
And this openness brought us to lead what we never thought would be such a meaningful trip. It happens each time in a different way but I cannot stop repeating- “Okay then, this has been the best, best trip!”- To which we all laugh knowing that each will be different…but always the best! There are countless reasons why Peru is so great, you can Google them all; but what I’m here to express are those reasons that can’t be found unless you see them, feel them, taste them yourself.
Those lines though...
The surf in Chicama has not only allowed me to improve my technique, but it helped me get through my fear of the ocean.
That overwhelming presence of the ocean. The omnipotent power of its vastness. The darkness of its depths. And the miracle of it all at the same time. I only had to jump from that thin line…from doubting, to taking that wave, to fully immersing myself in the beauty of it. So my conversation with it began… one day it was a bit more flakey and then with a bit of shyness, I tried another step, a bigger wave, a deeper wave; closer to the pocket, to the rocks and beyond.
Where the desert meets the ocean
Chicama has always been kind to me. It has been that place where I can play and I can challenge myself, and then reflect. Not saying that I could avoid bad days altogether. But those were the ones when my mind was in the way and I couldn’t get over it.
The best thing about being between the desert and the ocean is that there is no place to hide.
What also comes across here is the teaching of the ancient cultures of the area. The Moches were in the area around 2000 years ago and their legacy is everywhere. They were skillful fishermen who navigated the shores of the Pacific from Peru to Chile to Ecuador and beyond. Their diet depended on the ocean - so they trusted and respected it as a giver, and they chose to build their most important pyramids right next to it.
When you have such an authentic will and open heart to share a place, it’s such a beautiful gift. I can’t wait to share it with you all again and again, and be your company through it all.
