Waves of Love, Waves of Life
Written by Marie Nicholas, 2020 Peru Surf+Service Trip Participant
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My story with Mama Cocha (Mother Ocean) starts at a very early age, being born in Brittany, France, by the ocean. I've always felt this strong connection with Mama Cocha without being able to actually explain it.
A water baby. This is me. Marie. From as long as I can remember, my life purpose has been to live by the ocean, constantly inspired.
I live in Biarritz, French Basque Country, a lovely town nestled on the cliffs of the Atlantic Ocean and not too far from the Basque Mountains. Surrounded by both forces of nature, this is where I belong.
At the end of 2019, I quit my job, broke up with someone, moved apartments and booked my flight to Peru. I knew the reward for all the emotional trauma I've being carrying for the past few years was coming and it was going to be big.
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"So, how was it?" This is the question I keep being asked since I got back from my Surf&Service time with Groundswell in Peru. To be honest, I have no idea how to reply to this very easy question. An experience that I can't really put into words, it's more a "You had to be there" kind of reply.
I've been lucky with being able to travel a lot, but this was different. Very much so. This cross cultural connection with women and girls in Peru has been much more meaningful to me than any other surf trips. Giving back while having fun with the goal of healing myself and others. Being welcomed into this little desert town in the Northwest of Peru was unique. I found it weird at first why people ended up staying longer in Huanchaco. I get it now. The sense of community there is incredible. I received so much more than expected!
Being surrounded by women only was a first for me. For someone who grew up as a bit of a tom boy, taking part of a women-only organization was a bit unusual but was probably the thing I needed the most without knowing it! Let me tell you, women are amazing. They are wild, emotional, funny, incredibly strong, beautifully vulnerable, inspirational and bad-ass.
These 3 weeks spent in Huanchaco, birthplace of surfing, were not only awakening but also a true reflection of life. I got scared, I laughed, I cried, I dared, I tried new things, I trusted, I dived into cultural and historical Peru, and all of this with people I barely known.
The sense of community that surfing has given me is incredible. Overwhelming really. There WE were, us volunteers, who had at least one thing in common - our love for the ocean and surfing. There THEY were, the local women and girls we connected with, whose intention was to try out surfing and enjoy a safe and free space provided for them.
Regardless languages - for 3 weeks my brain spoke Spanglish/Frenchañol, we were able to communicate into a deeper level using surfing of course, but also meditation, yoga, art, environmental protection, self-love, etc.
There are so many highlights from my trip to Peru.
One memory that I will cherish for a long time is this little Peruvian girl clinging onto me in the water being scared of the waves. I was just amazed by the fact that this little girl who had never met me before, trusted me with her own life. All I had to do was reassure her and tell her Mama Cocha’s waves were fun and she was going to be alright.
Sharing thoughts, gratitude and graces with the other volunteers was truly eye-opening. I learned a lot about myself, my connection to my body, about others, trust and empowerment. We are all the same really. Trapped in different bodies, speaking different languages, facing different issues but really: we are all the same. We need to connect, share and with the help of something as beautiful as surfing, everything seems pretty easy.
Going with Mama Cocha’s flow is probably the biggest life lesson. Her power in healing is pretty magical. I keep learning every day. Every time I set foot in the ocean (mostly the cold Atlantic Ocean these days), I learn or re-learn something. Patience, gratitude, our planet’s beauty, but also frustration, fear, doubts. It’s not always easy. Mama Cocha is not always a cure and has a way of letting you know.
However Mama Cocha DOES teach you life lessons. So many in fact. I feel like she is giving me all the tools to be prepared for what life is all about. All at once something beautiful to embrace and something to fight against. Just how like waves can be: beautiful, mellow glassy blue waves worth riding, but also dark, rough and ready-to-eat-you-alive waves.
Trusting your body. This is a big one for me. Before this Surf&Service in Peru, I completely blacked out on how little I was connected to my own body. Within a few days prior to Huanchaco, I had a surf accident, got sick with the flu, lost body strength and basically felt so out of it physically and emotionally. It took me a few days to recover and that’s when I finally understood what it really meant to be connected to your own body.
Mother Ocean gives me so much inspiration.
Mother Ocean gives me a sense of belonging to a world sometimes difficult to understand.
Mother Ocean gives me hope.
Mother Ocean gives me energy.
Mother Ocean gives me peace and relaxation.
Mother Ocean gives me fun and joy.
Mother Ocean gives me a place I can call home, wherever I find myself in the world.
Mother Ocean gives me waves of love and waves of strength.
I am now back home in Biarritz. My heart is full of amazing memories, inspiration and creativity from every woman, expats and locals, I met in Huanchaco. My heart is full of gratitude for them all.Thank you Natalie and Javier, Thank you Erika, Thank you Azul, Thank you PJ, Thank you Taylor, Thank you Lara, Thank you Janice, Thank you Kelly. Waves of thanks and waves of love to all of you for this amazing experience. Until we surf together again, somewhere in this big blue ocean...
I cannot wait until I get to see the girls in Huanchaco growing up to be bad-ass surfistas. I can only be proud that I once contributed to their love for Mama Cocha and somehow was there to inspire them as a surfsister.
I can simply finish this blog with one of my favorite quotes that best describes how I feel whenever I go surfing:
“Once I was in the water, these anxieties fell away. The rough and tumble of the ocean did its work. By the time it came to the drive back home, I was scoured clean like a shell, inside and out. I reeked of the sea. Crystals of salt clung to my eyebrows and my head was wonderfully empty (…).”
- That Oceanic Feeling, Fiona Capp.
Huanchaco, Peru
Groundswell Hermanas del Surf in Chicama, Peru!