Sri Lanka you have been amazing once again. Having discovered Sri Lanka for first the first time on my Yoga Teacher and returning to this beautiful county full of culture and waves, to host our first Sri Lankan Wild & Free Adventure in 2020... we were back again with another wonderful group of adventurers this year in March 2022.
We aim to share different magical destinations and surf spots with you each year, but after such a memorable trip in 2020 and Sri Lanka always leaving us with lasting memories of those sunrise waves, we just could not resist coming back here in 2022!!
What a trip it was too...
Day one and straight into it... with a sunrise beach surf warm up and smiles all round!
This wonderful group that joined us last month, blew us away with their commitment and determination out there in the ocean (the wave count through the roof!!), not missing a single opportunity to hit those waves... and we have some great photos to share with you from this 2022 Wild & Free Sri Lanka Adventure.
A Day and Life of our Wild & Free Sri Lanka Adventure 2022
6.15am - Coffee & Banana
6.30am - Surf Lesson - Hit the beach for a warm up, surf theory & some sunrise waves!!
9.00am - Breakfast after a 2hrs surf session
10.00am - Surf Analysis & Theory
11.15am - Yoga on the roof to stretch, get our flow on and keep the body fluid and open
12.30pm - FREE TIME to explore the local area, cuisine, shops OR 'chill' in the sun
4.00pm - Afternoon Free Surf to practice those techniques from the morning session
6.00pm - Yin & Restore Yoga (some evenings) to get a deeper stretch & nourish the mind, body & soul
7.30pm - Dinner together to share stories about the waves and adventures had
...and as the saying goes, "Eat, Sleep, Surf, Yoga, Repeat!"
The first day was off to a hit, smiles all round from first time surfers (and swimmers!!), to mastering techniques and a lot of giggles. The word "look up, look up" from our coaches is firmly ingrained in our guests minds as well as those beautiful sunrises over the ocean to support the early morning sessions.
By day 3 or 4 (I lost count!), some of our first time surfers were catching green waves thanks to our awesome coaches at Ticket To Ride who join us on our Wild & Free Adventures in Sri Lanka.
Sam, a first time surfer (in the last shot above and first shot below) said before she joined us that she did not expect to stand up, but would enjoying trying", well she did... on her first day, amazing! She was a 'natural' and looking like she'd definitely done this before. It wasn't long until Sam was riding green waves (check out below) and mastering that foot positioning on the board... "yeeeeew!" I think someone may have taken away the 'surf-bug' and will be riding many more waves in the future.
Patrick (below), also new to Surfing as well as Yoga was looking like a 'pro' out back at Marshmallows (our favourite reef break and surf spot as featured in our Sunrise Surfs 2020 blog, by the end of the trip, he was catching some great waves... and loving every moment!!
Wait till you get to the end of this blog to see some of Patricks (and others) interesting yoga moves on the surf board ...intentional? Well you'll have to keep reading to find out.
The picture below says it all... First time surfer Stoke!
If you haven't already you must to head to @wildandfreeadventures on instagram to see some more shots and posts of these guys and during our 2022 Sri Lanka Adventure... there's been some great one's! Plus plenty more to come... thanks to the talented Ru Kidd (photographer and surf coach) who captured some of these shots featured on social and this Blog. Thanks to Ru we were able to put the camera away and enjoy the stoke and waves with our guests!!
Personally I think everyones progression was a combo of excellent surf coaching from the TTR team AND all the Yoga, if you ask me... ha ha ha! Not that I am bias or anything, but check out these Yoga Warriors below. We had some great fun on the rooftop building muscle memory, releasing tension in tired muscles, playing with inversions and enjoying some relaxing breathing techniques and restorative Yin sessions.
Surfing & Yoga is what Wild & Free Adventures is all about. It's the 'wild' and 'free' combo that keeps your mind calm and focused. The body strong and flexible.
As well as clear mind to adapt and respond to the waves and the unpredictability of the ocean and Mother Nature, yoga also keeps you flexible and fit for those ever changing conditions you are met with when out there in the ocean... and a lot of paddling!
My goal with the yoga is to keep the body and mind healthy, muscles strong and flexible. Yoga helps to create a sense of 'fluidity' in our movements which transfers to the surfboard, so we can respond quickly and move with the waves and literally 'go with the flow'.
However it is not all about Surfing and Yoga on our Adventures! While we travel the globe to seek out the best surf spots, we also explore the local culture, cuisine and all that these beautiful destinations have to offer.
Starting with the delicious food and a favourite with our guests... the traditional Sri Lankan Curry's made from our local chefs at the Surf House below. We also enjoyed a variety of breakfasts, from Sri Lanka to overnight oats to keep those hard working muscles and bodies nourished.
Eating in our favourite wild & free style - al fresco!
From the delicious food to day trips, exploring the local area, attractions and wild life. Our guests enjoyed meeting the elephants and the Sri Lankan wildlife at Udawalawe National Park Safari and tasting 30 teas at the Herman Tea Plantation. Some visited the many local temples in the area and it was a joy to watch the local fishermen in Ahangama in their unique way of fishing (they obviously do lots lots of yoga to balance on those sticks!) We also enjoyed meeting our neighbours the huge crab that wanted to join in on surf analysis and monkeys enjoying their coconuts in the palms trees surrounding the surf house.
With so much on our door step or a 'quick' Tug Tuk ride, even 10 days wasn't enough and the photos below are just a 'snippet' of what we got up to... There was whale watching adventures and swimming with turtles at Wijaya beach,as well as a lot of surfing and yoga - can you believe this was all in 10 days? The Surf House is in the perfect spot, a stones thrown from some of the best the surf breaks in the area, set back from the hustle a bustle of the busyness of Ahangama in the jungle. As well as being accessible to many local attractions. So nothing is too far and you can really enjoy your 10 days surfing & yoga adventure, but still have time to chill, explore and get a real taste and experience of Sri Lanka and it's abundant culture.
During these 10 days there was a local surf competition and our guests enjoyed an afternoon in the sun watching some of our surf coaches compete in this competition at Midigama beach a 10 mins Tuk Tuk up the road. A great opportunity to see the coaches surf and show us how it's done... a real inspiration and enjoyable afternoon checking out a locals favourite surf spot also called 'Lazy Lefts' as featured on Magic Seaweed
All in all an awesome adventure and fabulous 10 days... look out for our reviews on Google and check out @wildandfreeadventures on Instagram and Facebook pages, give us a 'follow' and make sure you keep your eye's peeled for our April Newsletter coming out in a couple of days, with some information on our next retreats in May (Alan Stokes Surf Coaching and Devon Yoga & Foraging, as well as 'whats on in April', from yoga, to more blogs and stories from our guests and an exciting giveaway ...you do not want to miss out on!
Wait... we are not finished!
Here's some more awesome surfing shots of our guests and even some yoga on surfboards... like we always say, it isn't 'wild and free' without the 'surf' and 'yoga' combo! Some of our guests took this literally...
Shira (above) showing us so 'gracefully' how it is done, having mastered the "look up" and cruising out back at Marshmallows woo-hoo! Shira has joined us every year (twice a year!) in Cornwall on our Surf and Yoga Retreats for the past 4 years and it was wonderful to see her surfing dramatically progress on this 10 day adventure! Looking forward to seeing some more waves like from Shira this in September on our Cornwall Luxury Yurts!
Smiles, waves after waves and so many great shots and memories... Lily going for it in the far left image, Sabrina in the middle shot enjoying a moment with that 'perma-grin' and feeling the Stoke, chilling with Anna (surf coach) out back as the sun rises. Then Blair far right catching a nice one and going for that right turn... and catching as many waves as he can!
All these shots from Marshmallows our favourite surf spot, walking distance from the surf house and less crowed than some other the other surf spots nearby around Ahangama, helped by it not being 'on the map' in terms of listed as one of the main surf spots... but just left of Sticks. More on Surf spots in this area here. We have another blog coming out about Sri Lanka Surf Spots and cool places to eat in and around this area next month.... another reason to stay tuned and make sure we are in your contacts and don't end up in junk!
Below, some 'different' kinda waves and moves, from some of our guests, for a little giggle... te he he!
Blair nailing the headstand (on left), Patrick master how to fly as well as surf on this adventure (middle) and Sabrina going for a quick 'crow' arm balance while also catching her first barrel (right) - absolute legends!
On that note I will leave it there. As that about wraps up another epic Sri Lanka Surf & Yoga Adventure.
Thanks for reading and look out for more on Sri Lanka (places to eat, best surf spots and more about what to explore in this area!), as well as our April Newsletter coming out end of this week - so stay tuned!
Some more exciting blogs coming up with fitness tips, and an exciting Guest Blog from Zoe Smith, Adaptive Surfer who joined us on our Sri Lanka 2022 Adventure. Zoe will be sharing her journey and experience on this Surf & Yoga Adventure in her words, as well as her journey into surfing and commuting with a prosthetic leg... very inspiring and one not to be missed!
Zoe pictured below loving the waves in Sri Lanka! So keep your eyes peeled on your inbox for this piece featuring more awesome waves from Zoe and great shots (and videos!) captured by the talented Ru Kidd
Hope to meet you somewhere in the uk or abroad catching some waves and being 'wild & free'... and if you want to check our some of the destinations we are looking at in 2023, see our 'Up & Coming' section (top menu bar - as in picture below) on our website and drop your name and the destination you would be interested in joining us on, on the Waiting List to 'vote' for where we go in 2023...
We always like to hear from you and we have some exciting destinations like Portugal, Fuerteventura and Morocco in mind for our next 7-10 days Surf & Yoga Adventures ... and will be returning to Sri Lanka - so getting voting for where you want to go. The location with the most votes wins for 2023!!
Sri Lanka | 2023 or 2024 |
Portugal | 2023 or 2024 |
Fuerteventura | 2023 or 2024 |
Morocco | 2023 or 2024 |
Get your votes in by clicking the above buttons or head to 'Up & Coming' as shown above to check our more about these destinations we could launch our next retreats in 2023 or 2024...
Big Love Amanda & Joe - Lifes an Adventure waiting for you! x