50 people on one point at 5 a.m.

that's right. punta roquitas was a zoo early this morning, after word spread that it was picking up north swell, which creates a nice point off the jetty. trouble is that there were 50 people in the water at 5:15 a.m. and that many of the waves were too fat to catch, or were full of people calling waves before they even made it to their feet. it's considered socially acceptable here to behave like a complete ass and not pay any consequences for it. there's really no penalty for being a jerk. strange that way. in other countries where i have lived, if you are rude in a public space people will make you pay a price of some kind, be it five people crowding around you and calling you names, or shaming you or opening up a can of whoop ass. i think the threat of whoop ass obliges people to be more polite, but not in peru. here, there's no whoop ass so people act like clods. you can be a complete tosser and people just mutter a couple of words under their breath or get all passive aggressive and paddle in front of you in the lineup without bothering to be directly confrontational. needless to say, i chose to avoid the crowd and surfed the beachbreak instead, where i dropped in on a sponger, for which i am proud. ah yes, life is full of contradictions.