Slidin' and jivin' in Tel Aviv

So yesterday we took a trip to Tel Aviv, Israel. I was not expecting to surf for a few reasons, First I was in a group of 14, that is one of 4 groups of 14 that all went to Tel Aviv. Secondly, I didn't think there was going to be waves. And Lastly, I don't have a board. Well, lets just say there was some smooth jazz playing from the water yesterday. We got dropped off and I looked down the coast and saw a crowded lineup! Then a feeling rose from my toes to my forehead, stoke. I was as gitty as a schoolgirl. I ran up to the first guy I saw outside of his car checking the waves and asked where I can rent a board. He directed me down the beach about a mile. I speed walked in my Locals (sandals) for about a mile. I got to the place, which was a sick little surf shop in a graffiti covered builiding that looks abandoned. I rented a 7'6" NSP funboard. I wanted a longboard but the ones I pointed out the guy said were his bosses boards. I then continued speed walking back 3/4 of a mile to the surf spot. The waves were 1-2 and mushy with a steep inside section. This was more than I had expected. I jumped in the water and there was a transitional body shock when I hit the water, but it was not the kind I am accustomed to. The water, a local guy told me later, was 31 degrees celsus which is about 88 degrees fahrenheit. It was the warmest water I have ever surfed in my life! Even Hawaii never gets this hot. Also, the water had a really high salinity compared to anything I had experienced. I was catching all kinds of waves, getting used to the board I rented, and just enjoying myself in the Mediterranean Sea with the Tel Aviv skyline and Jaffa as my scenery. I was out there for a while before any local surfer would even talk to me. So, the lifeguard was yelling in Hebrew in a very angry tone, I turned to a local guy and asked if he was telling us to paddle north out of the swimming section. His reply was hilarious, he said, "You don't give a f*ck what the lifeguard says, they respect us." I laughed and then he smiled and we then started talking about the break and the differnt surf spots around. I don't remember the name of the spot we were at, I have a horrible short term memory, espcially when it is a Hebrew or Arabic word. I really enjoyed talking with him and another older, stern-faced, crusty surfer with a salt n' pepper beard and long matching hair. Then, something happened that brought me back to the fact that I was in Israel, I heard the call to prayer being sounded out of mosque from the city of Jaffa, which just off in the distnace. This was an experience I will never forget, catching waves for 2 1/2 hours, speaking with local surfers, and then hearing the call to prayer from the lineup while a group Muslim girls play in the water dressed head to toe in black attire. The water was out of control hot, so I had to come in halfway through my session and get some water. I took the board back, which was quite the walk, and it cost me 100 shekels for 3 hours (about 25 american) which I felt was worth it. We then walked around Jaffa and Tel Aviv, then came back to the beach for the sunset and a night swim. Of course, as custom has it, I waited for the girls to swim in then I removed my shorts. It reminded me of the moonlit bodysurfing sessions I would have at Pounders in Hawaii, It made me miss those days and those friends who would share the free feeling and rush of those kinds of activities. I walked about 6 miles today in my locals and my body was not having it, I was sore, chaffed from surfing in such high saline water, and overall beat, but the events of the day were wonderful.