Negatives turn to positives at the end of the day

I moved to southern Spain over 7 years ago to escape from the bustling life of London. I chose to relocate myself (and Jack Russell terrier, Jason) onto the Costa Tropical to a small town called Salobreña. This region attracted me for the energetically kind people with a passionate pride for their culture and it's beautiful location based on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea. A sea famous for its calm waters which is the paddle board enthusiasts paradise.

On an early spring morning near the same quiet coastal town of Salobreña I struck disaster. I had left my comfortable bed at a bright and early hour to go paddling for the first time since summer had finished! Full of excitement I jogged down to my ricketty, old garage to retrieve my board only to be greeted by heartbreak. My fibreglass board had been attacked over winter by hungry rats, or perhaps mice. A particularly large near complete hole in the back centre declared that my precious board was now rubbish. It was a cheap board so my devastation was more connected to the fact that I could not go out that morning paddleboarding or perhaps even for the coming week. The weather was predicted to be perfect. Devastation. I stomped back inside to prepare my second coffee for the morning and to think. Of course the only option was to purchase a new board, there were no shops in Salobreña selling paddle boards that I knew of so I resorted to the internet.

In a grumpy yet determined manner, I spent 2 hours scrolling through different water sport websites which only helped to increase my level of frustration. The boards were too expensive for my budget. I decided to resort to a third brew of coffee by getting out of the house and visiting the local cafeteria where coincidentally I bumped into my friend Jose. Jose is a local Spanish gardener whom I met at an event for the intercambio of languages a few years ago. We became friends and later I introduced him to the world of paddleboarding where he discovered a passion for boarding himself. He was the perfect person to run into to share my disappointment with. After Jose had listened to my complaints he concluded by inviting me to go paddleboarding on his new boards, one of which belonged to his son. I gratefully accepted.

Around 4pm we met at his cosy "finca" (or farm) and he gave me a tour of his new boards. They were made by a company called WOWSEA and branded as "Traveller W1". I had never heard a peep of the brand but Jose declared them a new upcoming company, they definitely looked cool even though they were deflated. Jose puffed out his chest with pride as we chatted about these mysterious (and apparently budget friendly) boards, while packing them into the back of his van and zooming down to the stoney beach. I had always preferred solid boards as I distrusted the inflatable ones having the idea that they would, well, not stay inflated out on the water. Nevertheless I wasn't complaining today!

I just wanted to be out on the water. We inflated the boards, which was easier than expected, and we were in the water with less than 10 minutes having passed. The late afternoon the sun was scorching hot and the water had deep swells rolling in almost making it unsuitable paddle boarding conditions.

They were, despite the conditions, very stable and could be maneuvered to match the waves with speed. As I explored around a pointy rock protruding for the oceans depths I scraped the nose of my board on some oysters. This scared me witless (not wanting to damage the new board of Jose) however the WOWSEA board survived.

I was so impressed WOWSEA sup board after saying my farewells to Jose at the end of the day, I went straight back home to my laptop and purchased the exact same board. My "Traveller W1" was delivered 3 day later to my front door and that weekend I invited Jose, his son and we went out together matching boards and all. I have now had my Traveller W1 for over 6 months and I have never owned a better paddleboard. It is funny how in life a negative can so rapidly reform into something positive – positive lifestyle, Now Love Enjoy My Lifestyle!!!