By classic surfer , 09-10-2003

Free & Easy ! - This Sancho, He must be the king of the Basque, The coolest soul servivor, what does someone like Sancho do all day? Does he dream of the wild surf? Life is good when it is simple! This surf god must know how to live life, he has done his research at the source.
Agur

By Hemengo batek , 16-07-2003

Kaixo - Unfortunately, In The Basque Country we have locals like Sancho, but fortunatly no every basque surfer are like him. If you respet us, you will be respected and wellcomed.
Be free!!

Sancho kaskarrabias, ez isan horrelakoa.

By Local kook , 28-04-2003

Some day? - Don´t take care, I won´t worry about you. Summer is close and it´ll be better for me to worry about the ocassional pseudo surfers and their drop ins and erratic wave riding. How it can be "aloha" and fun if, as you say, one has to keep always his eyes open to prevent it all? I see it like this, Mr. Global, surfing rules are few but clear, and maybe the true aloha spirit resides in respecting them.
Comparing our surging skills? Maybe I´ll be wrong, but after reading your messeges here and about Mundaka, I thought you were comparing Europe vs. America, or, in other words, the lame and low leveled vs. the true soul surfing ...
Well, that´s all, this argument is over for me. We´ll be friends when you come back here, and you´ll see that local kooks are not so bad.
Peace out,

By backwards man , 23-04-2003

every day - That spirit exists every day and in many places. I'm just another one of many faces you might see in the lineup and, while I don't "rip" and don't care if if I "rip", I do have fun most of the time when it's on and try to share the stoke with my bretheren and sistren. I just can't ruin surfing by turning it into a contest. What a person can get out of surfing will not reach its full potential as long as it is approached competitively. That's all I'm saying. Due to the tragic oil spill, the Basque coast may have problems for the near future, not only for surfing, but for local economies as well, which is even worse. So, Mr Local, you needn't worry about the likes of me. I promised my aunt in Bilbao who is 82 years old I'd come back one more time before she leaves this world and that I wouldn't be bringing my board when I came to see her. So you can rest easy now, that the Californian who is called Backwards Man won't be kooking out in your waves any time soon. Dude, we are all kooks in the eyes of the Almighty One. Your surfing vs. my surfing? Why make a comparison? I've had plenty of great experiences surfing on waves and I hope that the same is true for you. The foreigner who injured you? Just a case of bad judgement. Got to keep your eyes open at all times and spot this before it happens. This forum is here to discuss matters related to surfing and the localities mentioned, so when people express opinions on them it should be no surprise. Perhaps someday you and I will be in the lineup at Ogella. You'll know if it happens. Try not to be so harsh. Hang loose.

By Local cook , 22-04-2003

What´s Aloha spirit? A new surf company? - Hi backwards! It depends of the point of view, but I do think that most of the foreigners are who have the lack of that spirit, if it has actually existed ever. Something resembled to it existed here in the 70´s and early 80´s, when foreign surfers where few, really ripped and came with new and unseen stuff. Nowadays, it´s difficult to find the spirit if visitors are too many, usually don´t rip at all (besides the usual traveller, it might be you, or the pro), and bring the conqueror´s spirit.
In Ogeia, or any other spot in the Basque Country, socorristas have knowledge, but not, in my opinion, as many as the local surfer (unlike they are surfers too), cause the surfer knows the spot all year round, not only in the summer.
Aloha is cool and good cash for the "soul" brands. Does it really exist? Yesterday, with small but clean waves in my local spot, good for longboarding, I was small hit by the board of a cool foreigner who said hello, sorry, and that all. I think that being aware of other surfers and respecting priorities is closer to the Aloha spirit, than being a nice guy. Much better if you have both, but it´s too much perfection, and we are human. Bye.

By backwards man , 16-04-2003

knowlege enough, but aloha? - Dude, no one doubts local knowledge, but I learned more from the socorristas than from any local surfers. The socorrista was cool and really clued me in about Ogella and what you say is true enough, but it's the attitude of the local surfers that's in question, and you're showing it. The vibe around the breaks of Bizkaia is not generally good as concerns the local surfers, who generally come off like wannabe pros and are a little too stuck up. So what I found in Euskadi was that many local surfers didn't seem interested in talking about things you mentioned like specifics on how particular breaks operate. My mother was born and raised in Bizkaia and I have relatives who are non-surfers who clued me in, but all I am saying about the local surfers is their lack of the aloha spirit and their general lack of friendliness. I don't see visitors from abroad getting this kind of treatment here in SoCal. Never did surf Ogella, but it was my great wish due to its beauty. Need a solid N swell, and it didn't happen. Ogella kind of reminds me of a place in Santa Barbara county called Tarantulas.

By Local sinner , 17-03-2003

Ogeia is rubbish. Go to Bakio or Mundaka - To Backward man of Bolsa: so much "guiris" have came here... Some of them thougt they were so good surfers ... they got caught by currents because of not listening the advises of us, wrong people who don´t have the skill and don´t understand the true feeling of surfing... We´re so bad, I want to apologize with you all.

Will we have a place behind you in surfer´s paradise?

To Sancho: you´re right, Mundaka is better. Leave Ogeia for the local cooks.

By Marty , 14-03-2003

Waves like Ogella are a dime a dozen..... - Sancho. Soy de Australia y hey surfeado Ogella algunos veces hace diez anos. Es un ola divertido pero el calidad no es muy alta. No preocupes de mucho gente veniendo a Ogella. Hay olas mucho mas mejor y mas facil para encontrar en Pais Vasco.

By Backwards Man of Bolsa , 10-02-2003

nice places will become known - A beautiful spot like Ogella will get known. Putting out data on this forum isn't going to have a great deal of impact. Ogella is very isolated and doesn't break well that often. It's unlikely to turn into Malibu, or Mundaka for that matter. I went there last summer and had a nice chat with the lifeguard, who was a very nice fellow. My overall impression of the surf scene in Euskadi is negative. If the surfers there spent half as much time progressing skills or philosophies as they do practicing the pathetic mad dog routine they represent with, they'd go alot farther toward getting the true stoke of surfing. This fellow who posted before me is worried about crowds doing in Ogella, like it's some big secret he and his pals have ownership over. Get real, brah, it's a small world and the occasional traveler will happen by. I really wish I could have found waves there at Ogella, but I didn't have the time needed to coincide. It's a beautiful place and its isolation will naturally protect it from crowds. The masses of fashion following euro fad surfers will flock to the packed places like mundaka. No te mortifice, amigo...

By sancho , 31-10-2002

parece mentira - parece mentira que todavia haya subnormales que quieran llenar las olas de peña!!!! Que ya se deberia de haber acabado la era de hablar de los sitios, en webs o en cualquier lado. Mal, muy mal...