An artist of life at home in the waves of the world
A story about the pure passion for surfboards and how to ask for nothing but get everything.
Portrait: Surfer and surfboard manufacturer in Nicaragua
A misfortune leads us to fortune: Johannes’s surfboard has been damaged while surfing. Damn. We know what that means: no more surfing, nada. There is only one who can help us: Cristobal Desforges (42) is a surfboard repairer and has lived in Nicaragua for 16 years. At the first encounter with Cristobal Johannes and I are immediately inspired: he has this sparkle in his eyes while doing his work that we are looking for. We casually make an appointment. We would like to learn where this real joy for his occupation comes from.
One week later we enter a garage in the small village known as Guasacate in Nicaragua – around 100 km south of the capital Managua. There are some cabinas, a mini market, a café, some chickens running wild and dogs sleeping under palm trees along the damp roadside. The ocean in immediate vicinity. The repair shop in front of a mangrove riverbed has the size of a spacious garage that is full of boards and tools – a colorful potpourri of boards from all over the world in a variety of versions, shapes and colors. Already from the entrance I can see the sun-illuminated dust from sanding the boards. In the middle of the orderly chaos, Cristobal is standing with a dust mask, in shorts, t-shirt and Crocs, which are covered with drips of paint. A lush wolf tattoo on his arm, a fiercely accurate short haircut and deep blue eyes characterize him at first glance. The shelves and walls are decorated with brushes, spray cans and surfboards that are placed horizontally and diagonally. It's dirty, there are used materials on the floor and from an old little retro-radio, which is placed right next to an animal skull on a small table, the music of Beth Gibbons is playing. You can see: there is work done properly here, but it is cozy and charming at the same time. Some boards, a few of them even broken into two parts, are stacked on top of each other because there is no more space. Here Cristobal is located in his oasis of well-being. Here he is among friends, because that's how he treats every surfboard – with love, respect and patience. He takes off his dust mask because he has just sprayed paint on a surfboard that lies carefully and safely on his workbench. The conversation starts with his morning routine: he usually starts the day at 6 o'clock, prepares the breakfast that he brings to his girlfriend's bedside. I am impressed. She also enters the room and I ask if this is true and she nods with a smile. "Look, I'm just going to tell you the truth here," Cristobal says, slightly embarrassed, yet self-confident. He calls the morning time with his girlfriend named Odile "talking-time", making plans for the day ahead. Then he checks the waves to see if they are suitable for a surf session after work.
“We always tried to play with nothing in the ocean.”
The early years
Cristobal starts surfing at the age of 12. In France, in a small village called Royan, in the Charente-Maritime department, his family lives not far from the sea, so he can always romp around in the ocean with his two brothers in summer. At that time they only have swimming boards, no surfboards yet. Later the bodyboards are added and the boys try to balance standing on the bodyboards. "We spent all our time in the ocean and always played with the waves. At that time, there were not many possibilities. We didn't have much and always tried to play with nothing in the ocean," Cristobal explains. This environment lays the foundation for his later passion – surfing. As Cristobal gets older, he buys a swimsuit so that he can play in the cold ocean even in winter right away. Finally, he gets his first surfboard: "Hawaiian Juice" is the brand name, and his eyes shine when he talks about it.
At the age of 16, in the year 1996, he travels abroad alone for the first time to Taghazout in Morocco, which is considered an eldorado for surfers. There he surfs obsessively every day for 3 weeks. The trigger for everything that comes after. He returns to France and announces to his mother that he wants to drop out of school, to only travel and surf. Of course, she is against it. But nothing can stop him – he only has surfing in mind. So he drops out of school at the age of 16. However, this venture turns out to be a bad time, because he feels completely lost: no duties, no idea about anything he could do except surfing. So his mother was right, as he admits in retrospect. As a teenager, he doesn't know what he can do, what he's good at. The only thing he realizes is that somehow he has to make money with something so that he can travel out into the world to the exotic waves. This year, he floats in the air without a plan. After a year, he decides to finish school and then leave again at the age of 18. But back in France, he learns how to repair surfboards. Attracted by the smell of paint and his curiosity, he spends a lot of time watching a friend repair and restore surfboards. It is a playful approach to experiment with the material. His motto: learning by doing. He then goes to Mexico for three months for a summer holiday job – the wild and gigantic waves and surfing opportunities enchant him. Then comes the key moment that he never forgets: 19-year-old Cristobal stares at his return ticket to France and in his head the questions are tumbling about what to do. But he has long had the answer ready: he tears up the ticket and stays in Mexico. When I ask him how his parents reacted, he casually replies that they didn't care. He hasn't seen his father since he was 14 years old. His parents lived apart and his mother is in love again. But she trusts her son and knows that he's going to do his thing.
“When I'm in the ocean, I'm not afraid of anything. When I'm near the sea, I know how to survive. I know where to get food from and I know what to do.”
Living in Mexiko
Cristobal stays in Mexico for five years. There he does various things and is creative to survive: fishing, making and selling homemade jewelry and pipes from natural materials, working as a waiter, cleaning, etc. He lives an "ocean life", as he himself calls it, and is proud of it because in this way he can spend as much time as possible in the water. He demands absolutely nothing from life. He buys an old VW van and lives in it: eating, surfing, eating, sleeping – his daily routine, that's it, no concrete goals. "Nothing. I lived a life with nothing," is how he describes his life there. During this time, he learns to get by with very little, as he does not need much to live and survive. However, he feels the need to be productive somehow because life seems too easy. There are days when he can't really enjoy the waves because he doesn't need to do anything to get this as a reward. The source from which he usually recharges his batteries no longer gives him the desired satisfaction. The feeling of being permanently in the waves has spoiled him too much, so that he no longer feels and appreciates the initial pleasures of surfing. I think about what has been said: do you have to do the things you love less often so that the passion remains something special?
This feeling of wanting to be productive and making enough money tempts him to move to California. Surely the possibilities there are better, he thinks. He talks to a friend about his rising doubts: he doesn't speak English, nor does he know anyone there. So his friend advises him why not go to Tamarindo (Costa Rica)? There are many surf schools and shops where he could work with boards. Cristobal has only 300 Dollars at that time, no reserves and puts everything on one card. So he goes to Costa Rica. The fear is with him as a constant companion, but also the firm confidence that it will somehow work out. If necessary, he could even sleep outside. I am impressed. Is it youthful recklessness, naivety or the great thirst for adventure that simply masks the doubts? Where does this tireless self-confidence come from? Cristobal answers my question very clearly: "I think it's because of the ocean and the whole chase after the waves. When I'm in the water, I'm not afraid of anything. When I'm near the sea, I know how to survive. I know where to get food from and I know what to do. In the city I am lost and thrown up. But at the sea I know exactly where I am and what to do."
Pura Vida in Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, people on the street usually greet each other with "Pura Vida", which translates to "the pure life". It is a reminder to always appreciate life in its perfection and beauty and to enjoy the moment – to always live in the present.
Cristobal is therefore stranded in Costa Rica and after a few days he already has three jobs. He is allowed to give surf lessons and repair surfboards in a shop, which he enjoys very much, because he can always combine his work with his passion. He stays in Costa Rica for a total of seven months. But over time, the waves become too small for him, he gets bored. He is looking for something new, and is ready for new territory. Then suddenly comes the inspiration: to travel to Indonesia to the wave tunnels (in surfer's language: "barrels") to surf there. But the plan changes: He has to extend his visa for Costa Rica, so he crosses the border into Nicaragua. During this time, he discovers the beach of Popoyo purely by chance. It is the year 2003 and Cristobal is 25 years young. An acquaintance advises him to keep an eye out for Popoyo, as the waves there are supposed to be very good. The first thing he remembers when he gets off the bus: The Outer Reef, a gigantic peak and beautiful, powerful waves. As he talks about it, his eyes sparkle and he looks into the distance – as if he could see this image in his mind's eye at that moment. In any case, I can literally hear the breaking of the waves. He knows nothing at all about Nicaragua, stays for five days. Every day he surfs. He is alone, hardly anyone is around. For him, this time is strange, but also magical – it marks his turning point. Cristobal loses interest in traveling to Indonesia because he has discovered something much more beautiful: surfing in Popoyo.
Excursus: Facts about surfing in Nicaragua
So far, the former Spanish colony is still in its infancy when it comes to surfing, if you compare it to other places in Central America, like Costa Rica. However, this has some advantages: fewer tourists, clean and empty beaches. In the southwest of the country near the border with Costa Rica, lies the largest inland lake of the country: Lake Nicaragua. With an area of more than 8,000 square kilometers, it is the third largest lake in Latin America. Due to this condition, the wind blows constantly – almost all year round. As a result, the southern Pacific side of Nicaragua almost always receives the offshore wind that is so popular with surfers: this wind blows from land towards the sea, counteracts the waves and causes them to pile up. As a result, the waves break steeper and much cleaner – the perfect wave for surfers. Several beaches in the department of Rivas in the municipalities of Tola and San Juan del Sur have even gained international fame for these qualities. Popoyo Beach in Tola is the most famous surfing spot in Nicaragua. The country is therefore a year-round surfing destination. The best waves are caused by tropical storms, which usually occur during the rainy season (May to November). Many spots in southern Nicaragua are best at high tide, while others further north are better at low tide. In the south, the offshore winds often allow surfing from sunrise to sunset. More information can be found here.