Shifting Sand - Torren Martyn

It was a bit of a last-minute decision. The South Pacific was showing a really good run of swell, and Mexico felt like the right place to follow it. I’ll always be drawn back to Mexico — the waves, the constantly shifting sandbars along its coastline, the food, and the people all make it a special place.

Very little ever goes completely to plan. We had a rough idea of where we wanted to go and the swell gave us a general direction, but most of the trip was figured out as we went. I think that’s one of the best parts of travelling — leaving enough space for things to unfold naturally.

I packed a pretty wide range, from a 4’6 up to a 7’2. The idea, as always, is to have a few different bases covered. Mexico can throw up such a range of conditions, so it’s good to have a few options and be able to adapt to whatever you find along the way.

There’s always something to learn. Every wave exposes something different in a board, and then there’s changing fins as well, which I like to do. I jumped between a 4’6 and a 6’10 for most of the trip, and it was interesting to see how different boards worked in the changing conditions.

Spending time with people who live along the coast, hearing their stories and getting a small glimpse into their way of life is always a privilege. After a chat with a local fisherman, he gifted me one of his handmade lures made from bone, used to target tuna and other predatory fish. We also met a few other travellers who were on their own journeys — one couple were travelling from the far south of America to the far north, and another was travelling the opposite way. My family and I have been talking a lot about how we’d love to do that one day.

I’m down in Chile now, which feels like the complete opposite of Mexico. We’ve gone from warm water and tropical coastlines to cold water, big landscapes and very different kinds of waves.

Images by Tyge Lander