Surf Culture in my mind is a relaxed, calm attitude with a childlike enthusiasm for surf and sun.  Unfortunately, it seems like the prevailing disposition these days in surfing is a demeaner more like that of a steroidal bully on a rampage.  Beginners are derided as kooks and laughed at contemptuously instead of being welcomed and embraced.  Mistakes like dropping in on someone or getting in the way when paddling out are met with aggressive language and even outright violence and physical assault to “teach them a lesson”.  Surf breaks are broken into territories and defended by angry locals or held in secrecy by those in the know.  To me, this faction within surf culture seems to growing larger and larger and is generally accepted by the worldwide community since I have seen the same behavior from Australia to California to Europe.   

I am an intermediate/beginner surfer having only begun surfing in my 40’s but those surfing since childhood often make progress for others very difficult by actively working to discourage, bully, or directly injure those who are not as proficient and who do make mistakes.  Here is my story in dealing with one such incident but this is not really a rare occurrence as I have witnessed similar incidences happen to others  as well.  In all incidences there are many onlookers and no one ever intervenes and no authorities are ever called, it’s just considered part of surfing.

On Wednesday, I went for a surf at Beliche which is near Sagres.  The waves were 5-7 feet and breaking well with bodyboarders regularly getting barreled and some surfers as well.  However, it was quite crowded with about 50 people in the water.  There were a few peaks but the beach is not that large so this was quite packed.  I had just been mentioning on the way there to my friend, that it seemed like surfers in Portugal were generally less cocky and aggressive and mostly relaxed and mellow. 

My first wave was a left that formed up into a nice wall and I was feeling good. Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last too long.  I paddled for my second wave and just as I was standing up I saw a guy coming from the right.  I tried to hop off the wave but it was too late and I ended up cutting in front of the guy and nearly hitting him.  I fell backwards trying to get out of the way but was tossed into the whitewater as well as the guy.  He came up yelling profanities and I apologized profusely.  However, as I turned around to grab my board, he took his board and smashed it across my face.   When I was able to see, he was already paddling back out to the surf.  Figuring there was no point in making more of a fight I paddled back out as well and surfed the rest of my session with my head and jaw aching.  My face didn’t really swell up so the damage was actually not very visible but I could feel a divot in my face.  I wasn’t sure if it was just a result of some swelling or a broken facial bone.

When I got back home, I was starving so Bi and I went to grab dinner at a nearby Asian restaurant called Osaka.  Towards the end of the dinner, my head started spinning and I felt dizzy and nauseas.  At that point, I knew something was definitely not right so we headed to the nearest emergency room in Lagos. 

There we waited from 8pm to 9:30pm (about 1.5 hours) in a dingy waiting room filled with people.  When we did see a doctor he only referred us to a larger hospital in Portimao for a CAT/TAC Scan.  So, we drove 30 minutes to Portimao and waited in another dingy and packed waiting room for 3 hours from about 10pm to 1am to have the CAT scan and then another hour until about 2am to get the results. 

As you can see from the photo above on the right, my face did not look terrible but you can see the depression between the high point of my cheekbone and my ear.  The CAT scan clearly confirmed that my cheekbone or more precisely the Zygomatic process of temporal bone was broken into three pieces and caved into my face.   They refused to give me a copy of the CAT scan but they let me take a video of their computer screen.  The doctor indicated that I would need to come back in the morning at 8am to see a specialist who would be there.  

See the red circled section?  Yeah, it’s not supposed to look like a cracked egg like that.

So, we returned on Thursday at 8am and saw the doctor 2.5 hours later at 10:30am.  The doctor simply reconfirmed the break and referred me to a doctor and hospital in Lisbon.   We stopped by the house to pickup Sydney and some clothes and drove immediately the 2 hours and 44 minutes to Hospital de SantaMaria in Lisbon.  We arrived at 3:30pm and waited until 8pm (4.5 hours) until I finally saw a doctor.    Sydney waited too as you can see below.

The doctor indicated that I would need surgery which would likely be the next morning but could be a day later depending on operating room availability.  They ran a covid test, blood text, ekg, x-ray, and another cat scan since they could not access the cat scan previously run in Portimao hospital.  That was all done quickly by 9:30pm.  I was told I would have to stay in the hospital overnight or lose my position in the schedule so they put me in a hospital gown and a cot and I slept in the hallway which was lined all the way with injured people in cots, some moaning frequently throughout the night.  Nurses and doctors continually shuffled by and my cot was just outside the breakroom so it was challenging to get any rest.  Given the condition of the waiting rooms and the general confused operation of the hospital (the place was rundown and dingy and they never knew how long you would wait or your position in line), I was not feeling very positive about having surgery there.  

However, at 10am Friday morning, they began prepping me for surgery and, to my surprise, the nurses and doctors were excellent.  The surgery room was clean and orderly and appeared professional.  They explained everything to me and gently put me under anesthesia.  The next thing I knew, the surgery was over and I was rolled to a recovery room.  Somehow, I got lucky and had a room to myself.  The other rooms were fully packed with 4-5 people.  Apparently, there was supposed to be another person in my room as well but their surgery was very long and complex and they never showed up.  I hope everything went ok for them.  Anyway, I was very glad to be done with the surgery and feeling good.   

The nurse gave me back my possessions so I tried to message Bi but the wifi was terrible in the room and I only had my iPad since Bi had my phone (Hers had been stolen some weeks ago in Greece).  Bi said she called the hospital and they finally let her come in but she basically had to track me down herself.  She said the communication was terrible and they never seemed to know the status of the surgery or where I was when she asked at the front desk.  She said she actually had better luck calling the hospital (even though she was in the lobby).  Finally, she was able to get in touch with the nurse watching me and find my ward and room. 

Visiting hours went until 7pm so we chatted in the room until Bi had to leave for the night. 

This time, the overnight stay was relatively pleasant and I slept fine although I don’t think any nurses actually checked on me all night.  I am glad I didn’t have any adverse reactions to the antibiotics or anything.  The quality of the nurses here seems to vary widely with some very interactive, helpful, knowledgeable, and attentive and others who do not seem to care about the patients and appear to be doing the bare minimum required. 

I was discharged at 9am Saturday.  The surgeon came to talk to me and said I can leave but need to take antibiotics 2x a day and 2 different painkillers 3x a day.  I have to take care with my cheek for 5 weeks to allow it to heal.  The stitches can come out in two weeks.

Whew!  Glad I am ok!   

Did I learn a lesson about dropping in when surfing?  No.  I already make every effort not to do that as does virtually everyone else.   However, mistakes still happen, especially in crowded areas.  Check out this article on the topic.  

Did I learn a lesson about human nature?  Yes.  Get away from aggressive people asap.  You can shout your apologies from a safe distance but get the hell away from them first and foremost.