We had a surfing “exchange” student spent a few weeks with us this summer. Eneko, 16, hails from the Spanish-French border city of Hendaye and thoroughly enjoyed his time in California. On his last afternoon we hustled up to Trestles to catch a new southwest swell. While Imperial Beach was small, blown out and closed out, Lowers was firing, with a bevy of pros to inspire the boys. It was a fitting end to Eneko’s trip that he called, “The best experience of my life.”

They surfed hard.

Daniel on a left. The waves were perfect A-frames.

Israel.

Pro surfer and Trestles local Tanner Gudauskas was shredding.

Eneko

Josh puts it on a rail.

WCT surfer Heitor Alves was ripping. He made this.

Alves couldn’t have been nicer. Eneko (left) and Israel (right) were stoked. There are very few sports in which boys can compete in the same venue as their heroes.