1-2-3-Skim!

Skimboarding. There are some people with that innate ability to balance oneself and glide gracefully across the rolls of waves.

I'm not one of them.

But like madwomen, my friend Nym Wales and I gave skimming a shot one time at the beach, just to test the waters so to speak. We tried and tried again. And it was wonderful.

If you hadn't heard of it yet, skimboarding, reminds one of surfing. But instead of riding waves in the deep, you glide across the shallow shoreline waters on a skim board. It's a must-try for any beach bum…or for at least the risk takers!

Sometimes, Nym and I were able to skimboard for a few glorious seconds. Woohoo! Other times, it was a total washout! It occurred to me at some point that we must've looked so helpless, that we caught the attention of some expert skimboarders nearby who gave us some tips. One of them, a guy with sun-bleached hair (meaning he must spend a lot of time at the beach) who managed to skim so effortlessly, apparently took pity on us. So he taught us further, with countless demos.

Here are his set of steps to basic skimboarding. The guy taught us the 1-2-3-4 counting thing, which made our lives so much easier:

*Hold the board firmly with both hands. If you are right handed, put the board at your right side, left hand on the lower part of the board, right hand at the back.* Jog/walk quickly across the shore line.* Watch the waters. Count 1-2-3 then at 4, drop the board when the water is receding from the shore* Quickly but nimbly, from behind the board, step your left foot on the board followed by your right. (Never put your right foot first, or you'll tumble!)* Bend your knees.* Keep balance. Steady!* Enjoy* Wash out!

The skimmer guy said it's best when you skim around 9 to 10 a.m., when the shallow waves are just right, thus the shoreline isn't so rocky.

What we did? We started skimming around 4 p.m., at around low tide, when the rocks and stones were beginning to surface. Ah, nasty! Running on those really hurt. That's not really recommended. Getting washed out and falling on them really hurt, but oh, was it all worth it indeed! Bruised and sore after a while, but still in high spirits, we skimmed as much as we could. It's that addictive.

They say Lilo-An is the skimmer's Mecca, by the way. So you could also give it a shot there, next to all the expert skimmers with sun-bleached hair and tan lines. We're lucky to be in Cebu, where beautiful beaches are delightfully within reach. Get your adventurous spirit ready and give skimming a shot! That's a dare. Skim's up!