RIDING the wave is enjoying a surge in popularity in its possible homeland, thanks to Sofia Mulanovich.
Q: Who's she?
A: The new women's world champion of surfing.
Q: From Hawaii?
A: Peru, actually.
Q: South America's the home of surfing?
A: So some experts believe. Peru is in many ways surfer heaven.
Chicama in the north of the country apparently boasts the world's longest wave. In good conditions, it can run for half a mile before dying out on the shore. At Pico Alta (High Peak) north of Lima, waves can be as tall as 33ft. The "Sofia phenomenon" has put Peru back on the surfing map.
Q: Evidence to show surfing started there?
A: Ceramics that date back some 1500 years have been found in Peru.
These show fishermen "surfing" on reed boats with upturned tips.
Q: So that's settled then?
A: Other experts maintain that surfing originated in the South Seas in prehistoric times, when Polynesian sailors used boards to manoeuvre through the surf to land.
Captain Cook witnessed their descendants at play.
Q: When?
A: In the late 1770s Cook reported seeing long-board and canoe surfers in Tahiti and on Oahu. They thought the sport was recreational rather than competitive.
European missionaries didn't think it was much fun - or perhaps too much fun.
Q: God's damp squids?
A: In 1821 they banned surfing as immoral. Its revival was down to Duke Kahanamoku.
Q: And he was?
A: A Waikiki beach bum who helped revive Hawaii's sport of kings by opening the first surfing club on Oahu in 1920. He also introduced surfing to California and Australia. Carlos Dogny, a Peruvian playboy, did the same in Europe and took surfing back to South America.
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