Hele on to Kauai

On the first leg of my travels I flew from Hawaii to California to see friends/classmates from my University days for the first time since '02; beginning my journey west-to-east around the world surrounding myself first with more familiar places & faces before continuing on to those increasingly less familiar.  Due to the fact that I had booked my "around the world" itinerary months before heading out, and, with the inability to book flights more than a year in advance, coupled with the uncertainty of the desire/circumstances/finances of the then consideration of possibly continuing on to South America, it was to California that my ticket returned.  As anxious as I was to return home (dropping off my friends Bundy & Mariko at the airport in Tahiti for the once a week flight to Hawaii didn't help!) I looked forward to seeing some people in Cali, easing my way back to familiarity, and seeing my brother - who ironically had just completed his job in Hollywood and would have time on his hands for us to hang out!  

Looking forward to the immigration officer welcoming me back "home", I got more than I bargained for when, after his review of my stamp-filled passport, he smiled, laughed with excitement of my accomplished travels, and high-fives me as I moved through the line... I was back on US soil!!!  With the endless array of activities available to-do in LA at hand, my brother and I took advantage and "bro-ed down" over the course of the week as we attended a Lakers basketball game, Dodgers baseball game, tracked down some new surfboards to bring back home with me, went mattress shopping (after months of 'sleeping around' I longed for my own new bed) and ate some good ol' American food!

A short ride north we made our way up the coast from the traffic and craziness of LA to the beauty of Santa Barbara where many of our mutual friends reside... Though it wasn't quite home yet, a drive-in movie, hiking in the mountains, and a visit to In-and-Out burger made for fun times over the weekend....

Returning to LA after a weekend full of friends, fun, and food I discovered an open seat had opened up on an earlier flight... Instead of spending another week in Cali I was suddenly packing my bags for the last time and heading home!  I made it back in one piece, was greeted with smiles, hugs, lei, and even a welcome home hat by my friends & parents and got to spend Easter with my family :)

I've been home now for just over a week and slowly integrating back into "normal" life: sorting through mail, getting back into my house, reacquiring a vehicle, exploring employment opportunities, surfing my home breaks, and catching up with friends.  In many ways not much has changed... It is easy to think that the better part of this last year gallivanting around the globe was just a dream... It is nice to return to family... Return to friends... Return to the comforts of home... But, it wasn't just a dream... It was a dream realized, lived through, and experiences that are apart of me now... They say "every story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end"... I don't see this as the end, but as just the beginning...

I came across this quote while watching a movie during my travels and I don't think any other words could sum it up better... As spoken by David Rastovich in Castles in the Sky -- "There was once a man who'd became unstuck in the world, and he traveled around like a leaf on the wind... until, he reached the place where he'd started out... his car, his job, his phone, his shoes; everything was right where he left it... nothing had changed... and yet, he felt excited to have arrived here... as if this was the place he'd been going to all along!"

The Beginning.

Mai Tai Roa

2,742 miles south of Hawaii lies a series of island archipelagos known collectively as "French Polynesia." Consisting of the Society, Marquises, and Tuamotu island groups, French Polynesia is home to spectacular emerald green mountains, beautiful crystal blue lagoons, warm smiles, black pearls, exquisite seafood, and some of the worlds best surf.  The most famous of its isles is Tahiti and, on its isolated southern shore, at the end of the road, there lies a small village that's home to a famously large monster -- Its name is "Teahupoo" -- known as one of the worlds heaviest waves!

Teahupoo (pronounced cho-po) is "essentially a glorified closeout -- a hideous, deadly barrel promising a heap of trouble for even the most capable of surfers" as described by Surfline.com.  Three years previous, in 2008, I came to Tahiti for the first time on a surf trip with friends.  Encountering stormy weather and fickle winds, our hopes of perfect waves didn't manifest on that trip but it gave me a taste of French Polynesia and this "cousin" of Hawaii.  After spending the better part of the last year doing something "different" (i.e., not chasing waves as the sole purpose of my travels as had been the driving force of my travels over the last decade), my intent was to end my trip around the world back in the waters of Tahiti and attempt to 'slay the dragon' of the wave that occupies both my dreams and nightmares!

After days, weeks, and months of not surfing consistently, my recent times in Indonesia and Australia was my planned training grounds to get back into surfing shape: enjoying traveling while also preparing for the reef passes of Tahiti...  Afterall, paddling out to a wave like Teahupoo is not something you just show up and do casually.  Although the surf breaks in Indonesia and Australia vary greatly from the power and shape of the waves in Tahiti, weeks of the long paddle outs to the reefs in Bali and, paddling against the sweep of the current along the sandbars of The Gold Coast in Oz, had me confident enough in my arms and my breath to take on "Chopes."

After a flight delay that resulted in a missed connection in Sydney, a day stop over in New Zealand, and a long day of traveling to Papeete, my long awaited arrival to this pearl of an island in the sea was greeted by the beautiful strumming of ukulele & guitar at the airport.  Along with the customary tiare flower passed out before customs,  Day 1 in Tahiti welcomed me with the smile of my Tahitian friend Marurai, perfect small waves peeling along the fringes of the Taapuna reef just outside his house, and the island atmosphere so alike home!

Making our way around the island the following day, and after a quick stop at my friend Tahurai's home to get my board (which he kindly had brought back to Tahiti from his recent trip to Kauai with him), and it was back to the end of the road, a trek across the footbridge, and into Teahupoo village and the chalet of The Estall family (Uncle Vatea, his wife Armel, sons Ludovic & Cedric, and daughter Via).  Day 1 in Teahupoo and I found myself paddling the 20 minutes + out to fun sized perfect offshore barrels and not another soul around... Paradise found :).  

Three days of perfect waves, scorching sun, lazy days, and grubbing on uncle Vateas homemade Poisson Cru & Sashimi and I was smiling ear-to-ear.  With news of a giant swell (the first of the Tahitian surf season) on it's way, all focus became preparing physically and mentally... Then, disaster struck... The flu!  An epidemic fever flu bug was sweeping across the island and it unfortunately got me :(. Instead of 5 days of upping my surf training regime, I was laid up fighting off a 103 degree fever, body aches, and a horrible cough!  In Tahiti time seems to go slow... REAL slow... And, when your sick, can't sleep, and have nothing else to do but lay down then "island time" takes on a whole new meaning!  Unable to eat for a couple days I finally got to a doctor who prescribed me some medication that instantly helped me feel better... My fever broke, I could sleep & eat, and I had a couple days to regain my strength before the anticipated new large swell reached the island...

With news of the swell on the way spreading, local surfers from around the islands started making there way to Teahupoo. The solo sessions were over.  Several weeks early Kauai surfer Sion Milosky (who last year caught the "biggest wave ever paddled into") lost his life while surfing at Mavericks in California... Coinciding with his funeral service at home, we gathered together as a group of surfers to honor, remember, and pay tribute to our fallen fellow waterman and friend...  

Saturday morning April 3rd... The swell has arrived, filled in over night, and 8-10 footers (up to 20 foot faces) detonate across the reef!  The beast had awoken...  By far the largest surf I've encountered in nearly a year, it was enough to get your heart racing just watching from the channel!  With a crew in the lineup of wave hungry locals patience was the name of the game but I eventually got my chances and got both "shacks" and "cracks"; scoring some incredible views from inside the barrel as well as getting caught inside a set, taking a few long hold downs, and bouncing off the bottom receiving some Tahitian tattoos from the reef!!!  

I've been lucky enough to rendezvous with many friends from Kauai on my travels and Tahiti was no exception... Mariko and Bundy were cruising around French Polynesia and we got to visit for a bit on several occassions between their destination of the outer island of Raietea!

With no car, no phone, no Internet, no TV, no easy access to a grocery store out at the end of the road, and the swell come & gone, boredom was starting to reign.... it was time for a change of pace.  My Aussie friend Mel had flown in a few days earlier and we decided it was time to escape Teahupoo and go explore the outer island of Moorea!

Moorea is only a half hour ferry ride from Tahiti but seems a world away.  With its famous crystal blue lagoons and small population, Moorea is the island paradise many dream about.  With the freedom (albeit expense) of a rental car, Mel and I took the last few days to explore the island, surf some of the reef passes, and hunt for some black pearls...

With an atmosphere more alike home than anywhere else, French Polynesia has both served to reinforce my longing for home and been a perfect place to contemplate during my last days traveling abroad.  Traveled out, my mind has returned to adjusting back to life at home and all that needs to be done in order to "pick up where I left off".  A brief stop back to California awaits before finally making it back The Garden Isle... I'm looking forward to the immigration officer declaring "Hope your travels abroad were good... Welcome home Mr. Teixeira."