Motor Bikes, Ubud and Leaving

In the Tokyo Airport after just walking around the beautiful city of Narita with a Delta stewerdess I found. This after just taking a shower in the Airport, and　spending the night on my plane in Business class!! I guess every body in Indonesia really is corruptible. Situation: Nick standing at the counter after drinking a few beers on the way for my 11:55 pm flight, hair of the dog that bit me the night before till 6 in the morning. Nick "any exit row seats available?", guy,"No", Nick "what about for 50,000 rupiah?" (5dollars), guy "maybe..." after checking me in, says "meet me upstairs." He then finds me upstairs, I buy him a bottle of Johnny Walker Red and get on the flight and my ticket says business class! Sooo nice, tons of legroom, all the food and drinks I could get my hands on. And for the next leg, 12 hrs in the Exit row! Not all bad for an 800 dollar ticket.

Back to Bali. I didnt say anything bc I didnt want to worry my parents, but I have been riding a Moterized death trap, also known as a scooter around Bali for the past few weeks. It was unavoidable. Traffic is so bad if you have a car you cannot go anywhere, and the scooters come with nice surfboard racks. So I let my Argentinean friend convince me that was the best way to get around, everybody does it and all that, so I did...　 Ughhhhh I abhor, abhor maybe isnt even strong enough to describe the extent of my hate of the traffic and the smog, and the near death experiences that everybody else seems to just wave off. I despise riding that fing scooter. But it did get me around, and despite being lost most of the time, and desperately avoiding trucks that drive in the middle of the road, huge buses that just HAVE to pass on a tiny two lane (I use the word lane loosely here) road, and potholes/ plain uncovered sewers that can swallow buses whole, I survived. Never will it happen again, my neck and back will never recover, but I did ride across two islands, and surf to my hearts content, so thanks scooter, but you will die an oiless death in desert point before I ride you again.

More adventures. After waking for the second day to a flat ocean, I decided to leave Lombok. I was having a great time, but I could not rationalize another day of laying by the pool with no surf, so I left for Bali and more adventures. I arrived in the beautiful mountain town of Ubud after a tense 3 hrs of scootering across Lombok, 4.5 hrs on a ferry, and another 1.5 hrs of scootering with backback+surfboard abd close toed shoes/ pants in 95+ degree weather. So basically after being lost for 20 mins finding 3 places full, I got a room and REALLY needed a beer. Easier said than done. Not a place was open, so I asked a nice white looking guy, a dutch fellow named Christian, where the nearest pub was, and pointed me in a general direction. After 15 mins of fruitless searching I again came upon him and he asked if I had found a beer yet, I said no, and he said we would go together as he had told his girlfriend that if they saw me again we had to get a beer with me, not to leave me walking all alone as he is also normally a solo traveller.

Ended up being the beginning of a great friendship. The next day was his last with his girlie (Australians call their girlfriends girlies) so I went hiking and shopping, not mutually exclusive as some would lead you to believe. I walked about 20-25 km over many hours. Walked in deserted terraced rice paddies, swam below the Sanoy Terrace hotel in a refreshing mountain stream, bought masks and oil paintings, and came across a cool artists retreat complete with crazy cool artists who told me about my star signs in the mayan calender (I am a spectral star) and gave me a sweet sarong that displays that to all. Needless to say I was quite tired, but after dinner christian and I went for a beer before bed, ended up meeting three delightful Dutch girls, also from Amsterdam and the five of us stayed up till the wee hours hanging out listening to music from a nearby bar that charged almost 4 dollars per beer. Imagine our outrage, a bar at a market is barely 1 dollar. But the next day, the real shopping commenced and poor christian was dragged along for most of it.

Here is a description of bargining: "How much for that?" (usually some cool wood carving or mask, or cloth, or painting), them "300,000 rupiah" (almost 30 dollars). Me "no, no, no! Ill give you 10,000" them, shocked "me bancrupt! okok 250,000" me "10,000", them "ok ok 100,000, final price!" me "10,000", them ok ok 30, 000" then they wait for a few minutes here, I start to walk away, they come down to 25,000, and I usually give it to them. so from 30 dollars to just over 2. I often ask, do you ever sell it for the first price, them smiling either say no, no, no or no, only for you good price. Not sure I completely understand but it is quite fun. I alsio bought some really nice stuff, one mask for (gasp) 700,000 rupiah, it is actually really nice, with gold leaf and lots of details, I think I will have it for some time.

So, after this, Christian was a little upset, he wanted to leave, so we hopped on the miserable scooter and I took him to rice paddies and then the four seasons where we snuck in (if youre white it doesnt matter if you have flip-flops and board shorts on, you can get in anywhere. We then went to the pool, sauna, and then the bar where we ordered a 10 dollar drink to some rich persons room. All in all amazing fun. Then on the way back found the best bar in all of Bali, complete with pool tables, free golf arcade games, and a free jukebox that only played the coolest music! It was run by a really cool American guy (not many Americans in Bali) who hung with us till we went back to Ubud after a great day.

The next day was my next to last, so I headed to Kuta Bali (Australias Mexico) played beach vollyball, surfed, and then after meeting up with my german and argintinean friends went to a club that had an hour of Free Flow, all drinks free! The germans then proceeded to take me to every single club and/or bar in Kuta, for a last whirlwind night. Fun until the Indo prostitutes came out and we headed back home for some sleep. Then after waking up bright and early at 12, went to Uluwatu to surf the epic wave, thank goodness with not a huge swell and on a high tide so I didnt end up like freddie crueger, a 50,000 basket of crab, red snapper, and shrimp and one last Bintang before flying to Tokyo, and now to LA! Ok gotta get on that flight, see everybody soon!!!!!

Lombok, Heaven on the Planet!

I have been having the most amazing surf sessions of my life! This wave is incredible, a perfect peeling right, about 3 foot over head, maybe 200-300 feet, enough for 7-8 big turns. And then on High tide, a not quite as nice left, peeling over about 200 feet. And thats just the inside wave. There is a huge slabby left that throws over on the right tide and will mess you up if you get caught inside. Basically heaven on the planet, also the name of the hotel I happen to be staying in that overlooks the break perfectly, actually I can see the break from bed.

Again, from the beginning. Leaving Bali was a day long trip, 2 hours on the road, 4.5 on the slowest boat from Bali and then another 3.5 hours in Sunday afternoon wedding traffic on Lombok, another world from Bali. Nobody speaks English here, the majority of the population is very devout Sasak Muslim, i.e. no alcohol, praying 3 times/day, and married at 17. Very different experience. We traveled to the end of Lombok, literally the end of the road, and then further. As we were driving, came across beautifully dressed Sasak women on the back of tiny little motorbikes, only the men with helmets, on there way to group weddings that happen during the dry season every Sunday. And then a hunting party of guys, again on motorbikes waving guns and hands at us, I was pretty sure we were not in the right place. But the people here are just extremely friendly. They actually havent seen that many westerners, so everywhere you walk you wave and yell "Apacabar Batur!" Hello friend to everybody you see. Our accommodations started out at 10 dollars/ night, and we shared the bathroom with rats and not a few large frogs, no shower, just a tub of water, the same that you use to "flush" the toilet, with which to splash water on yourself. Good times.

But the wave, so incredible. My first morning out, caught a few lefts, got out, waited for the low tide and spent 4 hours surfing this wall of aquamarine water, with a strong offshore breeze, all the way into the coral reef. I dont think that does it justice, but I am in love with this place.

The next few days were spent in this way, fighting teams of Lombok monkeys while walking to the beach, seriously, and laying for hours on the perfect white sand beach, waiting for the tide to drop. And then after one of my best sessions EVER, Jony tells me this wave doesnt quite cut it and he wants to leave! I said I had to stay, and we would meet up soon, but first we had to go to a circumcision party, traditional Sasak party that lasts until 6 in the morning. Didnt quite know what to expect, but our friends Oudin and Maan were sure we would enjoy it. It was great. We first had some dinner (watermelon, spicy fish, soybeans, and the everpresent white rice) at our friends house, sitting on th floor and taking pictures of the kids (the love to see the photos). And then to the party, of course no alcohol and everybody was just sitting in front of the mosque watching a backlit puppet show, telling the story of some important muslin figures, not sure who, but leading up to the circumscision the next morning. Amazing.

The next day I had an interesting experience. As I came into the bathroom, there were three monkeys inside the bathroom! I guess they had come through the hole I kepts telling the guys to fix, to get water presumably. I think they were just as surprised to see me as I them, and they became quite agitated. So before they had a chance to attack, I slammed the door, hoping they would leave the way they came in, opened it again, one had left but the two remaining were freaking out! One was smashing its head into the ceiling, and the other was sortof coming for me, so again I slammed the door, and hoped they would leave, looked back in, one more was gone and the last was looking for blood, rushed back out, and finally he was gone. Wow. The monkeys here are wild and are always around, pretty cool, but scary when you come into the bathroom not expecting them.

Anyway, that was my last night there, I moved to the Heaven on the Planet resort, incredibly nice. Views from every bungalow, cool Australians/British to hang with (Toby, Tom, Mike, Nic, Dan and George rock!) and a more relaxing atmosphere, the locals in the old spot were getting a bit close and wanted me to but property and maybe eat monkeys? (The language is difficult) And here I've been.

Also, met this boat crew of Austrians who Ive eaten dinner with the last two nights. The captain is this amazing bloke, surfer extraordinaire, runs a boat here 8 months of the year and 4 months as a ski patrol back in Austria. Cooks an incredible chili con carne and last night some of the best pasta carbonara I have ever eaten. Actually the swell was pretty much non-exsistant for one day, I think Thursday, so when I ate there it was easy to come back to the beach. But last night no such luck, so I slept on the rocking boat, which was awesome, and then got in the water this morning at 4:45, before first light, and caught about 7 BOMBS, fighting off the boat and otherwise crowd that has assembled here. Seriously the best surf of my life. Did I mention that it is about 2-3 foot overhead and a perfectly breaking wave. I absolutely love this place!

SO anyway for the next 3-4 days I will rock this sick spot, until Tuesday or Wednesday, and head back to Bali, probably check out Ubud, and then Uluwatu, and back with my German buds for one last party night in Kuta (possibly at Sea Garden) and then for a bit of shopping/surfing Cangguu and then back to reality, shiza...

Back to the ocean, or maybe a nap, or maybe some snorkling, or...

The search for uncrowded waves

Hello,

I find myself writing this on the eve of yet another adventure. Tomorrow at 7 AM we will go to the next island over, Lombok, and we will hopefully find the promised land; perfect peeling waves with only a few hardy souls riding them. From the beginning:

Arriving in Bali was quite the adventure, 3 planes, 4 nights (one in LA (thanks Max), one in airplane (not sure where Saturday went as I never actually experienced it, and one in Tokyo (again thanks Max (Preston!). So when I arrived with 600,000 rupiahs in my pocket you can be sure I was not quite right when I guy selling me my tourist visa tried to steal 50,000 of the little buggers from me. I guess its only 5 dollars but still, that will buy 5 plates of Nasi Goreng, (the standard fried rice here) a real Reef or O'Neil shirt (undoubtedly made here in some sweatshop) or a ride on the back of one of the ubiquitous scooters to just about anywhere in Southern Bali. To say this place is cheap is an understatement, many ppl have remarked that this is hands down the cheapest country in the world, and that it also has coral reefs that have perfect swells breaking over them is just a huge bonus.

So the surf. So far it has been difficult to find the perfect wave, although today we came close today. (I say we as in the 4 Germans who are "studying" here, and Johhny my Argintinean friend who I will be traveling with) In the last week we have surfed Kuta beach (6-9 foot with strong offshore winds and plenty of barrels to be had) and Canngo (6-7 sideshore wind, but we were the only ppl out) on Bali, and two coral breaks on the closest island Nusa Lembongan known as Lacerations, (apparently very aptly named according to Johhny and quite dangerous when there are 50 australians in the water and 8 foot waves breaking over three feet of water). Its been very fun to say the least. The best day for me was today surfing Canngo with one german guy (my germans were lured to the next peak by 4 hot Australian girls) and riding it over a deep shelf for about 200 feet. SO sick.
Bali is amazing in other respects as well. For example, to pamper myself before setting out to Lombok I treated myself to an hour long Massage (50,000 rupiahs) a seafood basket including a whole red snapper, clams, crab and calamari (also 50,000) and a new reef shirt, you guessed it 50,000 rupiahs. SO for 15 bucks we were stuffed and relaxed beyond belief, we literally had to sit in the street for a few minutes before going home, and even then if you saw us you would think we were drunk based on the slow shuffle and swaying from side to side. We are currently staying at a place with a gorgeous garned for 80,000/night, and im paying 15 cents/ minute to use internet. I love this place.

And the nghtlife is incredible, we went to a 4 story bar/club/disco and drank 1,000 rupiah beers(about 10 cents) and 10,000 drinks till 12 and then danced upstairs to the same 12 songs on repeat (or so it felt, i mean why bother to have a DJ if you just play the same songs) or so until about 4 in the morning, headed to the other club till 6 and then stumbled home to wake up to perfect surf all of today, albeit with slightly less ability than other days. All in all an amazing place, and if there only werent so many ppl it would be perfect.

That leads me to my final point, Lombok is the next island over (of which there are between 12-17,000 in Indonesia) but is a completely different Island. Most ppl never go there, the surf is as good (at least in some places) and there is this 10,000 foot volcano I want to climb and then go to hot springs in the crater. I wont have internet, or may not, we will see. But I will have a cell phone, in an emergency call 08983147319, placing the country code for Indo in front (god only knows what that is)

Ok time for one last beer with the Germans, and then sleep. Hope the new week goes great for everyone!

Japan, land of stangeness

Hello all,

I just got back from the beach in Bali, overhead perfection with off-shore wind, so nice! Spent most of the day buying a surfboard with my new buddy Johhny from Argentina. We are long lost brothers and I will be traveling with him all over. This place is amazing, the smallest streets crowded with an amazing assortment of small cars and a deluge of little scooters trying to run you over, all with surfboards hanging off the sides. More from Bali later, first Japan...

Ok so Japan is very different from the United States, or any other country I have ever been in. People are polite, nonviolent, clean (the homeless carboard boxes had small windows cut in them with pieces of plastic covering them), the opposite of pretty much any country in South or North America. All the trains run on time to perfect stations that are not the resting places of vagrants or muggers , but rather places to meet up and catch up with friends. The "red" zone is clean orderly and the only distractions are these Japanese men who invite girls to bars and the girls pay to be complemented. I guess there were some strip clubs, but they were so far from the perception as to almost not be (we didnt go in one though)

This was just one night there, the next morning was eye opening, I have never seen so many ppl packed into the subway at 8 AM, with not a single sound. And then the stations, I went through one of the busiest in Tokyo, and there must have been 1,000 ppl walking on distinct paths, but all you hear is shoes. Granted I dont take the subway much, but usually it is not that quiet. I then walked throughout downtown tokyo. Past the imperial garden (they wouldnt let me in, weird) through the Ginza district home to upscale shopping, and then to the jewel, the fish market. That was not so quiet.

I walked for literally two hours past giant tunas being carved and readied for sale. Bought a plate of fresh Sashini fr 5 bucks (incredible) and then got lost in the rows upon rows of everything that could possibly live in the sea. (sea urchins, clams, red snapper, cod, Eels, crabs, octupus, snakes, shrimp, tuna, mackeral, flounders, other crazyness that I dont have a name for, and everything in between. Lets just say came out on the complete other side, and didnt get run over by thse awesome little scooters with three wheels that were buzzing around everywhere.

Next I walked back through the center, only taking side streets, and only one block from the market there were these little residential streets with gardens and old japanese women watering them. Through to the electronic district, so cool, you could buy anything electronic there, met some christian missionaries trying to spread the gospel. (I told them surfing was my gospel, and they left me alone) Then I had lunch at the coolest "Maid" bar, where all the girls are dressed as maids and hit on you as you eat. My maid was this brazillian girl who spoke spanish (it was nice to converse in a language I had the slightest idea of after lots of gesticulating and broken english from everybody else). She was very nice and told me about moving to Japan and learning japanese and how she loved it, and so did her kid and husband. It was just a nice part of japanese culture, so I rushed out when I realized I had a train to catch, was forced off at some pt, didnt have enough money, but then made a mad dash through an awesome garden shrine, made it to the airport and here I am.

So. Japan conclusions: I think the fact that everybody works for these huge corporations, the only ambition being to move up in these corporations, keeps them level headed. I mean, 150,000 new companies are started every MONTH in America, which also turns over 15% of jobs every year, and we are all insane. That could explain the calmness and sort of happiness with the status quo that keeps ppl from doing crazy things. However the evidence of homeless ppl, and the fact that they have been losing jobs there could mean some big changes are coming up. All in all, an amazingly different place, so competely unlike anywhere I have been; I want to go back!

Indonesia!

Hello Friends and Family I will be heading to Bali, Indonesia this Saturday for three weeks and thought it might be kinda fun to start up my blog again.

I will have (hopefully) passed my Qualifying exam, on my way to candidacy for a Ph.D! I will be in Bali from the 15th of June to the 3rd of July, surfing, partying, exploring... you know.

Panama and the beginning of the end!

Well, I dont know exactly where I left off as I am a few glasses of wine deep after my cousins birthday party here in Guatemala city, but Ill start in Panama city. After arriving in the city I was picked up by the hostel, thinking it was a nice gratis ride from the airport. The guy picked me up, made me wait while he got a half a chicken, then ate it, and then began to drive like a bat out of hell, while telling me he "knew" all the cops and they wouldn't arrest him. He then explained that the real hostel was full, but I could stay in the old space, which apparently they had almost completely moved out of, and then told me to pay him 17 dollars! I thought I was getting robbed, but the city turned out to be just very expensive.

My goals for the city were threefold; see the canal, buy a surfboard, and see the Casco Viejo. I accomplished on other goal, which was going out for a night on the town, with a very nice young lad named Jack. He had been working for the English consul in Costa Rica and was on his way to Colombia, and decided to join me (or did I join him) to some club in la Ciudad. The next day, right at the crack of 12 we walked the Casco Viejo, avoiding ladrones left and right. It really was an amazing part of town. We were able to see Noriegas old bombed out palace, along with all the embassies and a great view of the whole city. After a large plate of lentils I fell asleep with visions of the great canal in my head.

The next day slightly earlier I made my way to the canal, the Miraflores locks to be exact. It was rather incredible to see this huge ship with 5000 containers on it navigating this canal with around 6 inches to spare on either side. Apparently it costs 267,000 dollars to pass the canal, and it is the only time when the captain of a ship has to give up control of his ship. I watched a few ships pass, hiked around a botanical gardens and made my way (via chicken bus) to the city. The only goal left was to find a surfboard and then the beach. I went to a surf shop, and after realizing that all the boards would break the bank, met two Panamanians who were going to the same beach as me, Playa Venao (or Vanado depending on who you were). We then picked up my bags, some "other" things which they insisted upon, and an old board I had seen the day before for 160 bucks. The only thing left was the girlfriend of Yungfa (the driver who happened to be Chinese). I really didnt know what to expect, but all of the sudden we were in America. I mean we drove into the old Canal Zone where all the military personnel lived. It was really incredible, every street had a large sidewalk and tract homes which all looked so similar to the houses in some neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and out walked Jenny, the girlfriend. Somehow I knew she was trouble.

Finally beginning our 6 hour drive at 11 at night, we arrived in Aguadulce at around 3 in the morning, to stay in Chuch's relatives house. While hanging out and talking in Spanish on the back patio, far from Yungfa, Jenny all of the sudden leans over and whispers "your so hot" to me, as I struggle to understand what I just heard. I knew she was trouble. The next day on the way to the beach my bank account was again called on to purchase supplies for our trip. Apparently because Im an American I owe everybody something, and had to bankroll the whole trip, I didnt mind bc I was getting a ride to the beach, but I spent about 8 times what the bus would have taken and ended up arriving at the same time as I would've anyway.

We immediately surfed the nonexistent swell and then got a small cabana on the beach where I was to spend the next three weeks. After a dinner in which I began a long string of fried fish meals it was off to bed, as there was really no more light. Thats apparently when the sand flies as well as Jenny began their attack. I put repellent on for the sand flies and had to just avoid being anywhere near Jenny to fend the two off. I finally made it to sleep only to awake to screams and the smell of burning. Struggling out of my sleeping sack, I looked over to see Yungfa and Jenny's mattress on fire while Jenny bravely tried to put it out. I helped, but in the end the fire started by the mosquito coils they had dangling dangerously over their bed had made a rather large mark, on my psyche and the bed; I had to escape from these dangerous lunatics. The next morning things were made easier by the fact that Jenny got in a fight with the restaurant owners and had to leave anyway.

After surfing I sadly reported that I would no longer be joining them on their trip, and instead would head to the Eco Venao, a reforestation project/ hostel above the beach. After arriving I met Charlie and Daniel, an American and Italian whom I proceeded to search waves out with, and basically have a good time. We mostly surfed in the mornings and at night, and in between I read and slept in Hammocks. As it was the rainy season, it managed to rain most days, but the surfing was really quite fun, and we managed to make lots of friends in the little town named Pedasi to surf with.

In the end I had a great time, made lots of new friends, surfed a bunch, and basically prepared myself for grad school at UCSF, kind of.

Cartagena, returning to the ocean and the good life

Well hello. I guess its been a while since Ive written. I guess its a lot harder when you are on beaches and in the jungle to find Internet access. I have been enjoying myself immensely, the weather is a heck of a lot better in this part of the world. After arriving in Cartagena with my dad, we spent a few days just exploring the old city and basically I just tried to acustubrarme with the really hot weather. We headed to a great beach, of which there is a picture, and slept in some of the more rustic beds that my day and I have ever slept in. But the beach was great, and it was really nice to see my dad. We then headed up ther coast to see Santa Marta, a town where while we were there beer reigned supreme. I mean me were just in the streets drinkin ALL the time, later we learned it was the middle of vacation, and Columbian independence day. I just liked eating good food and paying more than 3 dollars for a place to sleep in, one that didnt involve bedbugs and other friends.

My dad left after only a week, and I went to the Ciudad Perdida (literally lost city). It was an incredible 3 day hike in through jungle and crossing multiple rivers. I hiked mainly with an English chap named Rupert. Every day we would get to cool off after hiking in these pristine river pools which really increased the enjoyment of the trip. My bag on the other hand has not smelled the same since, and actually need to be cleaned quite desperately. The ciudad perdida was the capital of the Tayrona Indians who lived in the Sierra Nevada. This mountain range just rises from the coast of Columbia, and in where the legend of El Dorado was started, as early Spanish settlers had easy access to it, and the Indians had an incredible amount of gold. The trail used to be impassible, but is now quite safe due to the militares who kicked the guerrillas out of the mountains, and now keep about 50 men at the city at all times, armed with the latest weaponry (see photo). Everything about the hike was just amazing, and on returning I stayed with Rupert in Tagunga for the final days of the festival. We then went to the national parque Tayrona, which is just a beach with a few hammocks on it. We slept on the beach, in the hammocks, and basically enjoyed ourselves thoroughly for a few nights.

I then left Rupert, along with a nice Swissso on the beach and continued back to Cartagena to catch a flight to Panama, land of surf and fun. I had booked everything, including a private bus back to Cartagena, thinking it would be safer, well I was wrong. The bus arrived on time, and we left Santa Marta at 3:30 as advertised, but when we arrived in Barranquilla we met lots of traffic. Apparently the president was there, and as is customary with presidents they cause lots of problems in the city they are visiting (thanks Bush for making my 20 minute commute 2 hours in LA). So we left the city late, and it was getting dark. Now I know what you´re thinking, ¨¨the guerillas come at night¨. You would be right, but the President Uribe has really taken control of the security situation there, and I therefore did not expect any problems. Yet, when we were aburptly stopped by a burning tire thrown into the middle of the road I knew I was done for. I was going to be kidnapped and that was it. I was the only gringo within 150 km and the guerillas had stopped traffic in a small carribean town on the coast of Columbia. Incidentally, the door of the van had broken earlier on this epic trip, so my only defense was the Patagonia windbreaker which Martha, Max´s mom had supplied before the trip. After throwing the hood over my head, we waited. However, the more time that passed the more it looked like it was going to be alright. Apparently the locals had become fed up with their lack of elctricity and decided to do something about it, and that something was a roadblock. We made one manuever so that we werent the first car, and as I sweated my head off in the jacket our driver tried to figure a way out, as we were only 25 km from Cartagena. The whole time I just thought that if anyone knew there was a gringo, I was done for: everyone in the car agreed it would be better if they didnt find out. So when we walked over the roadblock to a waiting van I kept a low profile. Entonces, everything turned out alright, except for the next day when the hotel I was staying in was hit by lighting, and then I left the country.

I arrived in Panama, bought a surfboard: A 6 foot six shortboard, some wax and sunscreen, and have been on the playa Venao staying at an eco lodge for backpackers and other very interesting characters for a week now. I have really valued this time to just relax, and as there is a 7 foot swell set to arrive wednesday, it looks like Ill be here a while

I need to relate the charaters I met on the way here, maybe tomorrow...I need to sleep to surf!