Win It Wednesday: Coconuts Cowboy Boots!

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Source: http://blog.swell.com/gallery/win-it-wednesday-coconuts-cowboy-boots/

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Drop Zone Fiji Journal Entries

June 20, 2010
        Drop Zone to me means Alex Gray antics, Cheyne Magnussen?s smiling supercharged surf sessions, and endless amounts of waterborne adventure. This time I?ve got a wing-girl in Maria Del Mar, a Puerto Rican reggaeton dancing damsel that?s always up for a good time. The four of us showed up in Fiji, piled our boardbags high on a small rental car and lashed them down with surf leashes since no one thought to bring any board straps. We made a few circles ?round a roundabout to fully admire a Hindu temple then found our way to a dirt road that led us to Seashell Cove ? home base for the first few days of surf and diving adventures.

 

photo: Justin Lewis

        I?ve heard from too many people that Cloudbreak is one of the best waves in the world. Despite several trips to Fiji I?d never surfed it and was in denial. Yesterday Maria and I sat in a boat over the incredibly clear water fringing Tavarua Island freaking out - dancing, shaking, and yelling - while the rest of the group took their sweet time. Finally, all loaded up, we powered out to the outer reef and scrambled over each other to dive in and paddle out to butter smooth head high peeling blue lefts that barreled over hollow reef. Four hours later, the four of us had had more waves than we ever could have hoped for and I can now agree that Cloudbreak is one of the best waves in the world.

Surfed out and satisfied. Photo: Justin Lewis

June 21, 2010

       The only thing I really want to see underwater is a shark. I like colorful coral, schools of fish, turtles and all that but honestly I?m down there for the sharks. After the incredible shark-swarming dive experiences of Drop Zone Tahiti it?s a little hard to get excited about a couple of three foot white tip reef sharks. Last October I did a trip to Mexico that included swimming with whale sharks in the Bahia De Los Angeles and then one of the peak moments of my life; getting up close and personal with great whites off Guadalupe Island (See video from this trip here). When I was told that we would get a chance to dive with tiger and bull sharks on this trip I got really excited, and then a little disappointed that we?d have to wait until the second half of the trip to do it.

photo: Justin Lewis

        Diving off Seashell Cove with Scuba Bula the last couple of days was fun. We swam through a few underwater arches and explored some reef crevices, but I?ll admit I was a little bored. These dives just seem like warm-ups and time-killers until we get to meet the big toothy critters.

Jumping from the Tui Tai. photo: Justin Lewis

  
       Now cruising aboard the Tui Tai to a dive site called Rainbow Reef that has been dubbed ?the soft coral capital of the world?, I?m content. It might have something to do with finally getting a real cup of coffee after days of instant imitations. It?s too windy to surf so we?re preparing for a day of three dives followed by a village visit. All that sounds good but once again it?s hard to take my mind off those sharks we?ll get to meet in a few days.

Body Glove donated mask and snorkel sets to a local village, so I had to help the kids learn how to pose for photos while wearing them. photo: Justin Lewis

June 22, 2010

       Bede Durbidge is one of my favorite surfers. Good looking, great surfer, super nice guy. So when we were paired up to dive together for his second dive after certification I was excited for both of us. We were supposed to dive the Great White Wall named for its special collection of white soft coral but there was so much to see at the start of the wall that we never made it past the first swim through. Filming the Drop Zone means that while you?re diving you?re working. Sometimes that?s walking back and forth on the beach with your board but yesterday it meant swimming back and forth through a cave that started at 40ft deep and let you out at 60. Each loop for the camera revealed some new detail within the cave culminating in a pantomimed conversation with a cute little yellow fish that was not afraid of us at all. Fiercely dedicated to defending its territory the palm-sized golden yellow little guy even charged at Bede as if it was planning to bite his regulator.

Bede Durbidge likes diving. Photo: Justin Lewis

       Post-dive we cheered for Cheyne as he was hoisted midway up the mast by the crew. He then carefully scurried out along the slippery metal spreader to jump. The guy is fearless so I knew it was intense when he seemed a little sketched. He had to wait up there for at least ten minutes for the cameramen to get their equipment together, the anticipation building. Cheyne jumped and the spectators went crazy, so Alex got inspired to get up there and jump off too.

photo: Justin Lewis

  
         PADI superstar and one of my personal role models Kristin Valette pulled out a couple stand-up paddleboards and we took off over the flat water into the sunset. After red wine and lobster by candlelight on the beach, I fell into bed exhausted, gently rocked to sleep by a calmly rolling sea. Good day, good night.

photo: Justin Lewis

  June 22, 2010
      I like sea critters, particularly large toothy sea creatures that let you swim with them. Manta Rays don?t have teeth but still easily fall into the large sea creature category. Yesterday afternoon we loaded into boats and set off towards the reef hoping to find a few mantas to swim with. The choppy seas made us less than sure we?d get our chance, but Cheyne, Alex, and Bede back-rolled overboard armed with weight belts, spear guns, and a hunger for sashimi. Maria and I stayed dry with our eyes peeled to the water around us looking for shadows below. Surprisingly, Bede and Alex came up cheering and pointing. ?There?s heaps of mantas right here!?

 all manta photos by Justin Lewis

       We motored over but by the time Maria and I jumped in with the boys, the mantas were gone. Back in the boat, shivering in the wind under a cloudy sky, I was ready to head back to the Tui Tai for a hot shower. Kristin Valette the optimist suggested one more pass along the reef and just then our dive guide spotted a manta not too far away. I jumped in eagerly with Justin our still photographer and Scott the video guy. Soon a big black shape emerged from the darkness below me and I was surprised by the size of it. I?ve seen a manta before in the Maldives, but this guy was much bigger, easily 6ft wide from wingtip to tip and our guide called it a small one. He was cruising just above the sea floor about 40 feet below me, and after all the kicking to keep up, I was winded. Justin was at my shoulder, camera ready, pointing down and motioning me to dive down alongside but I just nodded and waited. Up ahead the reef grew a little closer to the surface and as the ray swam up over it, I swam down for a quick moment of synchronized swimming. The ray looked over at me for a moment and then swam off. We found it again and I got one more chance, this time lasting a little longer. It was just enough for Justin to snap a few frames of the Manta and I side by side, swimming together. I spread my arms out to the side in my best effort to imitate its graceful wing-flapping swim. Finally I pulled myself back onto the boat incredibly grateful that we?d taken the chance on one more pass. It was definitely worthwhile.

June 23, 2010
          I like to get barreled. In fact lately, improving my tube-riding skills has been my main focus in surfing. There?s nothing better than positioning yourself inside of a wave and then coming out unscathed. I don?t even mind crash tubes where you get a short view before the inevitable pounding. But that?s over sand. Pulling into big tubes over shallow sharp reef is an entirely different thing. It?s scary.

        I had surfed Frigate?s Pass before and it was thick and sketchy. I was a little nervous about surfing it again, especially since Bede had checked the swell models and said it would be pumping. Motoring out to the break the wind made whitecaps on the surface of the sea and I figured it would be blown out and no good. Once we turned the final corner around one of several small islands, we could see that the wind was actually offshore. The reef was still far off but we could see a succession of waves peel along and spit powerfully, indicating big hollow waves. I was instantly really nervous.

We scrambled over each other to pull out boards, put in fins, and apply sunscreen as the boat rocked in the rolling sea, then hopped from the big boat to a dingy to jet out to the surf. The boys were frothing and screaming but Maria and I were nervous. We took our time getting out there. I was still psyching myself up when Maria spun and went on a mid-size wave. The boys on the inside were hooting and she pulled out with a smile. ?It?s not that bad,? I thought to myself. I stroked into the next one and tried to stall for a tube that didn?t materialize then nearly spun out on my bottom turn. I flipped my board over and saw I was riding a twin-fin. Oops! In my haste to get out there I must not have screwed my middle fin in all the way and it had fallen out.
I switched boards and caught another wave that didn?t tube, but helped my confidence a bit. Maria and I nervously paddled around looking for smaller ?cute? ones while dodging the gnarly sets that the boys tackled fearlessly. They were laughing and high fiving. It was awesome to watch and I started getting frustrated with myself. I wanted to laugh and high-five after pulling out of a big bomb. ?Screw it, I?m going!? A set approached and Alex and Bede each took one, but there was one more coming and only Maria and I still in the lineup.
?You going, Maria??
?No, you go!?
         I turned and started paddling. It was big, but it had a nice tapering shoulder and I was determined. I paddled and paddled and right before I started to think about standing up, there was so much water moving up the face of the wave, the only way to get into it would have been to throw myself over the ledge. I hesitated for an instant, saw Cheyne spinning around on the inside, and pulled back to let him have it. The wave barreled down the reef and he ended up getting pounded. I felt really happy about my decision not to go and then even more timid.

 photo Justin Lewis

        Maria and I were sitting a bit further in from the boys and Scott Smith our water filmer suggested we try to take off on some of the inside ones. Just then we saw a set approaching, one of the biggest of the afternoon. ?Shoot!? I started paddling frantically straight towards the horizon while Maria took an angled path more towards the channel. I yelled at her to go straight ahead as we both duck-dove the first wave. The next one was bigger and already starting to break so that it was clear we wouldn?t have time to get under it. I was only about ten feet further out than Maria but that made all the difference. We both bailed our boards and swam for the bottom, but I popped up outside and she got dragged in. There were three more waves behind that one, all breaking a little further out. Each time I dove for the bottom and looked up to see churning whitewater above me. On the second one I felt my leash pop and break. Without my board dragging behind me I was able to dive deeper and get under the wave cleanly. After I?d made it through, I looked back and couldn?t see Maria anywhere. I was shaken up, without my board, and getting pulled up the reef and out to sea by the strong current, but I was ok. The dingy came and picked me up.

       On our way to the other side of the reef to look for my board I saw Maria climbing into the other dingy where the photographers were sitting and I was relieved to see that she seemed ok. The boat guy took me inside of the reef and we waited a few minutes for my board to wash in. We spotted it, collected it, and then started heading back to the big boat. On our way I noticed a big brownish white object floating on the inside. It looked like a big tree at first, then the back of a whale. Finally I realized that it was a boat upside down. ?That?s weird,? I thought. It turned out our boat had flipped taking out two photographers, two cameras, and poor Maria who had just climbed into it thinking she was safe! See below for a few aftermath moments...



June 24, 2010
         Bull sharks are amazing. I?m on my third beer ? a new type called Vonu which is much better than the standard Fiji Bitter ? and it?s still hard to process the feeling of kneeling on the ocean floor 86ft below the surface while staring down an approaching bull shark. I added quite a few shark varieties to my list the other day which now includes whale, great white, white tip, black tip, grey, lemon, nurse, and bull. We had hoped to also encounter the illusive tiger, but at least I have a reason to return. Even without the tiger shark I was not disappointed.

 shark photos by Justin Lewis

       Bull sharks have that classic shark look. Close your eyes and imagine a fat scary shark and that?s a bull shark. I had several swim right at me, our eyes locked, that came within a couple of feet to my face before turning to make another circle. I wasn?t scared. I did feel a few moments of adrenaline as my body reacted to the sight of a big predator headed straight at me, but it was fleeting. The enjoyment was too great. The only problem was that the dive was too short. Twenty five minutes of bliss then a big Fijian was giving me an aggressive thumbs up sign (probably because I had already ignored the last five ?head to the surface? signs he?d given). I just didn?t want to leave.

We had two dives, the second at 60ft. In between dives I told the master that I am obsessed with sharks and had done multiple shark dives. I was hoping it would lead him to pull me closer to the sharks. Once the feeding started I was chosen first to kneel next to the feeder. The sharks made circles, took the tuna head on offer then swam right past me as he chewed and swallowed. It was awesome watching such a powerful creature that is so linked to man-eating and fear swim right past me, peacefully.

The sharks got closest to Cheyne. Either they liked the red hair or they could sense his fear and needed to look him over closer to see why he was afraid. After a few incredibly close passes, much closer than to anyone else, he gave the camera the ?I?m over it sign? and cruised back to a safe distance.
I could go on and on about how much fun it was and how much I wish we got another chance. I could have stayed down there with the sharks all day?. but my beer is getting warm.

for more stories and photos from Drop Zone Fiji, check out the Drop Zone Fiji blog!
Special thanks to Air Pacific, Body Glove, PADI, Scuba Bula, Tui Tai, Beqa Resort, Seashell Cove, Tavarua, and the beautiful people, waves, and sea creatures of Fiji!

Source: http://hollybecksurfs.blogspot.com/2010/07/drop-zone-fiji-journal-entries.html

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Finding Permanent Culture

Aubrey beating the heat

El Salvador must be the hottest place in Central America. The water, at 82 degrees F, doesn?t refresh that much. The waves are great and the people as friendly as it gets, but it was just too hot for a couple of super-hueros like us. The Familia Rotherham has adjusted well, and graciously hosted us again at their oceanside oasis. Muchisima gracias Don Roberto y Jimmy!

Lago Atitlan

Heading north from El Salvador we sought out some sweater weather and cooler climate scenery of the highlands of Guatemala. In the heart of the country the mountains rise steadily and hide some amazing cultural and natural gems, including el Lago de Atitlan.

A magical place!

Lake Atitlan has supported life for thousands of years. The highland mountains trap moist air as it passes to the north and coerce the clouds to free their weight of water unto the land. Frequent streams find their way to the valley floor, which is the lake, and fill it with the fertile soils from the mountain-sides. Fish thrive in the clear water, and trees line the shore.

Watching the beans grow

Along with the trees and animals came the people. They too built their settlements along the shore. As their number grew, so did their range, eventually occupying the entire lake-shore. Each settlement developed its own language and style of dress. Still today you can tell if a person is from San Lucas Toliman or from Panajachel by the type of embroidery on their hand-woven clothing, or by what dialect they speak.

Aubrey blending in

This diversity of culture mirrored the diversity of the forest. Many crops now replace much of the native vegetation; coffee can be seen planted on the most precipitous slopes all the way to the road side, and avocados fill in the alluvial flats surrounding the lake. A wide variety of vegetables are grown in the region as well, the cool climate and fertile soils support cabbage and beets, alongside bananas and beans.

Some fresh organic beets!

We found our way along the lakes edge to our potential destination, Instituto Meso-Americana de Permacultura, or IMAP (http://www.imapermacultura.es.tl/). The Institute?s buildings are tucked into the hill just above the lake, nestled amongst huge Ficus trees. Many footpaths meander through the terraces, dragon fruit brushing your thighs as you walk. We met up with Sustainable Production Manager Ajcot Gregorio and Volunteer Co-ordinator Sarah for a little tour of the property.


The property is a little sliver of the lake shore, filled with a virtual forest of food. Everywhere you step you need to look, so as not to crush a little carrot plant or some young bean plants growing under the mulberry bushes. As we walked, Gregorio explained the various design elements and the mission of IMAP.

seed garden

Founded in 2002, IMAP serves as a nexus for central American Permaculture. They host workshops and colloquiums for locals and international students every year. Many sustainable alternatives for living are on display and in use, including rainwater harvesting, edible landscaping, composting toilets, natural building with cob and bamboo, solar and wind power, and more efficient types of cook stoves.

Bamboo trusses

Outdoor Kitchen

Rocket Stove

One main focus of IMAP is a seed bank. They have been collecting, growing out, and distributing various vegetable and fruit strains that are suitable to intensive and sustainable farming. They work with local growers just as a normal bank would; they loan local farmers one pound of seeds in exchange for two pounds after the harvest. In this way, they can distribute useful seeds far and wide rather quickly.

El Banco Semilla

Seed-swap

Walking around IMAP, we were so grateful for what they were doing. Simply to find a place to get fresh organic produce was a novelty in much of central America. We grazed on lettuce and carrots, and picked beets and chard. What a great thing to cook vegetables that grew in the ground you were walking on that day!



Leaving IMAP, we meandered north around the lake through some very narrow streets (designed for horse carts not semi trucks) in the many towns you must find your way through on your way to Quetzaltenango and further north to the border with Mexico. We learned the hard way that you should not try to navigate the hills of Guatemala during a fog and rain storm at night.

Stay tuned for more GoPro SurfCam action!

Alas, we have found it safely back to Mexico, and have met up with some great friends. Thank you all for reading and please stay tuned soon for the next installment!

Source: http://surferswithoutborders.blogspot.com/2009/06/finding-permanent-culture.html

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Josh Hall is Crossing the Pond!

photo courtesy of shipworm and gribble

Interested parties please contact:

United Kingdom: Tim Mason, Perfect Trip Surfboards - tim@perfecttrim.co.uk
France: Phillipe Rodes, Spyder Surf - philrodes@aol.com
Portugal: Rui Ribeiro, Magic Quiver - magicquiver@gmail.con
Italy: Alessandro Marchi, Black Van - alessandro_sandy@hotmail.com

Source: http://www.fishbrotherhood.net/2009/10/josh-hall-is-crossing-pond.html

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I suck.

Seriousy, I do. Hope to remedy that soon.

Source: http://sissyfish.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-suck-balls.html

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The Easy Road, and What is Sustainablity?

We have been blessed to take the easy road. We have the means to buy a bus ticket, to get on a plane and fly 3,000 miles down to Mexico. We are able to bring our surfboards, an extra bag full of books, presents, art supplies, special favorite food items and have our personal backpacks stuffed to the brim with lap-tops, cameras and other random gear.

Mexico City- Can it ever be sustainable?

Arriving in Hualtulco?s picturesque palm lined airport we are pleasantly surprised to be greeted by our friend Pepe who has come to escort us back to his home where our Truck and our home on the road, Ellie the Dodge has been awaiting us.

Why are we here again? To share ideas about sustainability? How much carbon have we created to make this journey? How is it we are giving talks about environmental awareness yet we ourselves are sucking up diesel fuel to power our way across borders?

It would be very easy to go on and on about the details of our daily lives that conflict with the mottos of being sustainable. In the end only nature is truly sustainable. We must design systems that mimic nature, regenerating resources rather than depleting them. So, we continue on?

The bottom line is many of us take the easy road because we can. We use what we have, and maybe that is the best we can do for now. We talked about bailing everything, just riding bikes or kayaking down the coast (hah, talk about new ideas!).

The justification for driving is that we are carrying tools and supplies to do projects, and hope to introduce novel ideas that may improve lives and the environment, thereby offsetting our impacts. Also, reality is we knew we wouldn?t be able to cover as much territory and be as equipped with any other method of transportation.

Once again, there are many ways to do things, there are many ways to live. We are blessed to have choices.

We found that we are not the only ones who chose the easy road. We were disappointed but not surprised to find that the composting toilet we built for Pepe had not been used. He has three other toilets for his 10 caba�as and it obviously wasn?t a necessity for him.

But after a week here we were able to talk him into getting it going again and helped him construct a privacy structure for it. It will serve as an extra toilet for his many customers from all parts of the globe.

Privacy structure built from local materials

The "Nature Toilet"

We checked out another property in town that is owned by a man from New Zealand. The only toilet they had on the land was a composting toilet, which they have been using for the last 5 years. They add lime powder (calcareous, or cal) and have not had to empty it yet, and it didn?t smell.

Colorful Composting Toilet

The Slow Sand Water Filter we constructed before we left town last October is still up and running, getting a lot of use from Pepe. Our recent water quality tests turned out good and we have been drinking from it for over a week, with no ill effects.

Tastes Great!

Loren gave a talk and showed a slideshow on Permaculture to an interested group of some traveling Irish and Aussie surfers. They were builders and educators, and hoped to learn more about Permaculture down the road.

Passionate about Permaculture

The Water Bottle Re-fill program has been working as well, and everyone seems to be enjoying the benefits of less plastic being used. The customers are happy to pay less for water, and the business owners happy to earn more money from the repeated sales.


All the while we have been enjoying some fun surf sessions. We were greeted by the familiar transition of coming from a cold climate with white skin, to the scorching blast of the tropical sun that singed our pasty flesh. Those midday surfs will do it! Mornings and evenings are the best working hours- you?re a bit safer from heat stroke.

Stay Tuned! We will be heading further south to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua- in search of good work and good waves!

Source: http://surferswithoutborders.blogspot.com/2009/04/easy-road-and-what-is-susatinablity.html

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