The end of the road??? part 3

Note:(Go read Genji's farewell and parts one and two below if you haven't)

So in closing, the adventure is out there waiting for you. Thats one of the hardest parts of coming home, getting a job, signing a lease, and settling down; knowing that right now there are millions of incredible people out there going on adventures every day, living life out of a backpack. I feel so lucky and blessed to have taken this opportunity. Book the ticket, take the trip. You wont regret it.

I also owe a lot more thanks than just to Neptune and Poseidon. Thanks to my incredible fiance Jess for your patience, love and support, Eric and Kristin for encouraging me to go even though it meant more work for them, Clay for handling Teramar, Dad for handling everything since the beginning of time, Mom for understandingthe long times between phone calls, AJ and Al for understanding my dream, and Genji for helping me make this thing a reality.

Giving thanks during our flat spell stranded in the banyaks.

South African friends Murray and Craig that showed us around Simeulue.

Late night "taxi" ride to the harbor.

With all that said, its nice to be home.  To sleep in the same bed, to take a hot shower, to eat some chips and salsa and be able to talk to my family and friends.  We have a lot to be thankful for here, we have it pretty damn good.    

So while 2011 winds down, I look for a job and I settle back to reality.

My focus shifts towards the future, and where lifes next adventure will take me.  

The road is an addictive place.

This is not the end.

This is the beginning.

The End of the road??? part 2

So, where was I?  Oh yea, People.  We met more amazing people in Indonesia, and were shown a completely foreign culture that was totally accepting of us.

Well OK these guys aren't indo, they are aussies.  They had good music though and told us about how their health care works.  Different perspective is always a good thing. 

Starting to get cultural, looking for a village.

We gave these folks some coca cola which they bagged and stored.  They believe it is medicine and has healing powers.  They gave us coconuts and a giant pumpkin in return, which we had for dinner.

Joe the plumber aka tunnel hunter but really he's just a hilarious aussie jackass. 

On the bow after another great day.

Oh yea, a month later we made it back to Asu.  Earl and Sam (our hosts previously) were still there.  And of course Earl got the wave of the day.  What a bad ass.

Wixy and Meza.  Classic dudes.

The crew at a shallow right.

Couldnt resist picking off a few at this shallow spot before dark.  

The crew.  Nifty, Seagull, Wixy, Munet besar (big monkey in bahasa), Benchong, Meza, Guy, and Genj.  

Singing along to some Cold Chisel turned up to 11.

See why we named him the big monkey?  he had us in stitches.  

Back on Asu with the cool brazillians we met.  Some are dicks, these ones are really cool though, every one.

Reef brothers.

Sometimes you get caught up in where you are, so you just paddle in and practice bahasa with the locals.

Travel is impossible without trusting your life completely in the hands of strangers.  Same goes for getting to a remote island as getting on the freeway or an airplane.  

Turns out most people on this planet are the goods.  

Earl is a nut case.

Misol and Oli.  I miss them.

Our guide Davi - super dialed in and awesome brazillian/australian accent.

OK, getting cut off again, one more to go.

The End of the Road?

The end of the road?  Of course not. I actually got a bit choked up reading Genji's post below and reflecting on the things we've seen, the waves we surfed, the food we ate, the places we stayed, and the people we met. Having been home a few weeks has given me some real opportunity to consider what we've done, and I realized something big.

Its about the people.  The world is full of incredibly beautiful people.

From the moment we landed in Santiago, to the last flight home of the indonesia leg, there were constantly people to talk to, to discuss life or politics or food or work or the news.  People curious in where we were from, what we were doing, and how we liked it.

People were generous to share their half built container homes with us.

Or stack our boards on a tiny car and go check the surf.

Generous and funny and happy people that are truly stoked to be alive and to meet you and show you a spot or grab a bite to eat or buy you a drink.

Or wish you a happy birthday - Caleb, Fabi, and Craig.

People are what make life worth living and the earth worth seeing.  Of course, we liked getting out into the rugged remote places, but those experiences wouldn't have been any fun, in fact they would have been critically dangerous if not for the people.  

Ruperto and Genji and Locos.

Down home cooking.

When you don't know where you are sleeping or where your next meal is, you transform into viewing every social interaction as a possibility to make a friend, get travel advice, find a wave, or just a have a beer and a laugh.

Ruperto and the Giant Pizza.

We did our best to give back, like Genji calling sets for me while I untied Ruperto's net from a rock that was getting pounded by surf.  And of course they shared the fish with us.  

And the inside jokes are unending on a trip like this, and when Garth and Jessica showed up in Bali, they were almost lost because Genji and I had so many little one liners and references from the past 5 months that we were speaking another language.

"Thats Wave Wang!" - a classic inside joke you can only begin to understand by googling "wordwang" but really you had to be there.  PS I can post this picture now that Ollies shoulder is healed and he is surfing again.

This is the wave that wanged (winged) Ollie.

Caleb - mata hambre maestro.

And when you are travelling your eyes open up to this fact so much more, this sense of one or community.  Its hard to get that at home, especially in a big city.

The crew, chilling up on the rock.

Sunsets are that much better with good people to share it with.

We literally met dozens of people around the world that if I showed up to their house unannounced any time day or night, they would let me in and give me a meal and a bed and stay up and talk story.  And I offered the same to all of them.  I know there are many people we met that I will be friends with for life.  Heck I've already seen 2 of the friends I made in Chile since being back in the states.  

The golden rule is the only rule.  Respect goes a long way on the road, and being decent to the locals and trying to learn a few words or being a gracious guest go a long way.

 All the gringos sitting around the table.

Claudia is an amazing human and friend to surfers, even though she can't speak much english.

Family dinner with everyone helping.

Blogger is cutting me off so Indo pics to follow...