After getting deported from Oz and the bullshit mission getting back to Fiji... once I stepped off the plane, felt the hot humid air, had a whiff of that sweet island smell, and heard the dudes jamming island tunes in the immigration line, everything was good again. Not sure I could have asked for a better last few days of this 4 month journey.
Stayed up waaay too late drinking Fiji Gold and playing pool with Che and crew that night, woke up the next morning, had a giant breaky at Cardos and hopped on a few skis out to score head high Restaurants and then over to pumping overhead rights at Swimming Pools with a handful of guys out. Guys were saying they haven't seen it that good. Fiji is magical. Kicking myself for not having my camera this day.... damnit. Wore the wrong shirt in the water and my nipples got rubbed raw. Scabby nipple tips are not fun.
The Comp
Wilkes going nuts across the channel
Hit it hard in Nadi Town that night and hopped on the boat early to head out to a local comp at Namotu Lefts. Thanks to Uri and Adrenaline crew for one hell of a day! It was the best I had seen it. Some good ones coming in but still turned a bit fat after the drop. I filled in for Che in the comp (His eyeballs were absolutely fried from the previous day, everybody's were... had to be something in the water) and ended up making the Semi Finals. We decided to bail on it and head over to Restaurants to get a few... best call ever. Restaurants was head high and perfect. Such an amazing wave. Long, fast, hollow. It keeps growing bigger as it rolls down the reef. What more do you want in a wave? Maybe a reverse version of it. Yeah, that would pretty much be all... Restaurants as a Right. Heaven. Ended my last session in Fiji with a nice little one, a few good whacks off the top and tucked into a cozy little tube that just barely let me out. Cold beers back on the boat. Life can be a dream.
Back at Cardos for beers and a big feed and that's where we met Dr. Bones. This old hippie guy pops out of nowhere and next thing we know he's sitting with us slamming beers like they're water and talking about the 13 crystal skulls of the Mayans, portals on mystic mountain tops, energy crystals, Indian priests, and the end of the world in 2012, and also something that's gonna go down this March 20th... "You thought the quake in Christchurch was bad...". He's been living in Puerto Escondido for 15 years eating peyote or something and healing injured surfers. Now he's starting a (witch?) doctor clinic on an island in Fiji. The guy is a trip. The weird part about Dr. Bones showing up was he just happened to have a box of some crazy Chinese eye medicine that he dropped in our sunburned eyes. Stuff worked. We were all sitting there screaming with tears rolling down our face... it stung like hell but worked. Trippy... man.
Dr. Bones doing some painful voodoo on Che
That was it. Easy flight home. Now I'm sitting here at home in Uggs, fuzzy pants and jacket and a beanie on one of the coldest days of the year... sunburned, jet lagged and completely stoked!!
Special thanks to Che, Cardo, Teh, Chloe and the Adrenaline crew for taking real good care of me! I'm in debt to you.
