Moments From Moorea

I am here on the island of Moorea. I have no idea of the time, date or even where I am. What a concept. My phone has been off for days and I feel more connected than ever. I spent the last few days in Tahiti surfing, biking, eating and boating around.  It is interesting because I feel right at home, aside from the language barrier. Something is coming. Something like never before. 

After taking the ferry from Tahiti, we arrived in the moonlight. The smell of the boatyard was calming and reminded me of home. After a long day trying to get here, we drove down a rugged dirt road to arrive at our stay for the next few days. We were met by two big dogs and a woman who took our payment and was not to be seen again. Our ocean front stay cost us no more than a meal at a typical restaurant. 

Yesterday I surfed Teahupoo. Everything is very surreal. The biggest swell in 15 years will be hitting tomorrow, but the energy is already here. I can feel it. I yearn for this. Something no one can describe. Power, but not my own. To feel all of it and let go. Immersed in full trust to what is. The scariest part is this too shall pass. 

The bark of a dog woke me up as I was settling into our shack. I pulled open the rusty latch and went out the door. Tall waves were gleaming in the rays of the full moon. The shore was protected by a barrier reef, and within the tidepool the dogs were hunting. It was not the coconut crabs I assumed, but reef sharks. The sharks were pushed over the barrier into the pool by the large waves and couldn’t escape until the next high tide. Wild dogs must eat. This I have never seen before. 

It was here. The biggest swell in almost two decades, brought in by the full moon. The sharks were gone but it was now our turn to hunt. Nothing else could matter in this moment. I have never seen waves like this before. They will always have a place in my memory.

Over the next few days the waves and our time had come to an end. Back to my home I have returned. The yearning for this rawness of life will leave me hungrier than a wild dog. It fuels me. Until I return, I am many moments from Moorea.