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February 15, 2009
32424 visits
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Forty days later
I'm back home in Southern California, looking up into the polluted sky on a clear night. It's 11 PM and I'm lying on my back in my truck bed, tailgate down, legs hanging off the edge.
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Each island is made up of nothing but nature. We passed by so many atolls that looked identical to the last -- a small ring of white sand beaches lying amongst giant hardwood forests reaching upwards of 100 feet. The beaches were littered with turtle nests and trails left by hermit crabs, not footprints. The water was incredibly warm, and during the longest midday surf sessions the ocean seemed more like a heated wave pool than a giant body of water. With peeling crystal clear, blue water lefts, offshore winds and no other boats around, a line-up couldn't look anymore inviting. As the boat was en route towards an unknown coastline, we'd keep our eyes peeled for any sign of waves. Mark Arico planned our trip to the Andaman Islands with one wave in mind -- Kumari Point. Labeled as one of the best coral reef right points in the world, we had high hopes of scoring freight train barrels. However, discovering that Indo's 2004 earthquake destroyed Kumari's set up was a real eye-opener. The reef was elevated and the wave was maybe a quarter of what it used to be. With the thought of Kumari's past and how good the wave was, it was hard to move on and go on the search for an alternative. From what we knew, this area was the only place with documented surf spots. Headhunting savages was all I could think of as we stopped the boat and continued to check them out.
We were forced out of our comfort zone and into the unknown to look for surf. By the afternoon, after passing many spots with potential, we took a three-hour course offshore to a small island as our last effort. Rounding the side of the island, we witnessed an onshore right that looked uninviting. However, 15 minutes before sunset we came around the east corner of the island and saw lefts peeling down a reef. Our search rewarded us and a quick surf before dark proved that this was the spot. The wave wrapped around the reef creating a peeling, rippable wall. When we woke up the next day to find it was pumping, we decided call this island home for the next couple of days. Eventually, we motored north to find waves with the captain weary of where we were trying to go. Nothing was known about the small islands we wanted to explore but we took a chance. However, the further north we went we realized that no swell was reaching the reefs. But, our findings were deeper than simply looking for surf. There was a strong desire to learn what else these islands had to offer. Coming across a Stone Age culture without any intent was a rare experience many tourists will never encounter. In the distance we noticed a small thatched hut visible amongst the tall trees. It was built right on the sand inside a protected lagoon. Four people emerged out of the hut and climbed over the reef out onto a small coral peninsula. With binoculars you could see these people were naked, covered with body paint, and calling us ashore. Headhunting savages was all I could think of as we stopped the boat and continued to check them out. Without knowing what we were getting ourselves into, we took the dingy to where the tribe was waving us in. Four more people had come out to the reef and as soon as the dingy was in shallow waters the tribe members stormed across the coral and jumped into the water. Before we could do anything there were eight tribal people accompanying us in our dingy. With smiling and waving we established a friendly relationship as more kids jumped up onto the boat. Pulling and grabbing at everything we had on our boat, they were talking loudly in some abstract foreign tongue. This was a real deal tribal encounter. As they invited us to the beach the kids began to sing and dance. We got onshore and the women and children began to sing a chant and dance. Everyone was laughing and pleased to see us as we handed them gifts we had brought. After the visit onshore, we took four elders back to the boat for clothing, some rice, and sodas. It was amazing how far body language can go when verbal communication is not possible. We couldn't speak a word to them and they couldn't understand us but we understood perfectly when they signaled us that they were thirsty and hungry. We took the tribe back to shore with goodies to eat and drink and new clothes on their backs. Replaying the smiles and laughs of the people, we tried to fathom the life those people live everyday and how it differs so much from what we call the real world. See more at www.photoblw.com *** Been on an adventure worth sharing lately? Surfline is looking for user-submitted travel stories from the saltwatery road. Email the editor with a short pitch and a few low res photos. If we use your story, you'll not only get seen by the biggest surf audience in the world, but you get a free VIP membership. MORE TRAVEL SURFLINE HOME PAGE |