Buenos Aires

Beer n snacks at Charlotta's place outside the city

Pasta and salad

Parque de flor (Park of the flower)

As we waste the days and seize the nights - I find myself understanding more and more of the song like conversations of Cata and amigas. Adjusting back to the nocturnal lifestyle took a couple of days but now it feels normal sleeping at 3 or 4 am then properly starting the next day around 3pm. Every night seems to be full of options whether it be hang out at a cheap bar, cooking an extravagant asado with friends or going for emphanadas and pizza then to a club - the city never really sleeps.

One of the attractions of Argentina

BMW 800

For me the real attractions of the city are the subtle icons of the country such as the huge range of salted meats and cheeses in the supermarkets, and the Bolivians selling fruit on the street and the classic dressing style of the old men walking the streets. I see things every time I leave the front door that I wouldn't be able to describe in words - though I feel are fabric of a unique culture that is Argentinian.

VIVA ARGENTINA!

Hola todos!
I'm pleased to announce that I'm officially back on the highway and prepared for new adventures in South America. Cruising up from Yamba directly to the airport my head was swirling with emotions and by the time I came to check in I was ready to scream!
Luckily I was in the luxurious hands of Emirates for the ridiculously long journey via Dubai then over Africa and the Altlantic - stopping in the beautiful paradisiacal city of Rio - then finally skidding into BA. As we touched down the plane erupted into clapping and cheering and I yelled out VIVA ARGENTINAAAAAA!!!

Stepping onto Argentinian soil for the second time - I could really feel the soul of the country and la hente as I started to interact with various characters and observe ghetto style soccer matches next to the highway.
Finally rocking up to Calle Ayacucho I was absolutely peaking and it was crazy to see my suprised girlfriend for the first time in almost half a year! We are now chilling 9 stories above the busy streets on downtown Buenos Aires - going for strolls and just hanging out. Cata's padres helped us host a full on Argentinian asado where we enjoyed chorizos, carne y muchas cervezas with Cata's friends - it was a great welcome.

http://www.youtube.com/user/blacksheepboards?feature=mhee

Sampai ketemu Lagi!

( On the road passing another impressive mosque)

( Local kids sneaking a peak at the rare white man )

( The humble abode of Seki )

The last few days have been cruisy then hectic, spontanious and memorable.
We were not only blessed with a perfect mix of swell and wind - the only remaining surfers seemed to disappear leaving the waves eerily empty. Many yews n yelps, reef cuts, tubes and exhausted sighs of satisfaction later - we were on our way back to Bandar Lampung.

We were so lucky because we got to visit the humble little villages where Okta and Pak Rama lived.
( Local people came from around the village to observe us...)

Every time we were warmly welcomed into their homes and offered coffee, cigarettes and fried tofu, rice and all sorts of delicious sides. It seemed like most of the people had never seen Westerners before and we always attracted a lot of attention.
One really interesting visit was to Pak Ramas older brothers village. His family made a living from performing comedy, music, drama and shadow puppetry at parties and ceremonies. He showed us this 300 year old mask that had been passed through the generations - and performed a traditional dance! All the kids in the village seemed to be trying to sneak a peak of us as we sat in the old house. I felt really humbled by the experience and it left me with a really warm feeling of the Indonesian people I had encountered in Sumatra...

The experience that followed however was far from fun...

( The people of Paradise )

After 4 delays in Lampung we arrived in Jakarta and missed our flight to Bali and spent hours at the deserted airport trying to get another flight. We eventually found one 3 days away on Saturday! With no where to go we jumped in a jeep with a cheery lad from Padang and proceeded to head south to Bogor. By 4am we were squatting in a warung drinking coffee and wine with a bunch of confused locals watching the Barcelona Manchester game. After we couldnt keep our eyes open and longer, we wearily scoped a hotel and crashed deeply until the muggy Javanese heat woke me up in a pool of sweat at 10:30.
Seki - the cheery Sumatran who drove us to Bogor - inivted us to his cosy little abode where we ate delicious Kalap fruit and drank coffee and talked with the women about Western lifestyles and mentalities compared to that of the villagers of Indonesia. It was a great session and I really felt I connected with people who I had absolutely nothing in common with. Seki's home was about 7m by 4ms in total - hes proudest possessions were his badminton set, his foreign currency note collection and pictures of his family scattered through the archipelago - yet he was the happiest man around!

( hati - hati )

I could easily look on these last couple days as a huge annoyance - being stuck in a noisy polluted city when I should be relaxing on a Balinese beach - though I would change anything that has happened. These are the spontaneous events that make a trip an adventure...

Sumatra

( solitude)

Observing peoples relaxed attitudes and actions around these parts - I've come to the conclusion that South Sumatrans live fairly happy, stress free lives. The community operates so differently to our own - it's almost not comparable. It's like every character - the kids at school to the ojek drivers - play an important part in the societies of little villages that line the streets. Everyone seems to interact, work , talk to, bump into or trade with each other at some point during the day - keeping everyone as one big family.

As I cruise north to surf every morning - there's always a new marque set up somewhere for some kind of party and all the locals descend in their best batik threads - looking a million bux (not rupiah)!
As there are no footpaths - the sides of the street are constantly occupied by children coming to and from school - most of them see you coming and wave energetically screaming "HELLO MISTERRRRR!!!"
Yesterday I surfed a reef while Iu stayed on the beach talking to some kids - when I got back from the surf he had this huge gang of kids as an audience as he performed various basic magic tricks. When I came up the beach they ran over screaming "Camilon, Amilon, Amiton" - "Hamilton" I said. Then then proceeded to ask the routine questions like where I was from, if I was married, how I speak Bahassa, do I have a family and so on and so on... I told them about Catalina from Argentina and they all started giggling saying that I was going to kiss Catalina in Argentina - then made a little song about it! These kids were pretty cool and they all ran after us when we left.

( kids in Liwa )

( desert at base camp )

Sumatra lagi

Over the last few days Iu and myself have really got into the groove of the ocean. Our movements are dictated by the winds and tides. Time is irrelevant, the days are unmarked by names and life just seems so simple!
We wake up with the roosters - surf our fill, eat, surf again - eat again. Then it's time for some quiet reading followed by a siesta - followed by another surf. Luckily I'm keeping stingy company so even a nightly Bintang is a special occasion, and usually I'm in bed by 8:30 anyway.

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( out front...)

( out front...)

When the swell picked up a little - we ventured south for an exploratory mission. We saw so many crazy set ups and ended up surfing a sketchy shallow a - frame with an audience of noisy monkey in the dunes.
As we zipped down every little beach entrance - we saw so much Indonesian culture in its rawest form. One little beach community was undertaking some kind of ceremonial slaughter while we checked the surf. All the men of the village were taking part, cutting and slicing with cigarettes clamped in the corners of their mouths. One of the men proceeded to cut off a little teet from a dead goat and put it on Iu's chest - and the whole crowd erupted in laughter. It was funny in a kind of twisted way - though in these situations you just have to go with it!

A day in Paradise

( Typical afternoon showers in the mountains, with smoke from locals cooking or burning rubbish )

( Haji and Saffira at the Camp )

Back sitting on the floor of the white tiled internet cafe - I feel hot, exhausted and eternally stoked. I was woken this morning before dawn by the only other guy at the surf camp - Iu - from Spain. We picked our way over the reef, speaking in Spanglish, then proceeded to devour perfect deserted lefts. After a brekky and coffee at the surf camp - we scooted up to another deserted beach - with little school kids running along and holding their hands out to be high fived screaming "Hello misteeeeeer!"

( "Chuck Norris" is our go - to guy )

Weaving through the huge palm trees running behind the beach - I started to think about falling coconuts so I drove along looking to the trees - then whooooooaaaaa!!! I swerved off the track into a ditch narrowly missing an unfazed big Brahman cow! I was still adjusting back into the Indo state of mind while driving - taking it all in, just cruising...

( Debriefing the days waves out front )

Parking amongst the Palm trees and excitedly sprinting down onto the hot sand, we were greeted with the most rippable crumbling a - frame suck bowl I've ever seen - and my new board "MARIA" loved it. We just took wave after wave hooting and screaming till our bodies couldn't handle anymore.
After the dream session, we cruised into the local markets to buy a kilo or two of mangoes ( 1kg = app 80c! ). The markets were lined with all sorts of hanging fish and octopuses and cuttlefish and you name it! We drove to the fruit section and bought a bunch of fresh tropical fruit laughing with the ladies in veils - as we were a novelty and our normal body language and movements appeared to seem awkward and hilarious to them.