the north shore

for those of you that don't know, the north shore of oahu is the mecca of surfing. and that is where i am staying right now. in a little hostel across the street from the beach, i sleep in an open air bungalow with 5 surfers and divers. one 50 year-old englishman, a 20 something aussie i have been traveling with, a 30 something arizonan, a young somewhat professional girl from nyc, with the attitude to match, and a montana rancher. what a mix, and what fun.

today i woke up and rented a beachcruiser bike and rode down about a mile to snorkel at shark's cove. decent snorkeling, with a few of the most amazing fish i've ever seen. so bright, so amazingly beautiful. i had a bit of a brush with danger though. at the mouth of shark's cove is a gap in the wall of lava rock where the open ocean spills in a fills the cove during high tide. i did not pay attention to the rising tide and was caught up and pushed about 50 yards in a few seconds, smashing against the rock, and in protecting my face, my hand was impaled with sea urchin quills. ouch! and they bleed a lot too. two of the tips are still in my finger; like with a splinter, i have been advised to let them come out on their own, so as not to risk letting any more poison out of the quills. really it was not that big of a deal, minus the sea urchin i was left unharmed and only slightly shaken.

after snorkeling i rode down to the world famous banzai beach and watched surfers for a few hours. i was surprisingly mesmerized by their bravado and skill. not to mention their disregard for body pain. they take a pounding to surf big waves. that's not for me. so here are a few photos to show what i was watching.