surfari * XXI
The water family is an international tribe. We are a surf frontiersmen, on pilgrimage to paradise, to the holy lands of our surf meccas. From beach Babylon to beach haven, we enjoy a solidarity with other surfers, other peoples, and their music, food, and culture, and lands. Destination surf takes us from town, and to country, gaining us new reference points, on waves, on land, and with others. The surf pioneers were first to inform their local beach cooperatives. The surfer now knows what she wants. As beach bedouin, she is surf troubador, gypsy and quixote, weaving her surfer tapestry as mandala mosaic, within her surfer collective. On surfabout, she keeps to her surfbeat. As ocean earthwalker and surfrider she is home on the wave range where her buffalo surfers roam. Her surf hunt is the search. Have board and Kombi van, and will travel. The alchemy of surf travel spins a reality heightened by imagination and relocation. As ocean’s offspring, we follow the endless waves of summer. The wavehunter has a knack. Like a grain of sand yielding to the currents of life, we meet up with our fellow waterwomen, watermen and water spirits of our Water Planet, on surfari. The surf trip is symbolic of the real journey to come.
Illustration Marcelo Barnero
Inward and outward bound, we set out to experience life for ourselves.
On surf odyssey we depend upon an innate sense of a built in compass, to wander in purity of spirit, in flow, and under the affirmation of life in its entirety. We take the step towards becoming who we are. Serendipity invites a renewal of spirit, to seek out the undiscovered, the uncrowded, and to touch upon our wholeness. As free spirits and independent thinkers, we gain composition and choose second thoughts of our own, and are less traveling prophet than wayfarer. I am the nowhere man, now here. From penthouse to outhouse, and from first world to third, we are not bound by creed nor color, nor do we abhor coming upon remote outpost at the ends of the earth. We find magic and life changing experience in our fields of dreams, coastal pantheons naturally built to suit. As multi-cultural musician and storyteller, mystical experience is forever shared, with both the common and uncommon cherished, as it may come and go, or ebb and flow. Our travelogue is of a cosmic timelessness, full of vagabond idylls, and stories of serendipitous fun and adventure. We are a nomadic tribe, unbound by border crossings, as it is indeed, “a small world after all.”
Illustration Patty Sjolin
And while there is “no place like home… on the road” is a way of life for some. Vestige for a nomadic counterculture of holdouts who are no longer accountable to, or responsible for their original, homemade conditioning, and yet can’t get out from under their dereliction of worldly obligation, these crustaceous souls are still lookin’ to hole up, only forestalling the inevitable, and going nowhere. Unprepared and despite endless complications, they’re “out there.” Feeling crusty, “Scruffy the surfcat,” can’t stop the itch. With plans premature and passport expired, he is soon broken down with missed carriage, on a “bad trip” as he makes his “escape.” Soon hoodwinked and with plans now aborted, he is bogged down and not there yet. He took too many things and is unable to engage. We always are take, take, take. An accumulation of possessions can weigh you down. Afraid of the unknown, our driving and compromising contributes to the greenhouse effect. At first overplanned, we are insulated against coincidence, but conditions change and we become locked in and no longer committed. We are a parafin paradox.
Illustration Tom Veiga
Ain’t life grand? Surfing is the time of your life. It’s the best trip ever. Leave the chaos behind. Be at one with all things. We’re all in this together. Harmonize. Keep things flowing. Tap into the cosmic flow. Trust in life. Everything falls together. Life happens. Make it work. Instead of being pulled in all directions, pull it together. Connect to our ocean and earth. Mirror land and sea. Deepen your connection to life. Find your place. Where else is there? Check out your roots. Interdependent and resplendent, you are the seeds of a new culture. Take care of the animals, that way our land stays intact. Stay close to the ocean. Get some distance from your problems. Expand your horizons. Get the big picture. Be creative with what you have… fishing line, old friends, etc. Apply yourself, whether alone or in a group. Remove your conditioning, if not your clothes. Don’t be afraid to adjust, whether mid-face or midtrip. Change direction. And start with yourself. Be quixotic. Go away and come back to start anew. Embark. Some ol’ ethno exotica will stimulate and romance new erotica from within. We give a little, to get some. You get out of life what you put in. Reciprocate. It’s only natural. Learn what’s sacred. Make offerings. Remember to make each place better than when you arrived, and to give. Share. Surfing has been good to you. We are sharegivers as we go. You are a surfing ambassador. Make contact. Open doors. To find anything, you first must be looking for it. Search without to find beauty within. Beauty comes with age. Be in touch with the whole earth. The ocean is our playground. Tune into gaiatlantis. Get the proverbial answer to your question. My ride is my elixir. Be prepared to go in any direction. As the wanderer, break ranks. Cross over. Live your fantasy. Live every day as a celebration. Rekindle your lost fire and stoke. Learn love for humanity.
Nambia by John Olvey
Illustration Marcelo Vieira
