good evening. gosh, here on my last day in tahiti. only been here for a week but years of memories and experiences. met some cool people along the way and lived the real tahitian lifestyle, seen their family values, and their big kind hearts. it’s an eye opener for me to become a better person and appreciate everything i have. it’s a pretty simple life here and family is everything and means everything. i’m speechless when it comes to the aloha spirit here. this is what hawaii must have been like a 100 years ago. i learned a lot by living with such a wonderful local tahitian family by seeing their smiles all day long. no cars, no video games, no fancy clothes, no books, no computers, no phones, just each other… and that’s more than enough. if every family in the world lived like the people on manihi island, this world would be perfect. and i really mean that… i’m going to miss the tahiti lifestyle and the wonderful people of tahiti. wanted to thank everybody that made this dream trip a reality. thank you cathy and kyle nakamoto from red sea adventures, thank you to my friend donald from hawaiian airlines, thank you coach sonny tanabe, thank you wendell ko, thank you tim nakamura and his family in tahiti, thank you handyman james oshiro, thank you gilles and angela and their family from mahini, and thank you to all the local people on manihi island that made us feel like home… hope to see you all again. i’m so fortunate to have so many awesome friends like you. thank you, thank you, thank you. i better end this before i start crying…
i took about 1245 photos on this trip. will be posting some here and there but the best is going to hawaii skin diver magazine soon so stay tuned….
i made a diary again and will probably post it sometime soon. just have to hang on because i still didn’t start on my timor diary yet… been too busy and living a busier life but at the end of each day, i’m a happier person. and that’s all that matters to me. i know that for a fact because i’m smiling so much that the wrinkles on the side of my eyes are getting deeper and deeper…. life is good. i wish everyone could experience what i do. then you’ll understand what i’m talking about. thanks and see you back in hawaii….

hey kaiser grads, friday nov 21st at the SHACK in hawaii kai. yes, an alumni get together. i’m not sure if i can make it but i’m going to sure try. meet my classmates and talk about the good old times. don’t miss it…

got an email from photographer john callahan. look what he’s been up to this past typhoon season. no, this is not japan, not bali, not the philippines, this is taiwan. yes, taiwan…. check out surf trip journal in japan for the full feature….

and while callahan was chasing typhoons, i was deep in indonesia chasing fish. big fish!!!

there’s this little island off japan that not too many people know about. it was 10 years ago when matsuo, matchi and i caught this little ferry over to surf this spot nobody surfed big before. the waves were 10′ solid and we just paddled out and scored. matsuo ended up getting the cover shot of surfing world. matchi and i got 2 page spreads on huge waves. and the photographer ended up buying a house on the island and now lives there. it’s amazing how one surf session can change lives….

this is the secret ferry going to the secret island. did you know that there are 100 great white shark attacks a year there? so think before going…..

old school fisherman taking care of his boat…

there’s so much history here. old japan left untouched….

there are no cars on the island and the only way to get around is by bicycle or walking. it’s such an awesome place…

and not to mention, the waves are pretty freaking good. but remember, the great white sharks are agressive…..