Up and Over the Falls

Tahitians love and respect their ocean. They rely on it for food, income and transportation. They've seen their ocean mellow and calm with a mirror-like reflection that duplicates the sunset at the end of the day. They've also witnessed their ocean come to life with such ferocity that it creates 60 foot waves which crash onto the coral reef and charge right to their houses. The water floods their yards and sends the chickens and ducks into a frenzy trying to find higher ground.
These are the days that the maniacal surfers head out to catch the ride of their lives. These are the days that the locals look on with concern knowing that sooner rather than later someone is going to get a newfound respect for what the ocean is capable of.

You'll learn in this post that this time, that person was me.

As you may or may not know, I was born and raised in Indiana. The place where the corn grows high and the ocean is far away. Yes I went to Lake Michigan for my swimming fix during the summer, but the waves that excited me were produced by the wake of passing boats, and the only signs of life to be found were the tiny minnows that swam in schools near the shore.

This was not my experience in Tahiti. The water is pristinely clear and always the perfect temperature. I discovered how many creatures rely on the ocean, and how life-like the ocean itself actually is. I discovered this first hand by diving around the coral reef and being almost stupefied at the huge numbers of vibrantly colored fish. I was determined to train myself to dive deeper and hold my breath longer if for nothing else than to be able to explore the reef more absolutely and to study the fish more closely. After a few weeks of practicing holding my breath and clearing my ears so the pressure didn't make my head feel like it would explode, I was beginning to feel pretty comfortable in the water. I would go for a 2 hour long swim each day, and I learned all about the current that sweeps past the shore and out to sea.

I'd met a few of the surfers who'd made their way to the island in hopes of catching a good swell. There were to two funny Aussies and an American who hailed from California. One day we all went out diving around the reef nearby and I mentioned that I noticed a spot that was just West of the famous wave and how it might be fun to dive there. They agreed to check it out the next day. So I grab my GoPro and meet them at the point. We swim about a half mile out to the spot and check out the waves. They're about 6 feet, big enough to get my adrenaline pumping. We position ourselves about 10 feet before the waves break. The big set comes in; the GoPro is turned on and we take turns getting awesome footage of each other with the waves underwater. The idea is to get as close to the point where the waves break as is possible, yet you need to avoid the foaming white water that the breaking wave creates, that's what will take you out.

I begin to get more brave and edge further to the inside, closer to where the waves are breaking, all for the sake of a badass photo. Of course much to my surprise, or horror, I see the wave of the day rolling in. It's bigger than the rest and it's already beginning to break a good 20 feet in front of me. I remember thinking to myself, "Hmm, it's already breaking, ok I might not make it under this one, well here goes nothing..." I'm in a spot that is already decently shallow, I'm able to touch the reef with my toes meaning I'm in about 6' deep water and it's getting more shallow as this behemoth is sucking the water out. I have goggles on so I can see how close I am from the reef when I dive down, I don't want to scrape my whole chest and stomach on the sharp reef and I do my best to get as far below this wave as I can. Unfortunately the white water gets me. I feel an incredibly strong force pick me up and pull me over the falls so fast that I don't have time to comprehend what's happening to me. I just feel like a rag doll, the only thoughts in my head are reminding me to "stay flat, Heidi, you need to stay flat." Thanks to the solid piece of advice from my new surfer friends I was safe from being totally scraped up head to toe on the reef. Had I tried to stand up right away or grab a hold of the reef at the speed it was dragging me I would've needed many stitches.

I'm now at the surface in a cloud of white foamy water. I felt like I'd been dreaming. It's that feeling you get when your life feels completely surreal, when you can't quite understand the circumstances you suddenly find yourself in. Then suddenly it all clicks. I realize I'm in the impact zone, I'm in very shallow water and the next wave is probably about to roll me along the jagged reef. I manage to hear my friends saying "Swim out! Swim out right now!" I notice that I've caught a lucky break and there isn't another big wave coming I've got the chance to swim back out to deeper water before getting hit by another wave. I make it out and I can't help but laugh at what just happened. I still don't know why laughter was my reaction, the other guys looked pretty concerned about what I just survived. But I was in disbelief and incredibly grateful. I actually haven't told any of the locals this story in fear of them thinking I was a complete idiot- which I wouldn't disagree with them.

Anyway, here's some of the footage we got that day

Also, this is the fun pod of young dolphins that decided to give me a great show while I was out on the SUP board a few days later.

After that eventful day I decided it would be good to lay low for a couple days. So instead of throwing myself into the waves, I decided to take the spectators position and watch some of my friends do what they do best: surf.

If you want to hear more about the fun I had in Tahiti please leave me a comment, I also plan on writing a post on how to compose a good quality blog post that I hope many will enjoy.

The steemit trip being funded by purely Steem Dollars is being planned! I'm thinking Peru :) Anyone with tips, tricks or great places to check out please please please leave a comment below!

Thank you all for your incredible support and encouragement. This whole experience has been life-changing for me. My dreams of traveling for an entire year are very realistic at this point and I'm just beside myself thinking about it. Thank you again and I'll keep pumping out the content so you all can continue to enjoy reading :)

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