Popoia Open Water Swim

After popular demand; I'm back. School's out for summer, let the open water swimming begin! Some may think that intense training and slow twitch muscle fibers are essential for this kind of discipline. I beg to differ. With preparation including surfing, hiking, and the occasional leisurely dip, this former sprinter successfully finished 1.6 miles of swimming. Well, it can be more properly described as half salmon swimming upstream, half leaf floating with the current.


Pre-race strategy talk: "Is there free food after the race?"



Where's Waldo?



Shout out to Quin and his very supportive family. You would've had it if it weren't for the ambiguity at the finish line. UH Masters swimming and it's coaches take all the credit for your abilities. ;)

The Popoia Swim took place in Kailua. The course was 1.6 miles around Flat Island in grueling conditions that caused some weary souls to turn back into land within minutes; those were the smart ones. To take a look at some results go to http://www.timelinehawaii.com/Results/POPOIA%20OVERALL%2010.HTM...but in the meantime, enjoy the photos.

Aloha

Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday

The beloved celebration of Mardi Gras (aka Fat Tuesday) takes place in downtown Honolulu. The tradition began as a day to enjoy in excess what one will be giving up the next day for Lent.







Part of this tradition is eating and drinking. The Cajun-style tradition would be to eat things like Alligator tail, for example.





Alligator tail. Or Chicken. You decide...but Gayle, Becky and I had a great time at the very un-authentic Cajun Style Downtown Mardi Gras celebration.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!!

Innaguration

Today in History; February 11, 2010, devastation occurs on the south shore of Oahu, Hawai’i upon the arrival of the first out of season south swell. Here one commonly sees a surfer walking up the beach with two pieces of what used to be one surfboard. My reaction is always sympathetic mixed with a little bit of reverence. If they broke their board, they MUST be good. Right? Well, as I was walking out of the water on Kaimana beach looking into the restaurant under the New Otani hotel and seeing the tourists cupping their mouths and pointing at me made me realize how it felt to be on the other side of that sympathetic look I know so well: it felt sad.

Stewart, my 9’6”, hydro-hulled, lime green striped boyfriend was tragically taken away from me. My emotions are most certainly sad, however, so euphorically happy at the same time. Morgan, a professional stand up paddler and friend of mine, and I met up at Old Man’s to go surf the peak of the south swell this morning. As Morgan has a much better view of the horizon than I, she informs me that there are whales a few hundred meters just past the break. We paddle out to get a closer look. Once we get closer the whales retreat, but hundreds of dolphins in a couple different pods show up to play. Sweet!! I LOVE dolphins!! There’s babies on their bellies splashing and even the older ones jumping fully out of the air and twirling around a number of times almost as if to tell us, “haha…you’re not one of us!” It was euphoric by far. One of the best experiences I have had since moving to Hawai’i. What a good way to start what is shaping up to be a perfect surf session, right?! Wrong!

Who would expect of all places on the island that something like a longboard spot called “old man’s” could break a board?!?! I’m confidently sitting in the line-up after having a few good long rides under my belt. A big set rolls through. I paddle out to try to get in position for one of them, and I spot the one I like. It looks like it’s going to be a right. My favorite! It lines up, peaks, and I go! It’s definitely and overhead wave. That smile of pure joy comes across my face as a race down the line and try to get in front of a section that looks like it could produce a small barrel. In a split second I realize I’m not going to be ducking into any barrel, but rather bailing ASAP to avoid the massive closeout that is about to occur. I dive through the face of the wave and save myself while selfishly leaving Stewart to fend for himself behind me. As I come up and turn around to grab my leash and quickly get out of the way, I see the split end of my board about 5’ up and I think to myself, “are you kidding me?!?!” It seems appropriate that just when I get too confident the ocean reminds me whose boss. That’s what I love about surfing. I hope you enjoy the pictures.






That’s life, you’ve got to roll with the punches and look forward to the next good thing, of which there are many. First off, I will get to go home soon to see my friends and family in Florida that I have been missing so much. Then there is the thought of summer time and more south swells. Finally, there are my travel plans. Two months worth of adventure (and hopefully not too much board breakage). July 1 will take me to South Africa. Upon my arrival on July 3 I will be picked up by my good friend Marizanne, one of the “mother-land” locals. She has planned the itinerary for the first week of the trip. Here it is:

“Hey Dude
I was thinking the following
7 July Leave CPT to vleesbaai
9 July Leave vleesbaai to J-Bay ( Billabong pro starts the 9th)
10 July Watch WC game in P.E
11- wheneva stay in J-bay or whateva
Maybe move up towards east london or cintsa etc”

Perfect.

I will be exploring the controversial and beautiful country until after my quarter century birthday on August 7, at which point I will get on a plane for Madrid, Spain. There I will spend 3 weeks traveling and watching another dear friend of my, Angela San Juan Cisneros, get married to her long time boyfriend, Alejandro.
So in the grand scheme of life, should something so small as a snapped board really spiral me into a state of depression? I’ll let you decide.





This is Africa.

Aloha, and Go surf!

Day 1

So begins the blog that I thought I'd never start. The purpose of this blog is for friends, family and the occasional random to maintain a presence in my life. It sounds lazy to say that by blogging I will have to make less phone calls to give the novelty update of my life. In fact; it IS lazy. However, that's not the truth! I don't want this in any way to replace the lovely conversations I get to share time to time with persons that I've met throughout life that have affected me. I love you all and want to continue talking!! But since we can't have our cake and eat it too, then this is a way that I can communicate better and more frequently.

The other purpose of this blog is to share my thoughts. Those who know me know I love to travel. Putting the cliche aside, those who travel really know what an enlightening experience it can be. One of my favorite quotes (yet again cliche!) is "The world is a book, if you don't travel then you only read one page." I want to be able to read the pages of a book to some who hasn't read a particular chapter yet. I also want to be read the chapters of your book! Tell me your stories.

So once again, here the journey begins. February 8, 2010. 11:17 p.m. Hawai'i time.

Saludos a todos and happy living,

Leane Darling