Caves & Seals

I met up with Matt today, a friend of the people I met in Miami. He took me to a cave which was like a part of Lord of the Rings. You'd expect Gollum to turn up any given moment. I hesitated a moment before getting into the water, thinking of what animals might live in there, but quickly killed the fear by thinking that I would regret it forever if I didn't get in. We jumped into the cold water and swam into the cave. The light was amazing - blue rays reflecting on the walls of the cave and weird echoes of our voices and breath. I was floating on my back thinking that this could have been thousands of years ago...it's such a timeless feeling being in a place like that.

Afterwards we took a walk on the beach and found a sleeping seal on the beach. The locals put a fence around it to keep the tourists (like me) away. It's a huge fine for anyone getting too close the the seals. Matt explained what it doesn't say on the sign; the reason you shouldn't get too close and scare them into the water, is because of the risk of shark attacs. The sharks likes seals, and when they're are hunting they might mistake a human with a seal or a turtle. Most of the times they let the person go as soon they taste human blood, so the idea of sharks hunting people isn't true, really.

Now I'm at Marcs house, sleeping in the tent outdoors again + saying hello to the jelly-eating-6-yearold-Kawai...

Surf = Stoked!

Today I caught my first wave!

I woke up in the sunrise to go for a helicopter tour, and took a one hour bus ride to Lihue. Since I don't have a drivinglicence I have to get around in other ways, but taking a bus in the US is kind of a big deal - you're either too poor to have a car / an outlaw / baglady / kid / something-else-not-being-a-normal-grown-up. Anyway, that was a sweet experience. I didn't have the change I was supposed to, so this kind hippie woman gave me 2 $. She didn't want them back, so I promised to do a good deed myself soon. And I will! Doesn't that give us hope about humanity?

The next bad thing that turned into something great, was that the helicopter ride was canceled because of bad weather conditions until later in the afternoon - or even the next day. I was really dissapointed and decided to wait on the beach in Lihue until the afternoon.

When I saw the waves my eyes almost popped out! It was the perfect beginner swell, breaking in the middle of a bay with no reef only sof sand. I ran off and hired a board. I thought for myself it's now or it's never going to happen. I paddled out and was kind of scared since I was alone.

The waves were bigger than I thought they would be. After watching some guys for surely half an hour I tried to catch a wave. I paddled like crazy and just when I felt the swell and tried to get on my feet I knew it was to late. I tumbled over and was smashed by the wave. It's like going through a washing machine of the size of a waterfall. Water in my nose my ears my eyes my throat my head. Just when I got up the next wave flushed over me. Catching my breath again and again. After a few more I managed to get up on the board and paddle faaaast back to the surf spot.

An old Hawaiian man on a paddle surfboard had spotted me, totally exhausted, and told me to come with him. He took me to the perfect spot and told me to wait. And wait. And wait. All of a sudden he told me to paddle. I felt the power of the wave behind me and he shouted 'Stand up!' I did. And all of a sudden I was surfing. I couldn't believe it! It was so fast and so powerful and so scary and fun at the same time that I lost track of time and space. I was in the wave. It was pushing me on the board and I was flying on the water. When it finally drizzled down to white water, closing the beach, I jumped off and laughed out loud. I'm hooked! :D

And yes - I did catch the helicopter in the afternoon, but I have to go to bed now so more about that tomorrow. I've learned the phrase to use a moment like this; 'I'm totally surfed out.'

Underwaterworld

My friend Julian has an underwater camera, so here's some more underwater pics from Tunnels Beach on the north shore of Kauai!

Kauai - Napali Coast

This is some more of my friend Julian's pics from the nature reserve on the north shore of Kauai called the 'Napali Coast'. Julian lived here for many years, so thought it might be interesting for you to see some places I haven't been yet. Including a couple of extra special features: boats and rainbows! ;)

Sacred Hawaiian Apple Tree

Today I visited Charol, a friend of Lory and Jonathan that I met in LA. She's a really cool and independant woman who built her own 'garden of eden' in Kauai. Her houses and land are definately the picture of paradise. I'm going to stay there on Sunday, the last day of my visit, so I'll take some pics then. A short clip to start with before then:

Thanks!

Thanks for all your BRILLIANT shark stories! Scroll down here on the blog and check the 'comments' on 'Shark stories anyone?'. I want more!

Múm Interview

People have asked for the interview I did with Mr Silla from the Icelandic band Múm a few times, so here it is - again! :)

Scoop!

Today I got confirmed that I'll get to interview a very famous person in Hollywood. I tried to time it with him when I was in LA, but we couldn't make it work. So within the next few weeks I'll do a Skype interview instead - in Tokyo or Chiang Mai...guess who it is...;)

Honeymoon with...myself

Going on honeymoon? Well, if this isn't the place for watching the sunset with your beloved I'm wondering were else you should. Hanalei Bay Resort is like the Romantic Picture of paradise. Have a drink in the outdoor piano bar, take an evening dip in the pool and warm up in the jacuzzi afterwards. It's 5 minutes from the beach, surrounded by stunning nature, tennis courts and golf courts with probably the best view in Hawaii. The rooms differs quite a bit though. Last night I got a room which was quite dull, with no internet connection. So they gave me a new larger suite with internet which was really nice. The grilled salmon wraps at the pool side are delicious, although the fish nacos I had for dinner reminded me of a burger with too much mayo and the service was...slow. But overall it's a well worth hangout for anyone who would like to have a true Hawaiian experience. Hanalei Bay Resort reviews

Shark stories anyone?

Please tell me about your shark stories here! I want to hear them all, and soon you'll get to hear Shark Biologist Terry Lilley's stories...

Cave Diving Underwaterpics

Got some stills from Terry Lilley who filmed the dive in Tunnels Beach on the north shore of Kauai. We saw a Morray Eel sneaking out of it's cave which was kind of sweet! They're like cats - they bite you if they get scared, but likes to be cuddled when you get to know them. ;) As I said before, we'll get some film footage from the dive later on.

Cave Diving

I went out with Terry Lilley for some cave diving at Tunnels Beach today - it was really beautiful. Diving through old volcanoes and dead lava streams (no sharks) - I'm totally stoked! I interviewed Terry about his work with sharks afterwards, but haven't edited that yet. Sweet dreams!

Couchsurfing

I've been couchsurfing for a few days, which is fun since you get to meet new people. This is the couch at architecht Kimberley Larkin's house in Haena. Well...not really couchsurfing, I realized when I googled it - coachsurfing is a more organised form of staying with people you don't know. I've been staying with friends of friends. Check couchsurfing here: Coachsurfing Tonight I'm staying at Hanalei Bay Resort, a luxory resort where I used to work as a poolguard when I was 18...

Basic Surf Lesson

Tunnels Beach, Kauai.

Well, ok you surfers don't need to bother watching this. The rest of us might think it's interesting knowing why you wouldn't paddle out on a 'reef break' when being a total beginner. I'm getting to know the board by paddle surfing every day which is great! You use a long heavy board covered by rubber (instead of waxing the board), and then you push it out in the water and stand up on the board using a paddle instead of your hands. This means that you get much more power to move the board, almost like a kayak, and it's easier to learn since it's more stable. We were out on these boards when we met the dolphins.

Staying in Hawaii

Really bad thunderstorms are hitting the Samoan islands for the whole of next week, so I've canceled the trip there since it wouldn't be much to blog about. Not a good idea to be in the water when the lightening is hitting the highest point on the surface...anyway - since the weather has cleared up here now, I'll scuba dive, surf and go by helicopter in Kauai instead - so we've got loads of stuff to look forward to! :)

Dolphins Haena Beach

The Dolphin Party

So...today I went out paddlesurfing with my new friend Kimberly early in the morning. We went out quite far to see if we could find some sea turtles. All of a sudden I spot a large shadow quite close under the board. And then another, and all of a sudden three dolphins are jumping next to my board. Seconds later we're surrounded by a group of at least 50 spinner dolphins. I couldn't belive it. I laughed and looked at Kimberly who was paddeling next to me - she was giggeling totally engaged with our new friends. Little baby dolphins were making baby jumps, the larger ones were leaping into the air making advanced spins. After some time people started to gather at the beach to watch the phenomenon. It seemed like the dolphins thought it was fun to go with us when we were paddeling. After more than one and a half hour I needed water and more sun block and had to go back, when I reached the beach they were to far out to join again. Can't explain how happy I felt today - I wish everyone get to meet a dolphin one day.

How-To-Mango-Smoothie

Rough cut of how to make the smoothest mango smoothie ever!

Why a Jar?

Have you seen these people walking around with jars drinking their tea or what not? My friend Kimberly, that I met here on the island explains where it comes from. I'm going to start doing that - bringing your own jar to Starbucks and stuff instead of using papercups! What do you guys think? Let's start a new environmentally friendly trend in Sweden!