The Last Hurrah...Or is it?

Well, like all good things, my time here at PIC has come to an end. I am writing this blog on my final day here at the resort with my bags packed, sitting next to the door, waiting to be carried thousands of miles back to where they came. What a surreal experience this has all been. I used to joke and say how this is all just some magical dream full of adventure and wonder and how at any moment I would wake up, rub my eyes and smile at the spectacular contingencies that subconsciously took place.

These last few weeks here have been anything but dull. I came back to my true love of surfing, which has been an incredible, whole new experience for me here in Guam. For the longest time I couldn't find anyone that had extra surf boards or knew which surf spots worked during certain swell, but for the past two months, I have found those friends and have been loving every minute of it. Well, almost every minute of it. Surfing here in Guam is like nothing I have done before. Paddling through the crystal clear waters is breathtaking, seeing all of the beauty below and looking up and seeing perfect barreling waves coming in one after the other.  But the real fun is when you drop in on a wave and it is almost as if you are soaring over glass, looking through a window to the coral reef, fish, and life below. The first time I dropped in on a wave I almost didn't look back up, I was so taken by how resplendent the reef below me was. Back home, surfing waves in California, I never get to see what is below me. Out here, the conditions just couldn't be better. The sun is always shining, the water is warm, there is beauty all around you. That's why the surf sessions out here last for hours on end.

As beautiful as it all is, the reef below is extremely dangerous. I found this out last time I went surfing with a buddy of mine that took me out on a jet ski to a rare surf break that not too many people know about. I had caught a really good wave and had taken it way inside, when I was done, I hopped off my board right onto the razor sharp coral reef. Luckily I had booties on (water shoes) so my feet were safe from the scathing reef below. But what happened next was one of the scariest events to have marked my life. Probably one of the few times I have actually been afraid for my life. So after I hopped off my board I turned around only to see a huge set coming right for me. The first wave hit, I rolled on the coral, covering my head with my hands, I feel the biting coral cut into my skin. The wave passed only to be hit by another six footer that sends me tumbling over the reef, just barely missing my head as I roll, and then coming around and slamming my knee on the coral. Immediately seeing my knee swell up and gush blood, I knew that I had to escape this perilous field of unforgiving coral immediately. As I stood on the reef with the water just below my knee caps, I prayed to God to get me through the towering waves that were still surging towards me. Another one comes and I then lunge with my board over the rapid white water and begin to paddle as fast as I can to deeper water so that I can escape the crashing waves by diving under them. Another wave comes, I stand on the coral and jump again into the white water, being pushed back, I fight to paddle towards safety. The further I get pushed back, the shallower the water gets, making it even more dangerous on the coral. Bleeding, bruised and tired I don't know how I am going to make it out as I watch more head high waves come crashing towards me. Wave after wave after wave hit, so powerfully and overwhelming. Holding my breath I try and secure myself as I take another wave right on the head. My mind then goes blank and now I think of nothing but surviving. I feel the adrenaline kick in. Suddenly I am not tired. My once exhausted muscles are now in survival mode, propelling me through the gargling water. I can feel my fins scrape on the coral, but it doesn't stop me as I continue to try and make it to water deep enough to dive down, away from the thrashing surf. One last wave comes towards me. As I see it about to break I know that if I make it before it crashes that I'll be free. Paddling fastidiously I dive under the wave with the board and feel the white water crash on my feet behind me, trying to suck me back into certain peril but I kick free and head straight for open water. I am now free of the treacherous waves but I am still in survival mode and continue paddling until I get to the jet ski that is safely anchored out in open water. I roll off my board and float on my back in the open ocean debilitated, fatigued and dazed. I just float there looking up at the passing clouds. I can hear my buddy Laraunt yelling towards me to see if I am ok, I blink a few times and lift my tattered hand to give him a thumbs up. Thanking God for getting me out of that terrifying experience, I give myself a once over to make sure I didn't need to go to the hospital. Fortunately none of my cuts were hospital worthy. My knee looked pretty bad and stiffened up for a few days, but none of this has stopped me from getting back out there and doing what I love. My respect for the ocean only continues to grow more and more with every day I paddle out

On a different note, my buddy Pete Larson, that I play water polo with, has been taking me out early mornings to go surf and find cool little adventures here and there before work. Our latest one was paddle boarding out along the cliff sides of the naval base here in Guam. We would paddle along and look for good rock climbing sections and then once high enough on the cliff, we would jump off into the water. My buddy Priest was with us as well this time and as soon as we scoped out a good enough spot to climb and jump, one of us would watch the boards, while the other two climbed up. Higher and higher we scaled the sides of the cliff, cautiously making sure each move was secure so that we wouldn't fall forty plus feet down below. Once we found an adequate platform to jump off of we set up and did back flips and dives down into the deep blue waters below. After doing this a few more times we just had to go higher. So up we went, climbing about fifteen more feet or so. Looking down was quite a bit overwhelming. Getting the courage to jump was a bit harder than I thought, but with one great leap, I flew out into the open air and let out a great yell to help the genuine terror that I felt as I came plummeting towards the water below. Down I went, deep into the ocean. As I ascended towards the surface, beams of light would glimmer off of the bubbles created by my plunge. Emerging from the water I immediately broke out into laughter at how much fun/terrifying that was. One of these 50ft+ jumps was enough for me. Afterwards we paddle boarded back over to shore and headed in.

My second to last day here on Guam my buddy Andrew and about ten other friends and I went out to the naval base and rented a pontoon boat. Andrew had heard of a ship wreck that we could snorkel around and check out, so we packed the boat up with supplies and cruised over to this protruding ship wreck just inside the harbor. After dropping anchor, we all geared up and hopped in. As soon as the bubbles cleared I saw the massive ship eerily resting on the sea floor. Diving down along the ship, I could see it had become an entire ecosystem full of coral, fish and other sea creatures that flourished around it. Passing over one of the windows was a bit spooky as I peered down into the dark ominous hull. I half expected to get snatched up by some large sea monster, or see a ghost glare at me from one of the gloomy dark areas of the ship. As I continued along the shipwreck I could see all sorts of interesting coral growing right off the sides of the ship. Beautiful, small schools of fish would scurry as I glided over them. Coming to the bow of the ship, there were certain port holes that you could swim through to see the inside of the ship. I didn't chance the swim through and neither did the rest of the group. The ship wreck was great, but we didn't want to become a permanent member of the crew. After snorkeling around for a bit longer we all headed back on the pontoon boat and lounged and relaxed, enjoying the day, until it started to pour rain on us. Luckily here in Guam, it never really gets too cold, so even though it rained quite a bit, it was still a pleasant afternoon.

The rest of my time here has been spent with great friends saying my goodbyes and see you soons. It is crazy how fast this all went by. It seems like just the other day I was coming to PIC for the first time in the shuttle, bright eyed and so eager to explore this beautiful island. This is an amazing place that I will never forget. I love it so much here that I am going to try and live here. Coming home and visiting friend and family is long overdue and I cannot wait to see everyone, but I have never been more at peace at where I am at in life than here in Guam. My efforts at becoming a firefighter here in Guam are still in the running against over five-hundred plus applicants, but I have a good feeling that this is just the beginning of my time here. We shall see. I can't wait to see you guys.

Love and miss you