The Search Continues...

...We headed into the jungle with Manu at the lead. After a short hike through the forest we emerged on the beach, where we hiked most of the 10 kilometers to the lightthouse. Rounding point after point, we eventually hit the southeast corner of Little Andaman and began heading West, the waves picking up significantly in size. Noah, Ryan and I were so excited by the sight of waves, we practically ran the last quarter of the hike and arrived at the lighthouse far ahead of the rest of the group. The lighthouse is surrounded by a small village that was destroyed by the tsunami and has since been deserted. Walls are caved in, windows broken and furniture and clothing is strewn everywhere. It was quite an eerie sight. But this village also had a working well, so we returned to it often for water throughout the trip and began to enjoy the dead calm of the place and sight of the buildings overrun by vines. Ten minutes beyond the lighthouse we saw a left hand wave reeling down a reef point, a good 100 meters out from the beach, past the lagoon. The sun was getting low, so rather than wait for the group, we waxed our boards, threw on our trunks and paddled out. From the shore the wave looked rather small. But once past the lagoon we realized it was around chest-head high, breaking hollow and better than we had percieved from the beach. There we were, three buddies, all alone in tropical waters, white sand and coconut palms lining the shore with dense, colorful jungle behind and perfect waves. "This is it!" Ryan said. This was it...total bliss. It felt so good to be in the water and we all caught some really fun waves. We stayed out for the sunset and then walked back in the dark, finding our guides' camp by spotting the fire set back in the bush. The wives had cooked us rice, sauce and fish that Manu had caught while we were all surfing. One thing we came to learn was that the Nicobarese don't just fish to live, they live to fish. Even while hiking, they'll stop to throw out a net if they spot a school of fish. While camping they set up a row of lines rigged to sticks they plant in the sand. They tie some loose bottles to the line and every so often you hear a little jingle and then see one of our guides rushing to the line to bring in the fish. At camp they set up several fires, each is bordered by stakes they carve from bamboo, on which they stack steaks of fish to slow roast by the flame. Our main guide, Manu, is a very quiet guy, but that night he was standing next to Noah by the shore, looking out into the ocean and at the great expanse of stars. After a long silence, Manu said, "It's a nice place, huh?" Yes it is. One of the things that make the Nicobarese so extraordinary and such a pleasure to be with is there respect for the land and sea and their constant enjoyment of their surroundings and their situation in life. And this only one year after the tsunami came and destroyed most everything they'd known. They are truly a remarkable people.
I'd love to write more, but I had to buy an internet card for this station and I only have a minute left. I will finish later (hopefully from a cheaper internet cafe). More to follow. 10-4. out.