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Pacific Indonesia - Tales from Punanjar

Out on the fringes of Pacific Indonesia, The surfEXPLORE Group looks for new waves on distant islands

Flat tires are hardly good news. Especially when they happen within the first two hours of arrival on a remote island, and then you find out the spare tire is also flat and you're miles away from any help. In fact, it may very well be the perfect recipe for a disastrous beginning of the trip. Unless it happens right in front a pristine beach nested into a deep bay, the turquoise waters groomed by a gentle offshore breeze, with fun looking waves breaking in two corners of the bay, while another inviting peak unfolds on a reef right in the middle. John runs around for some photos, locals hang in the shade eating coconuts, kids play in the shore break, mellow vibes all around: all of a sudden the broken down car is a distant memory as the replacement tire arrives and we're out there in no time. We have barely set foot on the island and, unknown to us, the pace for the next three weeks has already been set.   

The tire gets fixed and once we hit the road again it becomes quite obvious how many good setups there are. We all have good feelings of things to come. Despite the swell not looking too solid on the forecast charts, only two to three feet with a relatively short period, a couple of spots are absolutely going off. One of them in particular, a random peak along an otherwise straight reef, is consistently unloading solid four-foot right hand barrels with hardly any break between sets. The tropical sun has set, so we watch a few more sets until it's too dark to see then we keep driving towards a village where we've been told we can find a place to spend the night. 

The village is quiet at this time of the evening, with a few dogs roaming the streets and the houses lit by feeble candlelight. We set up home on the top floor of the local Christian pastor's house. The wooden house also has the pastor's wife, four kids, five dogs, two cats and a couple of pigs. The place is so mellow and everyone is so chilled that despite the high numbers, there are smiles all around. And it will stay this way for the days to come.

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