spirits bay...

a few days after christmas, pedro from sao paulo state and i stood 15 or so kilometres from spirits bay with our thumbs out, in the hopes of hitching a ride. we ate a couple bananas and we had sipped a touch of whiskey before throwing our packs on. it was probably two in the afternoon. it didn't take long and soon the both us were squeezed next to a young woman who was pregnant and her partner and her partner's friend who spoke with the thickest kiwi tongue i've ever heard. i could barely understand a word out his mouth and through it all, i could only imagine pedro must've been daydreaming in Portuguese.

we made it to spirits bay on a windy late afternoon. the campground was massive, though empty, the weather forecast must have scared folks. we set up our tent in the difficult wind and then headed down to the beach, el pacifico. we hopped in the ocean and soon two sting rays appeared right next to us.

a little later, we climbed a mountain and met a nice young lad, johannes, from france. the three of us climbed a saddle of green, high above spirits bay. the wind was whipping, the sea was crashing, the energy was vibrant.

johannes decided to accompany us for our first day hiking and tentless, he slept under his fly in a gazebo that was on the trail. we slept in the gazebo too, though in a tent. there was a tropical depression off the coast of queensland and it was seriously representing on our way to cape reinga... johannes, hitchhiking and woofing through new zealand, stopped by hamilton this week to chill for a couple days at pedro's house. it was nice to see him and catch up.

it's getting late here in n.z. and i'm listening to one of the dopest albums i had known about for years but never knew what it was - novos baianos, "acabou chorare"

songs on this album remind me of the sweetest of times, in the vista with mis hermanos, roaming long island shores, clambaking, and living...

those were the days...

love and health to all...