Probably surfers would describe the wave more picturesque with more words, but this time even they were lost for worst. A moment of hypnotic admiration was gone and Mario started the car to get us down to the site. We were supposed to park the car at the parking (football playground actually), pay for it and got on the truck, but as I knew Pablo who was working that morning and as Taj was competing in the first heat, we managed to get to the site with our car. Ok, yes, Taj (yes, competitors had to pay for the entrance too, silly I know, but this is the way Mexicans are doing their business) and photographer Steve still had to pay few pesos to get in. Thanks guys and there we were running to the Judges tower with Astrid. Making sure hot coffee, cold water and some food was always available for people working over there, sweeping the floor, doing some English-Spanish translation, calming down all the fights and people on the verge of their breakdown, persuading Ana Luisa that we need her on the team (PR people are at all times important!), making sure no one comes and bothers workers, checking people coming in, helping beach marshal, writing results on a board, making a list of VIP, Staff and media people, welcoming at the entrance to the site… well, this is what my work was at the site most of the days. Sometimes it was fun, cause I could watch surfers riding their best wave, sometimes all I could do was hear announcers talking about the best air or longest tube. Despite the heat, hard work (don't think this is easy, sitting at the entrance, smiling to everyone when u have to go to pie for the last four hours!), lack of at least two hours of sleep, I had fantastic time meeting cool people and listening to their life stories. ASP staff are really intelligent people, hard workers, doing their job as if this was their one time chance to prove they are right for it. RC people were the same, well most of them… if u want the event like that to go smoothly, u need more a team of people u can rely on. And these guys knew what they were doing and why they are doing it. They always had a piece of advice for me. It seamed such a small deal to them, just another event, just another job to be done… put a smile on your face, Kaya… it was nice to work in a environment like that, multicultural and positive energy regardless of all the tricky business we were into. Boys, professional surfers, are all super nice and they don't behave like a damn movie star. Maybe it was just Mexico, maybe because no one knew who they were, maybe there was not much surfing fans at the site or maybe it just seemed like it, but they all talked to me and everyone like a human being, said hello and even made some jokes about where I'm from. Sorry guys, Slovenia does exist, Kaya Papaya is not lying to u. Even the top of the cream surfers didn't look away when they passed girls working at the entrance. They are guys who eat their breakfast, lunch and dinner as we all do, have a beer or margarita now and then, carry their own boards and take the stairs if the elevator is packed. Some of them are quite serious and like to talk about huge world problems, others just want to have fun and explore life and culture of a place they have surfed (party every day of the week…). U can even have a small talk with Kelly, just don't ask him to take a picture of u and him together, amazing blue eyes look better inside of a tube. Sure they are professional surfers and surfing is still their job, they still have to go through all procedure of taking pictures for sponsors, remaining their good reputation among the fans, but.. come on, they are normal guys…ok. Cute, hot guys with even more gorgeous girlfriend or a wife waiting for them at home if she is not traveling around with them, u can't even get jealous at them. They are not so posh and snobbish as we think they are. But girls forget about them. It takes more than great body and love for surfing to win their heart. Ok, now, I got to go - am being a babysitter, promise to write more about chats and drinks with all those interesting people…
Mario stopped the car on the top of a hill, put the music down to let
us enjoy the view of a perfect loooong barrel after a barrel. A picture
of a paradise. Crystal blue with white foam, big red-orange ball
sending yellow waves to the lip of every wave, shining all the way to
the grey sand and green palm trees. Pure 10.













