This post is massive, but I feel the need to just get all of these images out there. Late last year a good friend rang me and put it to me for a Mentawai trip around March, at first a bit skeptical of whether I could afford it, clearly I couldn't but thought what the fuck, I'm in. It had been almost four years since my last visit to the islands and this trip was definitely going to be more of a cultural experience compared to the last journey across the passage where we stayed in a resort with everything handed to us. This trip had more to desire. My good friend Rob Henry ( please check his work out at www.asworldsdivide.com for more information and about his journey) had spent quite some time in the jungle in the deep heart of Siberut, living with a Mentawai family and learning their traditional way of living and their culture. Rob has been working on a film project about their culture and is also heavily involved in a program to help the community and to help save their traditional ways of living, please check his website out. Without Rob this trip would have been a lot more difficult for the average westerner and I'm so grateful to Rob and everyone who came along on the trip. Also to Sikeri, Masit Aman Dere and his family for inviting us into home and making us all feel like family.
I've been home for about a week now and coming back to reality is more of culture shock than actually heading far into the unknown. Going through these photos has given me time to reflect of what we experienced out in the jungle and also in the islands. We were lucky to experience a ceremony of a new uma (house) to give way for the spirits from the old into the new, full of song, dance and offerings. Also we were lucky enough to be staying with a great man out in the islands, Sam took us all in and treated us like family. We spent the last week surfing all day everyday, not many photos from that part of the trip, but i'm still waiting to develop a heap of film. We scored epic waves and were frothing. The time spent over there will never be forgotten and the people and connections I've made will last a long time. Thank you so much to everyone that made this trip what it was, an epic journey. Much love to you all, enjoy the photos.
