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Our friend Andy Schwartz let us in on a few of Sumatra’s secrets. It’s always a relief to see a friendly face from home no matter how far away you are. Here we are paddling out to absolute perfection, a wave which we shared for an hour and a half with no one else out but us three. It’s times like these that make the travel all that more worth it. Andy pulling in, much to the delight of Hayden and myself. Photo: @AlexBenaud
Sumatra is one of the most beautiful islands in the Indonesian archipelago. Raw, unique, and excluded from the overdeveloped, big business and tourist-driven islands, such as Bali. After a 7 hour layover in Jakarta, coming within minutes of missing our plane to Bandur Lampung, followed by a grueling 6 hour car ride through the rocky terrain of Southern Sumatra, we arrived at our home stay sleep-deprived, starving, sweaty, and extremely excited to surf.
All in all, Sumatra was an experience of a lifetime. It was great to experience the rawness of Indonesia that many people who visit the tourist-rich regions are unable to experience. From the misfortunes we encountered along the way to the friendliest of locals we had the pleasure of meeting, this trip will forever be in our memory. We will be back soon, Sumatra. We will be back soon.
See more of Alex’s photography on Instagram: @alexbenaud.