They say that your eyes are the windows to your soul.  Well in the last few months of my time in Barcelona and during my 78 days of travelling I have seen the mean extremes – pure happiness and deep sadness.  I have left some great friends, family and colleagues in Europe which makes me very sad and I will carry this around with me for a long time.  However I am back with my family in my home and that is what my soul needs to heal. 

Here's when we were little and mum dressed us all up in traditional costumes.

It has been a true adventure and with this blog it will help me remember it all – from Morrocan snake charmers in Marrakesh, to final farewells in Barcelona, Harlem and Broadway in New York,  Playa del Carmen beaches and the Mayan ruins of Tulum, Palenque ruins in south Mexico, the zapatistas and revolutionists in San Cristobal, chicken buses and friends in Guatemala – Xela, hippies and finding my aura in San Marcus, streets of Antigua, the reggae of Livingston, Mayan temples of Tikal, diving in Caye Caulker in Belize and catamarans in San Pedro, little Amazon of Tortugero in Costa Rica, surfing in Puerto Viejo, the canal and old town of Panama City, hanging with the cool people in Miami, my time with Kiriana and Manawanui in Cuzco and mountain biking, walking Machu Picchu, time in the jungle with anacondas, tarantulas in the Amazon, sandboarding in Huacachina, Peru, Venice beach in LA, surfing in Hawaii, and relaxing with Sarah and Ross and the kids in Sydney and finally getting home.

I learnt many things but one thing that struck me when I went to the Polynesian Cultural Centre when I saw so many Polynesians, the Fijian, Samoans, Hawaiians, Maoris, Taonga, Tahitians,  together and performing their own traditional songs and dances.  It helped me glue together many parts of my trip and my life… I saw pride and passion. 

Pride for their culture and passion for what they were doing. I have seen that passion professionally, from people like Alfonso and the Exec team, Marc and Susana to people like John Banks, from my dad and the rest of my family.  And it is addictive. 

I have seen passion for ones culture from Muslims in Morroco to Peruvians over their land and arts, to the Polynesians in Hawaii or the Maori's in New Zealand.  You see the passion in their eyes. 

And passion for life and loved ones from all my friends and family and their children. 

Now it's my turn to find my passion for life, professionally, for my culture and personally…

Adios Taiawhio Te Parata

Ko Takitimu te waka. (My canoe is Takitimu).

Ko Tamatea Pokai Whenua te maunga. (My mountain is Tamatea Pokai Whenua).

Ko Whangaraupo te moana. (My harbour is Whangaraupo).

Ko Ngai Tahi te iwi. (My tribe is Ngai Tahu).

Ko Ngati Wheke te hapu. (My subtribe is Ngati Wheke).

Ko te Wheke te marae. (My home is te Wheke).

Ko Te Pura o te Rangi toku papa. (My father is Te Pura o te Rangi).

Ko Reihana toku mama. (My mother is Reihana.)

Ko Taiawhio te Tau Parata ahau. (I am Taiawhio te Tau Parata).

Heading into winter. Certainly noticed the change in temperature but it was good to be back in Sydney.  Hadnt been back since I left nearly 7 years ago.  Not a huge amount of changes – some down in Darling Harbour and Chinatown.  Stayed with Ross and Sarah and Luke and Erika. The kids are great and Luke even played teh saxophone for me. Was very strange to be a tourist in a place where I was once a local. 

Walked from Balmain where I use to live, to the ferry then all through downtown to Darling Harbour, a bus to Bondi, to watch the surfers.  Then a bus back to Oxford st and walkd back into town.

Been chilling out during my last days at the beach and pool.  I wander if there is more to life than surfing and sun…. naaa.

The endless summer must come to an end so today I will be flying to Sydney to catch up with friends before heading home.  In the immortal words of Boys to Men "its so hard to say good bye to yesterday".

Was down at the small wharf on Waikiki where the locals boogie board or go diving off the roof of the shelter.  Then checked out the beach volleyball players.  Last night was a "Midnight on Waikiki" concert with catwalk, music and food. 

Also watched a bit of the tandem long boarding.  2 people on a long board and the guy usually lifts the girl up above his head while surfing in. I guess they get bored with catch 15 foot waves and getting barrels. 

Anyway my time is up here unfortunately.  In 2 weeks I have spent more on food and accommodation than what I spent in 2 months in central American.  Cant complain had a great time and I felt like I was only home… except it was a lot warmer.

More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tparata/

"I'll be back" – Arnold Schwarzenagger and Tai

Today decided to go to to the famous Polynesian Cultural centre on the windward side.  This was set up by the Mormon Church years ago to help students fund their education and give people an incite in to the Polynesian cultures.

The Centre is divided up in to islands – Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Aotearoa (NZ), Hawaii, Marques Islands and Rapanui.  There are replicas of the villages and people doing the arts and crafts.  Mostly students working here.  They also have an Imax theatre and an evening performance from all the islands.  Well worthwhile.  You feel a lot of pride for all the Polynesian cultures.  They do lots of activities during the day like – cocnut tree climbing races, leanring the poi, drum classes and cultural performances.

Manawanui, how do you like my tattoo? 

OK so it will wash off in the shower.

Sorry for disappearing off the radar.  I have just been considering the affect of the modern day automobile on the geopolitical situation of the world during the last century.  Translated, I have been sunning and surfing and decided to disappear off the map for a while.  Now I'm back and I'm black.

Hawaii is pretty cool.  Constant temperature of around 27-30 degrees, dry heat which is bearable with light tradewinds.  I have been in Waikiki on the South Shore and going up to the north shore for surfing as well.  Waikiki is packed with hotels but is well setup and has good surf out the front.  Got up to 8 foot faces, but it is always packed with long boarders.  There is also a spot for boogie boarders.  See the guy above is standing up on a boogie board.

They had the USO tribute to the Armed services in Waikiki so had a big free concert.  Got to see John Legend sing.  Then there were also lots of military and some of their hardware.

Went around the island.  The south side is where Honolulu and Waikiki are.  Gets good southerly swell and has good snorkling. The windward side (east coast), is more for windsurfing and has the huge volcanic mountains. 

The north shore is where all the biggest waves are – Sunset beach, bonzai, backdoors, Haleiwa.  Its 1 hour drive from Honolulu. All famous surf spots.  One day the swell got up to 12 foots faces (double overhead).  Bonzai was not working well but people were still getting coverups.

The people are nice but a it seems strange seeming Polynesian features and then when they talk a strong American accent comes out.  There is a lot of mix between the original Hawaiians and the asians.  More than 30% of the population is Asian (Korean, Philopino, Japanese).  The mix of Asian and Pacific island produces a cool mix - tan, finer features, athletic and even freckles.

Got my hair cut off.  Got a number 3 for most of my hair.  So it is pretty short, but better for surfing and swimming and I save on gel. Enjoying it at the moment but only got a few days to go and then off to Sydney and then home.

Hope you are better dad, will see you soon.

Love Taiawhio

Staying at Venice Beach hostel right on Venice Beach.  This is LA's answer to Marroccos Djeema Square. 

There is muscle beach, basketball, racketball, roller bladers, boxers, gymnesses, skateboarders, dancers on roller skates, painters, philosophers, rap dancers, bikers, latinos with dogs, tattoo palours, the drum club in the beach, graffiti painting areas. 

This is the "Louis Vuitton" motorbike.  The bikers got escorted away by the cops, there was about 30 of them.   

It has a real vibe.  See the big black guys playing basketball and hassling each other.  The huge guys doing weights in Muscle beach.  Behind them you've got guys practicing thai boxing and also gym.  Then there was the family getting their tattoos together.

Then walked to San Monica Pier and 3rd street.

Day 60 was the pits.  Slow start to the day, was staying in Mirafores, which is a really modern and posh area of Lima.  It is on a cliff and over looks the sea. 

Went to catch a bus to Huacachina which is 4,5 hours south on the coast.  Half an hour into the trip I started to get stomach cramps, sweatings and generally feeling like shit.  Luckily there was no diarihea, but I had to sit through 4 hours with severe stomach cramps.  I think it was something I ate for breakfast.  My taxi driver felt sorry for me in Ica and took me to a pharmacy, they gave me drugs.  Then drove me to Huacachina and I found a hotel and went to bed.  Didnt sleep well, but today I feel better.

Huacachina is a little village in the desert/sand dunes.  You can do sand surfing, bugy rides in the desert or hangout by the pool or oasis.  So I did a bit of everything.  The bugy ride was cool.  Up and down sand dunes and then jumping.  We wopuld then stop at the top of the sand dunes and sand board down. 

 It is like snow boarding but you need to put your weight at the back and it is not as fast as snow boarding.  Still good fun.

Just call me "Crocodile Tai" from New Zealand.

Only a few problems with that. 1. There are no crocodiles in New Zealand.  2. It does look awfully small (I am talking about the crocodile!!!).

4 days downriver, with the animals and some travelling companions, obviously not as experienced as I was in the wild.  Luis and Milton our local guides came with us and looked after us well. 

We left Iquito to Nauta, and then from Nauta we went by boat downriver.  I was wanting to paddle but the others wanted to use the motor.  I was now wearing my leopard string gstring to feel more comfortable in the native environment.

We usually left in the morning before breakfast by boat to search for animals. We saw Squirel monkeys, sloths and lots of birds – eagles, vultures, tucans…. 

After breakfast we would go for jungle walks.  The first one was pretty hairy.  With the end of rainy season, alot of the jungle was flooded, so we were walking around in knee deep water with all the snakes and other creatures.  We saw electric eels that can discharge up to 600v, frogs, spiders and other insects. 

Luis taught me how to outrun a Bushranger snake (very aggressive snakes). They are also called dog snakes because they bark at you while they chase you.  You either have to zigzag when you are running.  Or run around in a circle, or take off you clothes and through then behind you and they will attack the heat of your clothes.  All very handy stuff.

At the lodge they had a tree where lots of Macraws (big parrots), both rainbow coloured and blue and yelow would hangout.  There was also a tucan that cruised around the lodge trying to bite you or your shoes.  In the roof of the dining room there was a Boer Constricter, but only a small one (about 1,5 metres).  It was hunting for rats and bats inside the lodge.  So while you we were eating dinner we could watch the snake up he top.  In the mornings Tapirs (a cross between a pig and an anteater) would come around.

Out the front of the lodge we would watch the pink dolphins.  In front of the lodge was a channel that onnected thje rier with a lake and there were a lot of little fish that the dolphins ate.  The pink dolphins are blind when they are born because the amazon is too muddy to see anything.

One night we wnet looking for caimen, snakes and spiders.  Thee were a lot of tarantulas on the trees.  This one is a bout the size of my hand.  Below is a Coral snake, very poisonous.

One day we went fishing for piranhas.  We caught lots of small ones.  We were using meat for bait. 

On our last day we came across a anaconda.  It was about 5 metres long and had been caught in a village closeby.  The anaconda had been starving (with so much water, their food sources move up high away from the water).  The anaconda had tried to eat one of the little boys from the village.  It had actually attacked but had mistimed its lung and only caught its fangs in his shirt.  Someone nearby had thrown a piglet at the anaconda and so it attacked that and crushed it to death.  Then the local men atacked it and caught it.  If the anaconda had been on target the boy would have been dead.

The little boy in red is the one that was attacked.  Also this anaconda is not dead.  Ot is injured so is not moving much.

Finally caught the boat back up river and returned to Iquitos.  There was a transport strike on the next day.  So there wass broken lass and rubbish all over the roads.  But made it to the airport for a flight to Lima. 

Today I leave Cuzco and my brother and his wife (by the way, that´s not them in the photo) and jump a plane to Lima and then Iquitos.  It´s been great hanging out with them for a week or 2.  Now they head off to South Peru , Bolivia and Chile.  Iquitos is a jungle town in the north of Peru on the Amazon.  Here is where you can go up the Amazon to camp or lodges up river.  I will be going to a lodge about 140kms up river for about 4 days.  Doing jungle walks and riding up the canales.

No contact with the outside world for 4 days.  See you then.

A recovery day.  Legs were sore and we were all tired.  We all caught up again to watch a bit of the Arsenal vs Villareal game at an Irish Bar and then we needed to sorted out washing and other chores.  Topped it off with a massage to relax the sore muscles.

 Day 53:

Manawanui and Kiriana decided to go to the Sacred valley but I was too lazy and looking for another chillout day.  So had a slow breakfast in teh Plaza de Armas and then walked up to Sacsayhuaman (Sexy Woman is more or less how it is pronounced).  It was an old fortress 40 mins walk from town.  Was one of the last stands for the Incas against the Spanish. 

Cuzco was formed like the shape of the puma and Sacsayhuaman was suppose to be the head, with teh jutting walls as the teeth.  Now only about 20% of the fortress remains. They rest has been taken away during the years to built other houses.  SOme of the rocks are up to 300 tonnes.  They moved them by rolling them with logs, rocks and men pulling.