Two years ago now, I embarked on a journey to the wild coast of West Africa with two fellow explorers, Joe Curren and the legendary Sam George. We spent three weeks looking for waves, journeying upriver to admire regal elephants, monkeys, crocodiles and surprisingly dangerous hippos, before taking a flight to Sao Tome (the second smallest nation in Africa) to search for a particular African surfer. It was an incredible trip. I wrote about it in a previous blog post that can be viewed by clicking the “May 2007” archive link on the right side of this page.
The result of the trip was a movie that won a few awards on the independent film circuit and has shown on Rush HD TV. To make the story more dramatic, the first half of our trip in which we missed a flight, spent a couple days in Belgium, then surfed the wild coast of Gabon was eliminated from the film. I hadn’t seen any of that footage until I came across the following video on youtube. Instantly, that feeling of adventure and excitement that comes from the exploration of a new place came pouring over me. At a time when I feel ecstatic to have woken up in my own bed this morning and equally pleased with the knowledge that I will be sleeping there for another two weeks having just returned from a nearly non-stop 3 month travel tour to Australia, Nicaragua, and Tahiti, it is amazing that a simple 6 minute video can still bring back that urge to get on a plane. I hope it will inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and go explore the world.
http://www.youtube.com/v/GoZvFOip4YQ&hl=en
And just in case you are interested in the other part of the trip, the section that made the film, here is the trailer:
Holly Beck 
I stumbled upon your blog… and at first i was awed about the breadth of your travel and experiences… then i went back to my blog and i realized that i too have such experiences with a dynamic group of people in frigid cold water… so i guess i was entertained that you are taking the time to capture these memories of yours and share them… which is essentially what i do… If you get a chance read the book “Surfing the Himalayas”… I think you would like it…Be WellPete
I stumbled upon your blog… and at first i was awed about the breadth of your travel and experiences… then i went back to my blog and i realized that i too have such experiences with a dynamic group of people in frigid cold water… so i guess i was entertained that you are taking the time to capture these memories of yours and share them… which is essentially what i do… If you get a chance read the book “Surfing the Himalayas”… I think you would like it…Be WellPete
The legendary Sam George…lol.
Hey Holly! That looks like so much fun. It was awesome meeting you and Ryan in Nicaragua. I hope you´re kicking ass on tour. Maybe we´ll cross paths in Nicaragua again, Í think we´ll be around there in November… but you never know. Jana
hi there Holly, gotta question for u : is that u on Smith Optics ad in July 08 SurfEurope Mag ? cuz i’d say it’s u but it doesn’t say ur name…weird. Hey, i’ve seen in ur myspace, is that a wale shark pic there ? cuz it just happens one of those big ones is around El Hierro island here in the canaries…nice. tia! ( thanks in advance! ) regards! http://www.entubao.com
Hi Holly!U are the BeSt Surfer I have ever see…I saw u on “boarding house north shore” on TV. you were with Sunny and Damien and many other.. it were FANTASTIC!!!!!I love You-Luca-
Hi Holly,While being in the office and building our own company bigger (to eventually be free to surf all the time;) while avoiding work a bit, checking the swell for the Dutch North Sea (not much, cold, but sooo much fun, every time!) I stumbled upon your website.. Ive read a couple of ur stories and enjoyed reading them a lot. I’m very impressed by your writing, your surfing, your living your life and your ‘joie du vivre’ as the French would say;). Keep it up, I will follow!Regards,Martijn