This little head I carry around, especially in coverages like this, needs an escape. Escape that in most of the championships takes the form of surfing, my second biggest passion in life (after seeing my children grow up - "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans," Lennon said, and I fully identify with that).

On these assignments, being able to go out on the water is even good for DUKE's productivity. If I stay in front of the computer all day or running around looking for notes, I go crazy and nobody wants me to go crazy, or at least, to go crazier than I already am.

And Teahupo'o has something special in that the waves are not accessible by foot. Most of the waves nearby break at passes in the island's giant barrier reef. And those passes are very far away and, on a tight schedule, getting to them takes a long time.

Today was my day. I woke up at 4am to work and get everything ready to go to the opening ceremony, which by the way was extremely beautiful, emotional and energetic. Full of an incredible culture, incredible messages, incredible surfers and the expectation of an incredible event.

Having done most of my tasks planned for the day, I moved forward and wrote to another person who follows me in that giant fissure and love for surfing: Karín Sierralta. With him we have shared several of the best surfing sessions in different parts of the world and crazy things always happen to us. And the man delivers, he is an executive, he is on par, he knows people from all over, he is a good strategist and he organizes well so that we can do what we love so much, which is going surfing.

Without much warning, he appeared at the door of my house with another old friend, Johanna, his wife. Sooner than I expected, and for a change, he took me out on the run to go surfing. I was happy. I left everything aside and headed straight for the water.

The water is close but the waves are far away, and when we got to the marina that takes us to the waves, there were no more boats making the trip. Only one that was returning and getting ready to finish the day there. And we went to ask them if they were ready to take us, but they just told us that they weren't, that they were finishing the day.

There were still a good two hours of daylight left and I, who knew that the championship would start tomorrow, was on fire inside thinking that my little head would continue going a mile a minute without its dose of salt water.

They were talking about “tomorrow” and I told myself that not tomorrow, nor the day after, that the Olympic Games would begin and there would be no way to escape my mind from anywhere other than the press room and the blessed computer.

They offered us a ride on the boat, to see the wave! Pure masochism! It made me rot inside!

My face must have said it all, but I said to Matahi, the owner of the boat, “one wave”… And the man could not tell me anything else but “yes”.

Karín was locking the car and getting ready for the damn boat ride when I yelled: “Karin, a wave!” And, just like me, the crazy guy grabbed his board at 200 mph and got on the boat.

Now, I think Matahi and I knew it wasn't going to be just one wave. We all knew even more when we took the boat ride and saw perfect lefts breaking on a reef out there in the middle of the Pacific, a wave called Big Pass.

Like a madman I leapt to freedom with my board strapped to my foot. The best feeling on earth!

It ended up being several waves in a dream location. It wasn't one tube after another but it was a perfect wave session, when my expectations had been shattered. I felt absolutely happy, especially because of everything that had happened, I had nothing and I had everything. And it was all because this gentleman, Matahi, sacrificed his time to fulfill my mental health whim and give me pure joy.

I gave him what I had on hand, a DUKE cap. I told him “big Māuruuru”, I repeated it in all possible colours… I explained to him that he had given me such a huge gift that he didn’t even notice.

And I returned to the coast with the wind stretching my smile even more. Karín and I hugged each other because we had done one more of our things, which began in 2005, when he hired me to work at ALAS and this dream of being a surfing journalist officially began. But more officially, a friendship began and the meeting of two people who share that great desire to surf, that love for surfing, this beautiful thing that we surfers do.

With my head in place, ready for a very important coverage that starts tomorrow, I arrived at my hut and started writing this editorial that thanks Matahi very much for his enormous hospitality, and Karín, of course, for always being there for us in our crazy times.

-ISA President confirmed that Olympic surfing starts tomorrow, July 27: https://dukesurf.com/isa-president-confirmed-that-olympic-surfing-starts-tomorrow-july-27/

-Short answers to quick questions: The Games, gold, Teahupo'o, favorites, surprises and clothing: https://dukesurf.com/short-answers-to-quick-questions-the-games-gold-teahupoo-favorites-surprises-and-clothing/

-Some notes from the first day in Teahupo'o: https://dukesurf.com/algunos-apuntes-del-primer-dia-en-teahupoo/

-Siqi Yang, the 15-year-old Chinese surfer, doesn't back down and takes on whatever comes next: https://dukesurf.com/siqi-yang-the-15-year-old-chinese-surfer-doesn't-back-down-and-takes-on-whatever-comes-next/

-Olympic surfing doesn't have to be done in four days: https://dukesurf.com/olympic-surfing-doesn't-have-to-be-done-in-four-days/

-The best photos of the fourth day of training: https://dukesurf.com/the-best-photos-of-the-fourth-day-of-training/

-Saffi Vette trained for the Games with an All Black: https://dukesurf.com/saffi-vette-trained-for-the-games-with-an-all-black/

-Gony Zubizarreta will be an Olympic commentator for Eurosport: https://dukesurf.com/gony-zubizarreta-sera-comentarista-olimpico-para-eurosport/

-Ricardo Toledo confronted BeachGrit over a controversial note and they ended up deleting it: https://dukesurf.com/ricardo-toledo-enfrento-a-beachgrit-por-nota-polemica-y-estos-terminaron-borrandola/

-Yesterday's training photos: The best Teahupo'o so far in training: https://dukesurf.com/yesterdays-training-photos-the-best-teahupoo-so-far-in-training/

-Everything you need to know about Olympic surfing today, explained in video: https://dukesurf.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-olympic-surfing-today-explained-in-video/

-This is how the Olympic surfing competition will work, detail by detail: https://dukesurf.com/this-is-how-the-olympic-surfing-competition-will-work-detail-by-detail/

-Sand that surfers bring to the ceremony is required to be clean and certified: https://dukesurf.com/arena-que-lleven-surfistas-para-ceremonia-se-pide-este-limpia-y-tenga-certificacion/

-Olympic coaches will be able to be in the water as caddies: https://dukesurf.com/olympic-coaches-will-be-able-to-be-in-the-water-as-caddies/

-Nathan Florence's picks to win Olympic surfing: https://dukesurf.com/nathan-florences-picks-to-win-olympic-surfing/

-Updated Olympic forecast: There will be waves but the wind will be a challenge: https://dukesurf.com/updated-olympic-forecast-there-will-be-waves-but-the-wind-will-be-a-challenge/

-The television incentive can play a bad trick: https://dukesurf.com/el-incentivo-televisivo-puede-jugar-una-mala-pasada/

-This is the Aranui 5, the second floating Olympic village in history: https://dukesurf.com/asi-es-el-aranui-5-la-primera-villa-olimpica-flotante-de-la-historia/

-Free surfing photos from the second day of Olympic training: https://dukesurf.com/free-surfing-photos-from-the-second-day-of-olympic-training/

-Chilean Nico Vargas did five air reverses on the same wave: https://dukesurf.com/chilean-nico-vargas-did-five-air-reverses-on-the-same-wave/

-This is what the Olympic surfers' rooms look like on the cruise: https://dukesurf.com/this-is-what-the-olympic-surfers-rooms-look-like-on-the-cruise/

-If Jordy wins in Paris he will “probably” retire from professional surfing: https://dukesurf.com/if-jordy-wins-in-paris-he-will-probably-retire-from-professional-surfing/

-Nacho, Mafer and Alexandre said goodbye early to Bells: https://dukesurf.com/nacho-mafer-and-alexandre-said-goodbye-early-to-bells/

-Chilean Nico Vargas did five air reverses on the same wave: https://dukesurf.com/chilean-nico-vargas-did-five-air-reverses-on-the-same-wave/

-The first photos from the first Olympic training sessions in Teahupo'o: https://dukesurf.com/the-first-photos-from-the-first-olympic-training-sessions-in-teahupoo/

-Colombian free surfing with Courtney Conlogue and Jack Van Wagoner: https://dukesurf.com/colombian-free-surfing-with-courtney-conlogue-and-jack-van-wagoner/

-Alonso Correa: “The love for sport overcomes everything”: https://dukesurf.com/alonso-correa-el-amor-por-el-deporte-sobrelleva-todo/

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