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Each one has a different way. Face hard moments, some almost impossible to overcome, for reasons that are sometimes not under our control...
I am from RS, and created the blog surfworldtour.blogspot.com in March, 2010.
My first World Championship of Surfing was in 2008 in Imbituba, Santa Catarina, when Bede Durbidge(AUS)defeated Jeremy Flores(FRA) in the Final; and than in 2011 the stage moved to Rio de Janeiro. I have been already to nine WCTs, I do everything for myself: travel to competitions, take pictures, film, and edict the posts, everything in English.
Last year in 2015, I came to Rio de Janeiro in November to follow up better the finals of World Championship of Surfing of Women and Men. In my state RS, there is coast but not the best conditions for surfing, so the media rarely has news in papers, television, radio, etc...
I became so happy, because in December of 2015, my simple blog of surfing, reached about a thousand(1,000) access during the final stage in Pipeline, Hawaii. ,what I consider an excellent advance, because when I begun the blog in 2010, it had only twenty(20)access per month.
Last year, 2015, Adriano de Souza(BRA)was World Champion, won Billabong Pipe Masters-the last stage in Pipeline, Hawaii over Gabriel Medina(BRA) that was World Champion in 2014.And Gabriel Medina(BRA)was the first Brazilian to conquer the Triple Crow.
When I begun to work with surfing, our country, Brazil did not have any world champion, and now has two:
2015 - Adriano de Souza(BRA)
2014 -Gabriel Medina (BRA)
I became so happy, and after the finals in Hawaii, I decided to stay in Rio de Janeiro to make my 4th passport, and the Visa to U.S.A., because I had the plan to go to the stage in Trestles, California, USA in September; and than stay in Los Angeles till the last stage in Pipeline, Hawaii.
I already lived in San Francisco(CA), and studied Marketing in San Francisco State University..
By the way I was so upset because in the Finals in Pipeline, two top Australian surfers that I like so much: Bede Durbidge(AUS) and Owen Wright(AUS) were injured.(See the post Australian injured in Pipeline).
I made the passport and took the Visa to U.S.A. for the 4th time, I already lived in San Francisco(CA), Chicago(IL), and New York(NY)...
So I decided to come back to Rio de Janeiro in May to 2016 Oi Rio Pro.
The stage in Brazil this year was a quite tumultuos. The structure in Postinho -Barra da Tijuca had problems because the "ressacas"(the strong sea), besides that many top surfers did not come to the stage. In 2015 there was pollution in the water, and some surfers did not feel so well.
The competitions started in Grumari beach, I had hard toothache, but I followed my work.
I woke up at 4:00 am, and caught the bus 315(Linha Amarela)Yellow Line and went to Recreio Shopping. There the WSL -World Surf League -provided Vans to Grumari beach, which has no public transportation.
Meantime the structure of Barra da Tijuca was rebuilded not so "big".
The finals were in Postinho, Barra da Tijuca, when J. J. Florence(HAW)defeated J. Freestone(AUS).
On the last day of competition was raining plenty, but I did my work on the shore as always..
I debuted my "dreamed " Sony video camera with 60x clear zoom.
On the first day, it was hard to adapt myself with the powerful zoom of the camera.
On the second day in Grumari beach, I asked to the famous surf photographer, Mr. Sebastian Rojas(BRA), that I knew since my first surf event in Rosa beach, Santa Catarina, Seletiva Masculina Petrobras of Surf, in March 2008.
Mr. Sebastian Rojas(BRA), one of the best surf photographers in the world, with his generosity and talent, gave me the right orientations how to use the zoom, and take the "wave".
After talking with him, I became so calm, and filmed the stage, as I could, but I have to improve a lot.
I consider myself a lucky guy, because I filmed the first "Back Flip" in history of surfing of our great champion Gabriel Medina(BRA), in Postinho, Barra da Tijuca.
In the future, in will intend to make a "Film of Surfing ", but I have to make some arrangments before. So I will keep the "Back Flip" to the film.
Exactly after the last day of competition, I arrived in the hotel where I always stayed in Rio de Janeiro downtown, and after the dinner the premolar tooth began to bleed.
I was so scared because some years ago I already had problem of blood coagulation during a "wisdom tooth" extraction. The surgery of my "wisdom tooth" took 3 hours and half, that extration was in Porto Alegre with two dentists, that were assistants of one famous teacher of Odontology .They said I had hemorrhage because the difficult position of tooth and I might have coagulation problem
.
During the night, I stayed in my room in the hotel, so quiet, but preocupied with the "bleeding" but I slept. In the morning, after the shower the tooth bled more, but fortunately stopped.
Than, early in the morning I went out to buy the papers with news of 2016 Oi Rio Pro, did the posts on my blog and came back to RS by bus,and it was a long trip over 24 hours, because I had toothache all trip along.
As soon I arrived in my town I went straight to Dental clinic to make tooth treatment.
After X-ray, the dentist -specialist in canal treatment - said that the toot was cracked, and not worth making canal treatment anymore. So I had to face another tooth "extraction".
Than, I was so worried, because I might have another hemorrhage, feel bad; I got traumatized with that "wisdom tooth" extraction. Some days after, dropped out a piece of the premolar tooth, than I went to the dentist, and he made a temporary curative. I had strong toothache, I could not do anything with concentration. If I can not do the things well, I prefer give up.
Than I decided take the blog and site down of Internet for while. I also had the surfworldtour.com. domain since 2013.
In fact, I was concerned about my health, my life, my future...
In June, I was emotionally concerned about, but I decided to make the tooth extraction after my birthday, on July. Meantime I went to my doctor, general practitioner, who knows me for a long time. He gave me a blood coagulation examination and it was Ok. I would not run the risk of hemorrhage again.
Unfortunately, meantime my aunt by mother side, that was my godmother, passed away, so I do not know why, but after this, I found the courage to face the extraction. She was teacher, so nice with me , maybe her good vibes gave me the courage that I did not have before.
So I went to an experienced dentist that knows me since I was a kid, and was so friend of my beloved father(passed away in 2005). I felt emotionally well to face the surgery. I explained to the dentist the hemorrhage that I had and he asked me if my health was Ok, because by my physical biotype ,the teeth are so rooted and might be easy or difficult, depends the condictions of the tooth.
I prayed a lot before the day of extraction, I had faith in God, that everything would be OK!!
The dentist, one of the best in my town, begun the surgery, and how the tooth was cracked, it came out in pieces. After, he took off the roots. The longest root had about 2/3 cm-one inch-, the other two were smaller. During the extraction just bled a little. The surgery delayed around two hours, and I was so calm, God was with me, for sure.
After, the dentist gave the medication, and I went to the drugstore, and when I was arriving home( I live alone in a loft ) started to bleed and kept bleeding during almost all night long. This time I worried about because I was alone and could not sleep. I used toilet papers to stanch the bleeding. And I had a hard toothache , just could drink something, and not "hot".
On the next day, the dentist so attentive, called me, and asked how I was, he said to take care in the first week, to avoid "ignition" , what is called alveolitis. He said that was good to bleed for healing. I stayed at home two weeks, just drinking vegetables soup and lost weight - 7 kgs - almost 14 pounds. So I went to my doctor. He said that was normal, just do not do physical efforts,that I would recover.
So when I was feeling better I came to Rio by plane, the city that always welcomed me since 2011,to follow up the Olympic Games. COI - Comité International Olympique -announced that "Surf" - the most beautiful sport- will be an Olympic sport in Tokyo, Japan, in 2020. I filmed many competitions in Rio 2016 and I will prepare a short video, that soon will be on my blog.
Today, I feeling better, but I can not stay long time in the Sun, walk so long distances, still can not masticate and speak very well. But thank God, I survived the "extraction ghost" and decided to continue my work with the blog and site.
Now I updated and changed the lay out of the blog after the stage Oi Rio Pro; and the site, I will prepare new scripts, everything new to 2017!
I posted the stages till Trestles, California, and than will follow my work, as I have done since 2010.
I reached over than 450 posts, with almost eleven thousand access(11,000)from all over the world.
We should not schedule the things in advance, because God is in charge!!!
In February of this year, I was planning to go to Trestles, California, USA now I so happy, that I am Ok to post the results of this stage on my blog. However, I always have some plan in mind, probably our great champion of Surfing, Gabriel Medina(BRA)will fight for his second title in the last stage of World Championship in Pipeline, Hawaii, than I will finally travel to Hawaii.
I "APOLOGIZE" all the readers of my blog, but this things happen, I hope to improve my work in the future as much I can.
I also would like to thank all the surfers, surfing channels, surfing brands, surfing organizations, the World Surf League and all the surfing community that always share the surf posts on my Facebook.
Finally, I would like to point our that on the last day of competition 2016 Oi Rio Pro in Postinho,Barra da Tijuca, was raining plenty, and I was at tenda of Brazilian fans on the shore, they had a megaphone to stimulate the Brazilian surfers, and were so nice, let me stay there, because I was filming the competition. Mr. Sebastian Rojas also was there, and later on, Mr. Carlos Burle - the great big rider -showed up, stayed for while, and when he was leaving I said -
Aí senhor Burle! (Hi, Mr. Burle), he did not know me, but he turned back, and said Hi!
For me, a guy from Rio Grande do Sul(RS) country, it was an honor to know him personally, because he is one of my idols, and also share his posts and "wise sayings" on my Facebook.
pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos Burle
I create my blog, I work with surfing because I love this sport - the most beautiful sport. I do not mind with money, but with the important things that I learned and still have to learn, and with the nice friends that I made in these years. And friendship and knowledge have no "price", they are the most important things we may take from this life...
If God wants, next year 2017 and I will go to my 10th World Championship of Surfing in Brazil!!!
And when the bone healing well the dentist will place a premolar "implant" , the life must keep going on anyway.
Paulo Piqueres
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