Pollution // The hidden face of Maldives

Hello there! Sorry, it's been a long time since last post, but I've been busy... ehm... surfing. But what is a surf blog without surfing, eh? 

Spring swells have been consistent lately and blessed us with some longboard clean peelers and offshore winds. What else could we ask for? 

But today I'm here to talk about some important issues: water and beach pollution and marine litter. Some time ago I was talking with a surfer friend of mine who had recently come back from a surf trip to Maldives. A dream come true! But as usual, often Paradise has a dark face, hidden under a layer of golden sparkles.

Looking at his pictures, I could understand that even in this dreamy place something was wrong: a beautiful tropical landscape was the background of piles and piles of trash that had been dumped on local beaches like no-one cared. But we do and today Andrea is here to show us the hidden face of Maldives and explain what we should do to prevent what's going on in there.

How to be a green(er) surfer

For us surfers having a environmental friendly attitude toward life is not only a good habit or a new trend to follow, but also a real need. Every inland garbage, every chemical, every trash we see on the streets will inevitably end up in the ocean, polluting the water and becoming dangerous to our health.

Bacteria can turn into infections, sickness and other unpleasant diseases and the idea of getting my health at risk while doing what I love the most is not appealing. But no-one is saying we should give up and find something else to do. Everyone of us can make even the smallest act everyday and be the change, not only for our planet (let's think big!) and for our health, but also for our overall surf experience.

Here are some tips to become a green(er) surfer. The change doesn't need to be radical - little by little we can learn how to reduce our ecological footprint, preserve the ocean and protect the surf spots as long as possible.

Why not start the new year the best way?

#ecotips // Ocean Initatives 2016

This past weekend was the official launch of the 21st edition of the Ocean Initiatives! Every year Surfrider Foundation Europe organises actions in more than 34 countries all over Europe to raise awareness about the problem of marine litter by organizing litter collections at beaches, lakes, rivers, and seabeds.

For the ones who don't know the NGO, Surfrider Foundation Europe, brainchild of the three times World Surfing Champion Tom Curren, is a non-profit organization born in 1990 in Biarritz with the mission of protecting, preserving, enhancing and managing in a sustainable way oceans, coasts, waves and all those who enjoy them. It gathers today over 9,000 members in Europe and is represented in 14 countries through its chapters of volunteers.

But what exactly are the Ocean Initiatives and why should everyone participate?

Ecotips // How to avoid packaging

I am so excited! This is my first Ecotips post and I cannot wait to share with you some useful everyday tips that will make our life a bit greener :) As I told you some days ago, on this new year I am really trying to improve my life following a greener path and I hope you'll join me in this exciting journey!

As you know, the omnipresence of plastic and all sort of packaging is a HUGE problem when we talk about water pollution, trash dumping and micro-plastics in out oceans. What we don't always realize is that some little acts everyday can REALLY change things the better way. Even when we think that our actions are just a little drop in the ocean, we have to understand that together we are the ocean! And together we can do great things!

Today I am sharing some of my eco-tips to avoid packaging everyday. I am already putting them into practice! And I have to say that, if at first I was a bit scared, in the end it's easier than you can imagine :)