Olympic surfing threatens Tahiti's nature-loving way of life. Now locals are fighting back
Peva Levy said he felt a powerful, natural energy known as “mana” when he surfed Teahupo'o’s waves on a piece of plywood for the first time. He rushed down a crumbling white surf in front of an untouched volcanic beach. This was several years before the steady streams of surfers started arriving when the village got its first asphalt road over fifty years ago. “It was a secret spot,” the surfer and Tahitian native remembered, as he stood on the pristine beaches of Teahupo’o on the island’s south side, waves crashing off in the distance. “But it was not a secret spot for a long time.” Teahupo'o...