Return to Robinson’s Trail

“Mikala Jones goes running right past us—board under his arm, sunscreen on his face. A photographer is setting up his 600mm. It’s fitting that we’re here in the Galapagos Islands, a place so important to Darwin’s formation of an evolutionary theory. Seals dart around in the lineup. Large lizards dominate the beach. Brutal sun beats down on jagged lava stone. It’s no Garden of Eden, but it’s not a bad place to originate a hypothesis of my own as I watch Mikala catch waves: Does a surfing life evolve or does it only contain the endless repetition of paddling back out?”