Jordy Smith, Back in Cape Town, South Africa

“The waves have been small since we got here,” says photog Ryan Miller of Cape Town, South Africa. “Everything else is borderline amazing though. (Jordy’s buddy) Laces’ house is off the charts, the weather is beautiful and the food is like an orgasm in my mouth.”

After spending a coupla weeks in Australia for the Quiksilver Pro, Jordy decided to use the lengthy (six week) break between the Gold Coast and the Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach, to jet home and see his family and new gal. Miller punched over there too, to shoot some photos and enjoy the fruits of Cape Town. Miller says he’s surfed more in the last two days in Cape Town than he did in two weeks on the Gold Coast, but that he managed to break the fin box outta one of Jordy’s boards, which wasn’t rad.

Driving Miller from the airport recently while he was in Australia, we discussed Cape Town and how underrated it is as paradise – food is excellent and cheap, and many restaurants sit right down on the beach. Well, maybe it’s just a great place to eat. One thing Miller has trouble getting his head around is the temperature difference: “The water temp is 10 C and the air temp is 38 C. Trying to figure out how to put cold water wax on a board in that heat is beyond me.”

Though Miller described this shot as “pretty heinous”, we still think it’s cool – people relaxing on the beach in trunks n’ bathers, hiding from the strong sun in tents, then there’s Jordy in a full-length steamer throwing his fins over the murky green shorebreak. Welcome to Cape Town.