We Had No Idea Pacha Light Was Ecuadorian

Pacha Light is an emerging Australian surf starlet, or so we thought. 

Turns out, the 19-year-old was born in the South American country of Ecuador, where she lived until the age of 7. In this time, Pacha led a drastically different life to the one leads now on Australia’s Gold Coast. 

Living high in the mountains in a mud-floored hut, Pacha (short for ‘Pacha Mama’, which means ‘Mother Earth’ in the indigenous language of Kichwa) could only reach the main beach town by taking a two-hour bus ride through bumpy, unpaved roads. As a child, she spent most of her time frolicking through the jungle, and perhaps assisting with her family’s organic coffee farm. 

Besides a heart-warming family reunion, this episode of Billabong’s ‘Home’ series also features the beautiful and mouthwateringly empty beach breaks of Ecuador. Who among us wouldn’t trade a pound of flesh for a week of waves like that right now?