Far from Paris - some 15.000 kilometers and 16 hours of flight - in a place where the waves leave you breathless, these days the Olympic spirit also lives...
The surfing competition at the Olympic Games brings the exotic, especially when it is held in the South Pacific - at the famous place for this sport Taehupou on the island of Tahiti.
While Paris sleeps in French Polynesia, which is closer to New Zealand and Australia than France, brave girls and boys fight for Olympic glory.
"Here we compete on the most beautiful, but also the most dangerous waves in the world," described Jolanda Hopkins, the Portuguese representative in this sport.
The part where the waves are calmer is home to a cruise ship, the local version of the Olympic village - and the competitors seem to be happier than those in Paris.
"I think our village in Tahiti is better than the real one in Paris," said surfer Kanoa Igarashi from Japan, according to the AP.
German surfer Tim Elter posted on social networks the view of the sea from his cabin, jokingly showing his bed, which he says is not made of cardboard, like the ones athletes sleep on in Paris.
Bonus video:
