Sea Urchins, Left Points and Good Times in Chile With Nate Florence and Mr. Cool

There are over 2,000 volcanoes in Chile. It's also home to the driest place on earth, as well as the world's largest swimming pool. None of that is what Nate and Ivan Florence disappeared to the furthest reaches of South America.

While big brother John John Florence has had designs on winning his third world title, Nate and Ivan, aka Mr. Cool, have been adventuring. It's pretty much what they do. Nate took a break from the Slab Tour and being named Waterman of the Year by the Surf Industry Members Association to join Mr. Cool down in Chile.

From what we can gather, a heavily bearded Ivan has been in the wilderness down there, hiking the mountains, laying down fresh tracks on a snowboard, and enjoying everything that Chile has to offer. When Nate enters the picture to two of them promptly get after some long, tapered left-hand point waves. Fun and playful, it looks like an everyman's dream lineup.

Then it's onto culinary adventures in the form of fresh, raw urchins straight from the sea. Now, Nate doesn't seem to hesitate one bit when it comes to scratching into some of the heaviest waves on the planet, but crack open an urchin and he seems a little timid. Ultimately him and Ivan have no problem throwing the orange insides down their gullet, but it seems to have taken a minute to acclimate to the idea.

Chile's long captured the imagination of surfers, especially goofy-footers, and after palling around with Nate and Mr. Cool for a bit, it's a good reminder of just how special a place it is. Organic, happy and healthy, it's good living down there.

Related: John John Florence Claims Third World Title, Wins 2024 WSL Finals