"There were amazing waves this swell, just not many of them," Rusty Long (pictured) said. "Definitely had swells over the years of similar size where there was an abundance of sets like the good ones this swell. So, overall opportunities were fewer this swell than others, but they were out there." Photo: Edwin Morales

"Positioning is always a challenge," Long continued. "With the rips, the shifting peaks, the power coming together in these bowls, you really have to constantly be adjusting and predicting where to be. It's easy to get lost or be just off position, which can easily lead to big spills." Photo: Edwin Morales

Meanwhile, a few countries south, this Outer Reef in Nicaragua put on its best Cloudbreak impression. Photo: Roberto Garcia

Zicatela stalwart Will Dillon sets his edge and puts some serious faith in his fins. "Puerto is unique in that you never ride as many waves as other places, but the ones you do have the potential to be rides of a life," Long said. "There's something about that lack of abundance and effort it takes to get a really good one that makes them feel that much sweeter." Photo: Edwin Morales

"On Saturday, there was a lot of happening on the beach and out in the water -- it was a show!" said longtime Puerto kingpin Coco Nogales. "We had great surfers from all over and every one wanted to see them charge. Of course the local guys were out there charging as well -- Oscar Moncada (pictured) represented as always with his tuberiding knowledge." Sequence: Edwin Morales

Meanwhile, a couple continents south, Kohl Christensen, Danilo Couto, Ben Wilkinson and others joined a hearty crew of locals for a solid session at El Buey in Arica, Chile. Photo: Rodrigo Farias Moreno

Gabriel Villaran was one of the many guys who flew up after the Pico Alto contest, and many guys were claiming this as one of the waves of the day, right up there with Dorian's freefall. "Villaran got a really good wave, coming out with the spit and whitewater," said Nogales. "It was sick!" Photo: Edwin Morales; Video: Jaciel Santiago

Playa Grande, Costa Rica shows a softer, gentler, more approachable face with the swell. Photo: Steve Lippman

Greg Long, tracking down the line while a poor soul eats a giant can of whitewater soup for breakfast behind him. "Conditions were nice," said brother Rusty. "Good offshore wind. The water was brown from a heavy downpour the evening before the swell though, so aesthetically that could have been nicer. But we were stoked with the clean surface conditions." Photo: Edwin Morales

Surfline's Kevin Wallis: "This swell was thanks to a very sizable, slow moving storm that spun up in the southeast Pacific late in June and took an excellent track toward breaks from Peru to Cabo. In addition, the storm had a strong area of high pressure on its western flank, and this high/low combo bred a wide fetch of satellite confirmed 45-55 knot wind and seas of 40 to 45 feet."

"I was really stoked for Angelo (Lozano, pictured)," Rusty said. "He surfed great all swell and got a bomb left on Sunday morning to top things off. It was that same late morning flurry I got my wave and I was next to him when he whipped it on it. There was so much power and water drawing into that wave and he was under the ledge. It was utmost commitment on his part and he nailed it." Photo: Edwin Morales

While a few dozen of the world's best big-wave surfers descended on Puerto, places like Pavones in Costa Rica saw a whole bunch of the rest of the world show up to enjoy some evenly tapered lines. Photo: Casey Rossi

"This swell was incredible on Saturday with great conditions till 3pm," Mex tubehound Brian Conley said. "It was big: 10- to 15-foot-plus bombs slabbing up on the sandbars. I had two great waves that made my day! With a lot of patience at the beachbreak, eventually the elements will come together and make a perfect gnarly hollow wave." Video: Chad Stickney/hcwhousings.com

The day after the Billabong Pico Alto, there was a local contest at Lima's best left point, Herradura. The event was started a decade ago to raise awareness about Herradura's possible destruction from a local construction project. One can bet lvaro Malpartida here is especially stoked this isn't a marina. Photo: Javier Larrea

Mostly, it was a paddle-only affair, but there were a few tow bombs ridden over the course of the weekend. Raul Haro, not a small wave. Photo: Edwin Morales

How do locals prepare for such a giant, well-forecast swell? "I get bit anxious because you know something big is on the way," said Nogales. "It's something you live for, but you don't know what's really gonna happen. And all you wish is to get the wave you're looking for. But a lot of things go through your mind, so you have to keep it calm." Photo: Edwin Morales

Brazilian Pipe charger Ricardo Dos Santos grabs a beefy rail to lean into a beefier wave. "There was more good surfers here for this swell than I've ever seen," Rusty said. "Nearly everything mental that came in quite a few people were contending for. It makes it trickier, as anywhere when it's more crowded. It also keeps the collective desire to really charge higher. You could feel that." Photo: Edwin Morales

While Herradura was going off for the local contest, this secret left close to Lima was doing similar things with far fewer eyes on it. Photo: Gonzalo Barandiaran

"It was insane!" said Nils Schweizer of this Mexican beachbreak. "I haven't seen it that big and perfect since '06 when they had the Search comp at Barra. Huge A-frames coming in and barreling perfectly both ways! It's hard to imagine that waves can be that big and that perfect. It was quite a site to see." Photo: Mark Kronenmeyer

"Angelo Lozano (pictured) definitely got some of the best rides of the day -- two insane lefts," said Nogales. Sequence: Edwin Morales

Everything looks great until it doesn't. What we mean is: Watch the video. Here's what Billy Kemper said: "Hands down the worst and scariest wipeout of my life. I'm OK, just got sooo pounded and have a sore body. Shane was claiming it was the heaviest wipeout he's ever seen out there." Photo: Edwin Morales

"On the big day, I could only find one solid bomb," said Nogales (pictured). "In the end, I didn't make it -- but I got to pull into a very big barrel. And got pounded very hard -- so hard that it pulled the life vest right off me. It was heavy." Photo: Edwin Morales

"After the Pico Alto event, three Santa Cruz surfers -- Shawn Dollar, Ryan Augenstein, and Tyler Fox -- were unable to catch a flight to Puerto," SC-based photog Nikki Brooks said. "So they opted to spend their time chasing the swell to northern Peru the day after the contest, to the world's longest left. They may have missed out on some super bomb Puerto shacks, but reaped the rewards of several hundred-yard lefts." Photo: Nikki Brooks

Anyone wonder where Healey went? Swell like this, straight to Puerto, and straight into he-man-sized caves like this one. Photo: Lucano Hinkle

This Nica reef looks easier than it is. (And it doesn't look very easy.) It's the same spot Oliver Kurtz, Koa Smith and Luke Davis scored a couple months back. “Without a doubt, this was the most challenging and scary wave I’ve ever surfed,” Kurtz said at the time. This swell it was a bit bigger, and according to locals, Manuel Resano here was the only guy who was making his paddle-in waves. Photo: Rick Briggs

"There was a lot of wipeouts," Nogales said. "Crazy wipeouts! Scary. A lot of broken boards, but good thing it was just boards and not people." San Diego surfer Andres Flores, AKA "Mustard" hits eject. Video: Jaciel Santiago

Skis are used more for rescues than tow-ins these days. Local charger Celestino Rodriguez is stoked on the ride. Photo: Edwin Morales

"The swell was really heavy, most the waves seemed really doubled-up and moving super fast," said Derek Dunfee (pictured). "I only caught one wave in five hours, but it was one of the best tubes I've had in a long time. The lineup was pretty crowded but that pushed everyone to catch more waves." Photo: Lucano Hinkle

While a whole bunch of commotion was going down at Playa Zicatela, Puerto's left point -- appropriately named "La Punta" -- had a few beautiful quiet moments to itself. Photo: Edwin Morales