31st August

No freak typhoons or martians in site yet and only 3 days to go it's looking like we might have to come back...gutted!!

Our plan to head north and escape the continual downpours in Spain worked well. Hossegor was sunny and the waves were fantastic, although humbling watching 'real surfers' rip it up a few feet away.

The downside to the heat?...JELLYFISH!!! Having not seen any so far, suddenly giant, beach ball sized jellyfish lay up and down the shoreline and the immediate thought of not telling the kids so as to avoid frightening them had to be shelved when a whopper swam right past them whilst they were playing in the shallows! It was enough to put Jasmine out of the water for a few days and Anna into her wetsuit - no matter how hot she was!!!

We moved on from Le Penon pretty quick as whilst I had fun in the big swell it was not ideal for the kids with a big, dumpy shorebreak and with bigger swell on its way (3 metres plus) we decided to head back up to Biscarosse where we had all had some great sessions on the way down.

The good thing about retracing your steps is you know where all the good spots are and a bit of genius route planning ensured a lunchtime stop at Molliets Plage to sample some more moules at the fantastic Cave des Moules. It didn't disappoint! We also put in a quad bike ride and adventure parc stop on the way - check out the photos to see Jasmine harnessed up on various high wire challenges.

We chilled out at Biscarosse for five days - the first couple of which we discovered to our huge dissappointment that it can't handle big swells. Nobody went in the water, the beachside café was in danger of being washed away and the sea was like a giant boiling cauldron!

A little frustrating, but we hung out, cycled around and I even got a couple of evening's kiting in as it was pretty windy, but the rip, the size of my kite and the onshore wind meant a lot of walking back up wind was involved. It was fun though getting out in the waves. The last few days the swell calmed right back down and the waves settled so we got back on the surfboards.

It would seem that French holidays calm right down after the 23rd August, the campsite being way quieter than it had been on our first visit, and the beach being that much quieter, Anna and I even managed to get out on the water together while the kids played on the beach as we felt they were pretty safe where we were and we had a clear view of them.

Our last stop was the kid's choice - Ile de Re. We found a campsite with beach access right next to La Couarde, great little village with some lovely shops and cafes to check out. On this visit to Ile de Re, we checked out top tip from Will Blair about a surf spot on the north of the island. I have to admit I was pretty sceptical when he told me about it as our experience of Ile de Re to date was flat water and definitely NO WAVES!! But we were here for a few days and thought it would be worth the drive up the coast to check it out. After a few wrong turns we eventually drove down this track through the pine trees to a sandy car park full of French cars (don't think you would have found this beach easily without being given a heads up first). We walked over the dune and sure enough were greeted by a small point break with a few surfers on it. It was quiet enough that we actually all went out as a family which was great. Jasmine came out the back with us and we kept an eye on Tom on the inside.

We left Ile de Re and drove to Paris to stay with friends for a few days before catching the ferry. Somehow or other, having avoided any real traffic issues to date - we managed to pick the busiest day of the year to drive into Paris - at rush hour to boot, and the day all the French return from their August holidays - nice work! At 5pm, having left Ile de Re around midday, we took a last, quick toilet stop before we did the last 70km into the city. Having been told by our mates it would take us about half an hour to get to them from there - we were none too thrilled when we rolled up over 4 hours later at about 9.15pm!!! Our mood improved somewhat when presented with a nice cold beer, chicken curry and a sand free bed!

We crammed all our site-seeing into two days - Versailles one day, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees the next! Culture - DONE! The parents will be proud.

So we have made it back now - so nice to be greeted by a lovely Indian summer...NOT! We managed to peel Tom's Fat Face boardies off him (No word of a lie - I think he has had them on every single day for 8 weeks!) and get him into school uniform. The house seems to have survived - though Anna heard a slightly disturbing story from one of our neighbour's about a raving party one weekend where they had all their mates down from London and all our furniture out in the garden?!...oh well - I guess they got their money's worth that week.

Can't believe it's all over - it went so fast and the kids are already asking...when can we go on a surf trip to Devon Daddy?...

 

22nd August

Bonjour! Spain done - back in France. The last week has been fairly testing as the weather has not been good. We can't say we didn't get fair warning as a Spanish friend of ours did say Northern Spain could be very like England in the weather department and I guess this last week we discovered that for ourselves! With the end of our trip looming in the near future we have decided to cut our losses and head away from the Pyrenees and back up the coast of France in search of some warmth, sun and waves for our last couple of weeks.

And now, back to Spain - remember that idyllic life I told you about last time, sitting watching the sunset at Playa de Gerra?... well that was where it all started to go wrong - always a bad idea to gloat!

The next morning we were rudely awakened by a knocking on our window and a gnarly looking Spanish farmer demanding "seis euros" (6 euros) for staying on his field overnight. At first, we pretended not to understand but then decided, for the princely sum of 6 euros and the fact we wanted to surf that morning and come back to a van with all its wheels still intact, it was better to pay up! The French guys next to us however, refused to give in - and a right old barney ensued, which looked like it was going to turn into fisticuffs at one stage! Anyway we left the scene of the crime and after a glassy morning surf and another nice lunch on the hill, we headed up the coast back towards Santander to check out the waves in the Liencres National Park.

As we set off Anna had said she had a bit of indigestion, but we thought nothing of it and arrived at Liencres about 4ish where the beach carpark was absolutely heaving - the most people we had seen since France - I guess it's so close to Santander there are a lot of daytrippers. The waves were big too, seriously big with rocks - so the next task was finding somewhere to stay. And this is where things started to slide downhill fast. For the first time all trip we couldn't find a campsite, and having spent a few nights rough camping, we were pretty desperate for showers and needed to fill the van up with food and water. After a two hour search - and finding the only two sites there just weren't many in the area) full, we headed back to the beach, to the pine trees to have some food as was about 7pm by then and the kids were getting very tetchy. At this point, Anna said she really wasn't feeling so great, and five minutes later disappeared into the woods at a great pace with her hand over her mouth and clutching her stomach. In the meantime, I managed to completely lose the plot with my five year old son, who was being particularly trying and all of a sudden, in the space of 4 hours - paradise seemed like hell!!

We ended up finally getting onto the beach carpark at 8.30pm - the first time a space became available - with me in a foul mood, Anna dying in the front seat (was wondering where the nearest hospital was) and the kids now very quiet as they hadn't liked seeing me lose my cool or seeing their mummy curled up on the front seat in agony.

The one night we could have done with civilisation, we ended up in the noisiest carpark ever - what do people do in beach carparks at 2 in the morning?... (I guess I know - I'm just too old now to remember!!) and then it started to rain...and thunder...and rain loads...and then the lightening came. What an evening to remember!!

In the morning, although Anna was starting to feel more human by now, she felt really washed out, and in need of a shower, so we decided our first priority was to find a campsite. We rang round a few that were in our guide book and it was at this point we discovered (late in the day I know but it had never been a problem until now) you can't book a campsite, so you need to turn up early in the morning to get a place. Hence turning up at 5.30/6pm at night is not a great idea!!

So we hotfooted it to Suances where we managed to squeeze onto a pitch. Not the nicest of campsites, but in the circumstances - great. We spent the day lounging round, Anna recuperating, getting clean and stocked up and then we wandered down to Los Locos beach in the afternoon where we were greeted by the most humongous waves (see photo)! We sat and watched for an hour or so - the locals making it look so easy - and the tourists getting spat back up the beach regularly!!

That night, we had the most almighty thunderstorm and rain...again - and in the morning were woken up by screams and shouts as our neighbours in tents were flooded and making mad panic dashes for their cars!! We did smile a wry smile as we hoped the rain might have fused their televisions which had been playing very loud and very late the night before!!

As the weather continued in the morning, we decided it was an opportune moment to do some school shoe shopping for the kids!! We only get back to England the day before the kids go back to school and with six pairs needed between the two of them - a trip to Decathlon, and the commercial centre outside Santander seemed a good rainy day option!! It turned out to be a pretty successful call, scoring 5 out of the 6 pairs needed - get in!!!

As the waves were so huge around Suances and we couldn't find a beach where all of us could get some action, we decided to head back down to Oyambre and Gerra as it had been so good there - and settled down in the beachside campsite - great spot with the sea, the view from our mezzanine bedroom!!

The plan? - to hole up here, chill out, catch some waves and wait for Ganny and Gamper (Anna's parents) who were coming for a few days at the end of the week). The reality? - a few waves, but pretty crowded on anything decent as the persistent wind and rain meant there was only really one protected corner of the bay any good for surf, no kitesurfing, as the wind in the wrong direction and too far out of the bay and plenty of rain!!. In fact a good drowning was to be had pretty much every day. To top it off - one by one we systematically went down with the same stomach bug Anna had obviously caught - me first, then Tom and Jasmine caught the tail end of it. Oh joy!

On the plus side of this week - we managed to find Ganny and Gamper's hotel and surprised them on the night they arrived in Santillana del Mar. Very swish - and the kid's first words on entering the room were "Wow! They've got a bath, and a toilet with proper loo paper and a TV - that's not fair!! Do you think that Ganny and Gamper will swap with us so we can sleep here and they sleep in the van tonight?" Yeah right!!!

In between the rain and cold we did manage to get to the beach with them the three mornings they were with us as the sun managed to stay for a couple of hours before the grey cloud set in followed by the prolonged rain!! We even have photographic evidence (see photo) of Gamper in action in the waves. His grandson was very proud!!!

The kids loved having them there and totally milked it, getting them to carry their boards, feigning incapability in the water so as to get a tow out through the waves etc etc!! Good luck to them we reckoned, as we knew once the grandparents had gone it would be back to reality and the harsh, cruel world of mummy and daddy!! Anna and I also made good use of the 'babysitters' and went out on the water together for the first time this trip!

After making good use of their shower the night before they left (I think the reception manager of the hotel was pretty unimpressed at the gypsies that kept turning up in his hotel!!) we set off for a night drive back over the border into France in search of some swell and much needed warmth.

It seems to have been a good call, having had a roasting first day at Le Penon, Hossegor and some swell with more forecast - 3 metres plus it would seem!!! Will let you know how that goes down next time of writing, by when we shall probably be home...unless of course for some reason our ferry gets cancelled, a freak typhoon sets in, martians land in our campsite and held us hostage...or whatever other plausible excuse I can come up with by then to prolong our trip!!!!

 

11th August 2008

Hola! That's about the best I can do in Spanish - and Anna, well a few more words than that. So this has been a bit of a different experience to France where Anna got us around very easily. Northern Spain being a predominantly Spanish tourist destination as opposed to receiving lots of other European visitors is not so easy for English speakers as we have discovered. Armed with our Collins pocket dictionary, Anna's distant memory of school Spanish and some good sign language we have more than a few times ordered some food and got something completely different to what we thought we were getting. Sometimes this working in our favour, and sometimes this definitely being a bit of a shock!! It is good to know though, that the Spanish treat foreigners the same way we Brits do - if you look blankly at them they just repeat themselves twice as fast but very loudly as if that'll do the trick!!

We are over half way on our trip now as I write this, and I am sure you are thinking - well all he has told us about is how much fun he is having and how great everything is, surely it can't all be fantastic?...well of course it's not! When my seven year old daughter throws a strop because she hasn't got her own way about something, or Tom decides to be particularly argumentative as is his want at this stage of his life, I do feel smothered by the size of our living space and wonder if I am completely mad spending my precious sabbatical time this way, but then a couple of hours later we will all be sitting outside the van in the evening, after a hard day's activity, enjoying our tuna pasta (again!), all together as a family discussing the best bits of our day, and I think how great it is to actually be having something as simple as supper together every day, something which never happens at home as I get back from work too late.

The van is like a sandpit, our beds are getting pretty crusty, and it's not so nice showering and using a soggy towel to dry yourself with, because you just can't get them dry - but when I see the look of such unadulterated joy on Jasmine's face the first time she stood up and rode in on a wave, or when Tom managed his first 360 on his skimboard, those creature comforts that seem so important back home, just seem so insignificant that I know I have definitely done the right thing coming away and getting to know my kids a whole lot better.

So Spain...how does it differ from France? Firstly - no fresh croissants for breakfast!! An absolute disaster in the eyes of my daughter!! Secondly, the Spanish just don't do campsites like the French. They are really quite grotty, they pack you in like sardines and obviously the "green issue" hasn't really reached here yet. In France you would have to supply your own toilet paper, the showers and sinks etc were all on a push button system to conserve water and recycling bins were everywhere. Not so here and the facilities are far more basic and the people not so friendly. That said, we have found it much easier to free camp here than in France and with the Spanish obviously less paranoid about forest fire than the French we have at last managed to make use of our barbecue that we have been carrying for a month without using!!

Our first stop in Spain was a bit of a shock - a place called Laredo - and one to avoid if you want my advice. We needed to make a stop as the kids had reached the end of their driving tolerability. It looked ok from the guide book but once we got into it was the most hideous, high rise, ugly town, with a campsite that looked more like prisoner cell block H and definitely housed similar looking inmates!! In the 16 hour period we were there (we made it short!) I don't think I saw one person smile. So we hastily departed and headed further west to Somo - home of Errant Surf and Chris Thomson as mentioned before.

We spent five days or so here - a few in a beachside campsite and a few free camping in beachside car parks etc - some good - some not so good. The night we spent next to the skip that the tractors empty the beach rubbish into daily, from about 4am, wasn't the best choice. You'd have thought the big grey thing that smelt bad next door to us would have given us the heads up this wasn't the place to stay, but obviously tiredness had taken over all brain activity that day so we got well and truly caught out!!

Somo is a great place for surfing - and we all had good times surfing here - different banks and peaks down the beach were perfect for all activities and abilities so everyone was happy. Much quieter than any of the French breaks we have been to and with a couple of morning surfs on beautiful glassy waves, we slowed down a bit and managed to chill out onto Spanish time, having spent the last week in France on the move quite a bit.

The Spanish time thing though, it has to be said, has caused a few problems. France was doable as not that different to the UK - but Spain - they live in a whole new world! When you have English kids who are used to waking up with the lark (though they have been sleeping in til 8 here which is a luxury to us!) and no one else seems to appear til 11, it's hard to keep them quiet in the mornings when they are raring to go. Then in the afternoon - everything shuts down between 2 and 5, - and if you fancy going out for dinner in the evening - you need to wait til 8.30pm, even 9pm for the restaurants to start serving! Try telling that to two small starving children, or for that matter, surfed out mums and dads that need food NOW!! So the Fat Face crockery has been getting full use, as to be honest, it's easier having pasta with a variety of sauces (tuna, tomato, tuna, tomato, tuna, tomato!!!) in the van than trying to make four grumbling stomachs wait for hours!

We did a visit to Santander one day. You can get a boat across from Somo, saves dealing with the traffic and parking nightmare and you get a good view of the harbour and the city as you go across. This was an attempt to put some culture into our children's lives as echoes of our parents voices with "you won't just surf for eight weeks will you? You must see some sights, show the children some chateaus and monuments and things won't you?" were starting to get to us and as we had done none in France we thought we ought to make the effort. It turns out however, that our children are as uncouth as us, as having seen a beach and a play area on the walk up to the Palacio de la Magdelena, after a brief "oh that's nice Daddy" there were cries of "can we go the beach now, can we go to the beach now" despite having no swim stuff with us! Pants did the job together with running along the beach after to get dry.

Having felt considerably rested, we decided to move on from Somo - definitely a place to consider for a surf trip and Chris Thomson's set up is great, very friendly and welcoming, and you'll be pleased to know operates the kitchen on surfer's tummy timetables rather than Spanish ones!! We headed off down into Asturias, spent a couple of days around Llanes - a very pretty town where we had a great tapas meal by the river and wandered round the cobbled streets of the old town one night. No surf to be had here, though the beaches set in dramatic, cliff lined coves, accessed down steep, unmade roads were very quiet, and had lots of caves and rockpools for the kids to investigate.

Next stop was the Picos de Europa mountains. What can I say? - absolutely stunning. The drive in was both breathtakingly beautiful and hairy at the same time! The road went through the gorge of La Hermida - so steep-sided that the village itself receives no sunlight from November to April. We were driving on the clearest and brightest day we had had since arriving in Spain, not a cloud in the sky, and the river we were following had crystal clear water flowing over boulders and under very quaint little bridges. All very beautiful for those in the van able to enjoy the scenery, but for the driver - a different story of very narrow, winding road, nightmare overhangs and convoys of lorries (they seem to travel in packs in Spain) coming the other way, on your side of the road to avoid ripping the side off their own vehicles on the overhangs!!

It was worth it though, as we arrived in one piece at Fuente De, the end of the road, and where the cable car is, to take you up to 1900m. The campsite here was an absolute gem (check out the photo of the toilet block to get a feel for it - blue for boys, pink for girls!!) Davy Crocket served us at the reception and then you wended your way down a very narrow, steep track onto your pitch with lovely natural shade and a spectacular view of the mountains. Other worldly really - with the bar/restaurant furniture all made out of old, rough cut logs.

The next day was definitely a day to remember and one of those proud parent moments! We set our alarm (first time all trip and quite a shock let me tell you!) so we could get up the cable car early and avoid the Spanish daytripper brigade. We lurched up the side of the cliffs into cloud and at the top, wondered if we were ever going to see a thing, but after a few minutes the cloud started to lift and an amazing mountaintop landscape was revealed. The griffon vultures were beautiful, soaring around the crags and peaks and we saw mountain goats, horses, donkeys and cattle at various stages along our walk. We walked for 6 hours in total, which included about an hour's worth of snack and lunch stops and covered about 16k in all, down to the valley below and back to our campsite - not bad for a 5 and 7 year old!

The kids were amazing and totally rose to the occasion - not a whine to be heard and it was not easy terrain - very steep in places and plenty of loose gravel and rocks. Two very tired children slept 12 hours that night!!! The next day saw a shorter walk but more technical with a very steep climb up a gorge - the kids again did very well, several Spanish walkers we passed thought we were completely crazy taking them up there - we managed two thirds of the way up but as they were still tired from the day before and the descent was almost trickier than the traverse up, our sensible heads took over and we came back down.

So now we have come back to the coast and are currently parked up on a hill, overlooking Playa de Gerra in the Oyambre National Park, having just had a delicious barbeque after a hard afternoon's surfing and kite flying. The backdrop to this great setting...? The Picos mountains in the distance with the sunset creating fantastic red and orange light over them - now this is the life!

 

4th August 2008

Well we have made it into Spain, with all keys still present and no more run ins with the police - despite passing many police spot checks along the way - there seems to be a much higher police presence in France than at home.

It took us about 2 weeks to make it over the Spanish border and as I write this we are sat outside 'Hosteria De Latas' the home of Errant Surf in Somo - a beautiful place, but more about that next time.

The first stop on this stage of the trip was Biscarosse, as mentioned previously. So… was it the land of milk and honey? Perhaps of milk, but distinctly lacking in the honey!! We found a great campsite just on the edge of town, in the pine forest. The 800m hike over the dunes to the beach everyday was slightly testing, and meant no paddleboarding as that was just too much to carry, but the trade off was some fantastic, uncrowded waves. Having sussed the surf, we headed out to Lac de Cazaux to kitesurf in the afternoon sea breeze. Alas, this is where the honey was seriously missing. Instead of what had been touted as "the perfect place for kitesurfing - great for Anna as a rookie kiter", what we found was utter chaos on the water with a very gusty force 3-4 wind. The wind blows directly on to a 300m strip of beach which is shared by kitesurfers, swimmers, sunbathers, windsurfers and lots of small children. If you could even find a square inch of beach to blow up your kite on and get a launch, you then had to contend with some major testosterone on the water with 4 or 5 of the 15 + kiters out, who insisted on ducking and diving in and out of the small children playing near the shoreline. We really couldn't believe our eyes - or that the French had not banned kiting from this beach yet, as they certainly have from other beaches we've been to along the way. We did try the "secret spot" we were told about further up the lake but that was not much better with no room to launch among the hoards of beginners crashing kites left right and centre. If you're thinking of kiting down this way - definitely pack a large kite as 9m just won't cut the mustard!!

So, having planned to stay here for a week or so, we decided to move on after 4 days to see what could be found further south. Next was Mimizan and then on to Contis Plage, where there is this lighthouse stuck out in the middle of the pine forest - mad! As we headed further south we were really starting to struggle to find good cheap campsites close to the beach so we thought we should change tact and headed a few kilometres in land where we found a 'typical French campsite'. What a breath of fresh air! Though it meant a short drive into the beach in the mornings - it was quiet, really safe for the kids to play, bike around the site and woods, and very relaxing after the hustle and bustle of the busy seaside resorts.

Moliets Plage was a nice place, again we stayed in a French campsite, 5 minutes inland from the beach - much quieter and less commercialised than the big beachside ones. We had some great "moules/frites" here at "Cave des Moules". The continual 20 person+ queue outside it suggested it was the place to be and they had about 10 different choices of how you had them cooked included curried!!

Whilst we had planned to stop at Hossegor and Cap Breton to spend a few days checking out the legendary surf here, we really couldn't stand the crowds or be bothered with the fight for waves as they were so busy, that aside from a great cycle ride and picnic along the river at Cap Breton, we moved slightly further south to a quieter beach that was Ondres Plage. There was a basic camping-car park (or as we like to call these places "let's do trailer park trash tonight honey"!) on the beach that we stayed in and a small seaside shop and bar and not much else. We had a great evening's surf here although Tom was more interested in exploring lizard alley - the beach access path - so called due to the amount of lizards the kids found down it!! And when surfed out, a nice drink at the bar watching the sun go down. The only negative to this beach that we weren't aware of til we got down to the water's edge was that it was a nudist beach, which the kids were less than impressed about! "Look Daddy - that's disgusting - men walking round with no clothes on"!!!

Biarritz was fun - a bit of reminiscing for me and Anna having been there on a trip for Fat Face seven years ago. We had a slightly stressful time finding a campsite - many full and the tourist office helpfully telling us none of them took camper vans! - not true thankfully. We had a lovely meal in the old fishing port, same restaurant we had eaten in last time and on the second day the weather turned very grey and very windy - force 6 and more, and although this was a little disappointing, it had its advantages as with no sunbathers to contend with, we found a parking spot right by the beach and the kids had a great time on a nice gentle longboard wave on the inside at Cote des Basques. We had bought them a secondhand junior surfboard at Biscarosse and they are both getting to grips with standing up. So jealous of them getting such an early start… won't be long before they are outriding me that's for sure!

So from Biarritz we came across the border into Spain - such a total non-event that we didn't even realise we had done it til we stopped in a Spanish service station shortly afterwards! What was noticeable was the complete change of terrain from the endless pine forest and sand dunes of France Atlantique to the sudden hills and mountainous roads cut through rock tunnels of Northern Spain. But I will tell you more about Spain in our next entry.

For now it's just left for me to say that we have had some great surfing in France, Tom has learnt to skimboard (and there's not many other five year olds doing that!) and a paddleboard can serve as a great tandem surfboard for one adult and one child. Stick the child on the front and tell them to hang on tight - the child will tell you it's better than any giant slide ride at Aqualand for thrills and speed!!!! Til next time...hasta luego!

 

28th July 2008

During our first week we have slept in a lorry park, had a run in with the police and lost the van keys... but it's all good!!

We arrived in Dieppe around midnight and, having discovered it was the Le Mans 24 hour race weekend whilst on the ferry (the queue of old sports cars with Le Mans stickers on kind of gave it away!), we changed our plans and decided to try and get south of Le Mans that night. The route out of Dieppe was easy - find an old sports car and follow it!

Unfortunately, things didn't quite go to plan due to 2 grumpy children who couldn't sleep. We needed to find somewhere to stop and we needed to find it quick. We pulled off the motorway into what we then discovered was a lorry stopover and managed to squeeze ourselves in between the trucks! It seemed like a good spot, toilets a short walk away and it was quiet. What we hadn't anticipated was the trucks moving out every 5 minutes from 3am! As we only arrived at 1am - 2 hours sleep was not a great start!!!

First stop was Ile de Re. After the previous night's sleep we felt like we had earned a night in a proper campsite so splashed out (35 euros) on a pitch. Ile de Re is a beautiful island, very flat, with sandy beaches and a great network of cycle tracks ideal for small children. We chilled out there for a couple of days before heading to Ile d'Oleron next door. Another picturesque island with a maze of cycle tracks over flat terrain we took the kids on a great bike ride round the top of the island through St Dennis. By now we were starting to get more of a feel of what this trip might be about; fresh croissants for breakfast, sandy beaches, morning surf sessions, afternoon sea breezes and 8 euro a night municipal "camping-car campsites".

All was going great 'til after an evening's kite session, while we fed the kids parked up alongside the beach, I discovered that I had inadvertently hidden the main set of keys so well I couldn't remember where I had put them!! Whilst this was not too much of a problem in itself as I had the spare van key in the aquapac around my neck, it meant we couldn't unlock the bikes, chained to a tree in the campsite, couldn't unlock the safe, containing money, credit cards etc and we only had 30 odd euros left and were pretty much out of food!!! After turfing everything out of the van and retracing our tracks back to both beaches we had been to that day in search of the missing keys, we went to bed very late and not happy! Me - with myself for being so silly as to lock the spare safe key in the safe, and Anna and the kids because their evening was ruined and I was being a grumpy Daddy! The next morning, I walked (no bikes remember!!) into town to get some breakfast whilst Anna began pulling everything out the van again. We had decided to have another really good look everywhere - how big could a van possibly be?..! and then if we still couldn't find them, perhaps a trip to the police station and the search for someone to break into the safe would be necessary! Whilst I was away and Anna was busy emptying the van like a mad woman in her pyjamas, the municipal police turned up demanding to see our parking ticket. Anna went to get it and discovered in our haste to get back to the beach late the night before to go key searching before it got dark, the ticket had slid down the front of the dashboard. When the policeman tried to help and fished out the ticket, it was the one from the night before!! Now he thought we were trying to pull a fast one and despite Anna's best attempts in French to appease him, he said he would be back to check in 10 minutes. With a bit of ingenuity; duct tape and a nail file, we extracted the correct ticket, satisfied the policeman, and five minutes later I found the keys! Where were they?... In the board bag that Anna had suggested looking in when I first discovered them missing, and I had not as I was convinced they couldn't have been there! I was definitely in the doghouse for a while after that until I sorted out new, separate, hiding places for the spare van key and the spare safe key.

Next stop was Le Gurp, as recommended by Bill at Escape boards. It's a great spot - a long sandy beach with a mellow beach break (perfect for kids and learning to stand up paddleboard), and a large beachfront car park that you can stay in for 48hours. Having arrived in the late afternoon we took the kids boogey boarding before putting them to bed, then Anna and I sat under the awning watching the sunset with an 'any place' cup of wine and decided this was what we imagined the trip would about. Definitely a place to stay for 48 hours, … or so we thought! The good thing about living in a van is you can change your plans quickly. Whilst we will revisit Le Gurp, when the circus moves in to your car park at 6am you know it's time to move on!

So after a morning's play - surfing, starting to get the hang of SUPing, building Barbie castle world in the sand and playing hopscotch (oh the life of a cool surfing Dad!), we are on the move again heading south for Biscarosse, which promises the land of milk and honey for kiting and some more top surf spots... to be continued...

 

21st July 2008

“All men dream, but not equally, those that dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act upon their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible”
T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

I first saw this quote in the front of a mate’s diary 15 years ago. We were on a six month windsurfing trip in Western Australia. The reason I liked it?... because I aspired to be one of those dangerous men, living my dreams!

15 years on and it’s time for another trip. All the travelling I did when I was younger was pretty simple; buy a ticket, shove some kit in a board bag, a few clothes (if they fit in) and then jump on a plane. Two kids and a wife later – this trip was going to take a little more organising – 7 months in fact!

Once we had worked out we wanted to take the kids on a surf trip to Europe during the summer school holidays, all I had to do was secure a sabbatical at work. Fat Face were really supportive, which was a huge relief, as I was a bit nervous I might be committing career suicide.

The next thing to sort was finances and working out a budget. Over the past 7 months we have had many conversations about whether or not this was a good time to do this – (credit crunch, weak pound to the euro, soaring petrol and food costs etc) – but we always came back to the same conclusion. We would probably not get another chance to do something like this for another 15 years or more, the kids were a perfect age (7 and 5)and life was for living NOW, as you never quite know what’s around the corner.

We came up with the idea of renting the house out while we were away to bring in some income to help offset the lack of salary for two months! A holiday letting company agreed to take us on and after completing a few legal bits and pieces, we sat and waited with baited breath – hoping people would want to come and holiday in West Sussex. It proved to be a fantastic idea, as here we are, ready to go and the house is fully booked for the summer. A nice cash injection and a great relief, as finances in other areas hadn’t quite gone to plan... What started out as a simple plan to upgrade our current VW van with a long wheel base one and get it professionally converted, turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Having sold our old van in less than 24 hours it took us two months to find a new one! When we did eventually find one (through www.vansforwork.co.uk), of course it cost more than we had budgeted for, but time was running out for our slot with the conversion company and we went for it, telling ourselves it was an investment, and something we would use for many years to come, not just this trip.

Then the conversion (done by Action Vans) was slowed by suppliers letting them down, most of the components coming from Germany. Action Vans did a great job of chasing to get it all ready. Yet again our budget had gone a bit off course. All of a sudden, that idea of letting out the house turned out to be a stroke of genius and a much needed funds provider!

So here I am, two days to go, Anna is frantically packing up the house and I am busy tying up everything at work. Friends keep asking us if we are organised, have we got all our stuff ready to take etc etc, but the funny thing is – what we are taking is the least of our worries as I find myself back where I was 15 years ago, (luckily with a wife who has the same mindset) shoving the various surf kit in the van first – and the clothes in last – if they fit!!!

There isn’t that much space so we can’t take much anyway (windsurfing kit has already become a casualty) – the harder bit is packing away all our personal things in the house and sprucing it up for our first guests next Saturday. The kids are totally over excited, thankfully they are at school right up until a few hours before we catch the ferry or I think they might implode! Somehow I still have to negotiate the “I need to take all my teddies Daddy or I won’t be able to sleep” issue!

We have kite boards, surfboards, body boards, paddleboard and bikes – reckon that should be enough toys to keep us entertained. I am trying to make the most of the last few nights in a comfy bed but it’s hard as the excitement is starting to take hold.

Newhaven to Dieppe Thursday evening, quick pit stop in Le Mans then it’s straight down to La Rochelle, to check out the beaches on Ile de Re and Ile d’Oleron for the first few days.