click this for all the pics

I’ve still got sand in my shoes!!! But I am back home and no need to feel sorry, the trip I had was incredible!!! After saying goodbye to my girlfriend I left in my 1984 blue Volkswagen Transporter. The feelings I experienced were of different types. First of all I was really happy and excited to go, I had planned the trip for quite some time. On the other hand I was a bit sad for leaving Patricia at the train station. My first stop would be after a short 5 kilometer drive. Moments after ringing the doorbell at his parents house Jeri’s mom opened the door. She let my in and I went upstairs. Jeri was ready, bags packed, board in the corner, and the video camera was on the table charged and ready! We packed the car and left, first some diesel in the tank and we put on my chilly peppers cd;“let us go out, let us check the surf, …… we’ve got food and supplies”. Was sounding in our ears!!

So of we went. Heading for Domburg, there we had to park the car in a side street since it is not allowed in Holland to sleep in your car during the night. No waves, so we decided to head on for Belgium. In Belgium also no swell and we drove on to a small place just above Le Havre. Etretrat was my first surfspot after two days of driving!! To much wind, choppy waves, nobody out in the water but I decided to go in anyway. A spot for yourself is not what you’ll find everyday you know!! A young bodyboarder saw us and went home to get his stuff. At least somebody out there!! The waves were fair-sized and it was lots of fun to be out there!! I caught a few nice one’s and Jeri was on the beach shooting some film!! Jeri by the way dislocated his shoulder just a week before we left so he was unable to surf for at least two more weeks, that sucked, It would have been so much fun to be out there together!! But on the other hand, now we have a cool film about the trip. The next day and a next place, I’ll make it a bit shorter now, I went in, had some nice rides, went back to the beach, wetsuit still wrapped around my legs, into the car, driving to the next spot and paddle out again!! You can imagine my shoulders were wracked after this day!!

The next week I surfed everyday, the waves were perfect, well, for me that is. Not to big, not to small, pretty fast but not to hollow. Before we knew it we were in Biaritz, beautiful city, nice buildings and nice waves, to bad locals and about sixty or seventy tourist on one break dominate the line up!! But go with the flow and just let yourself getting dragged out by the small rip next to the rocks. On the other hand just one beach further there were only two surfers!! So I went out there one morning and paddled over to them, before I knew it they paddled back halfway to the beach. Jeri was a bit later and was filming us. I realized I got stuck in a current and was drifting out to the ocean. Scary shit but I tried to stay cool and just paddle slowly, with not to much effort (I thought I could use that later) sideways and then to the beach. But nothing worked, the waves were not breaking so far out and I didn’t see the end of the rip!! Now I was getting really nervous! My shoulders were tired, my back started to hurt, my calves were cramped from the tension of my muscles. I decided to sit up and wait for 5 minutes. In the mean while I looked at the other two surfers getting waves just 50 meters in front of me!! I checked the time and realized I was struggling for 30 minutes already!! Just when I wanted to start trying again one of the local surfers whistled and pointed to the right. I waved at him and started into the direction he had just pointed to. At least I was moving now, sideways in opposite direction as before, with hope because they were keeping an eye on me. He whistled again and I was heading for the beach now. I’m almost there I thought, but not quite yet!! Now waving the other direction I was paddling sideways to the left. Zigzag behind the break the rip was shaped like an S turn. And I was paddling in the wrong direction all the time! Anyway, I arrived next to the local and I thanked him for helping me out. “it happens every other day hahahaha” he replied. “Sometimes we have to call the helicopter, so you should consider yourself lucky!!” He said they would keep an eye on me now and that I had to catch some big one’s. Something I didn’t feel like right then but I did anyway. I surfed two waves and went back to the shore. On top of the stairs Jeri was waiting, “though out there huh?” “yes” I replied, he didn’t’ realize what I had been going through! I guess nobody did on the beach, that’s scary!!! The next couple of days I was really nervous paddling out, for the first time since years I was scared going out there. But I think fear is a good thing, it makes you pay more attention, it sharpens you, you are more ready, it’s like an extra sense, for safety! Now I always check the currents first, look at the rip, where do the waves break? What is going on etc. etc.

Another week later we were ready to spend a week in a enormous villa in the golf section of Lacanau. I picked up Patricia from the airport in Bordeaux and we met Erwin Joyce and Jeri at the beach, the house was the best! I could do all my laundry, put stuff in the dishwasher and take a hot shower and a bath for the first time in three weeks. We jumped into the swimming pool and used all the facilities to the maximum for the whole week. Every morning I got up early to make coffee and wake the guys up, went to the beach, check the surf, surf most of the mornings and drive back to the villa where the girls just woke up from there beauty sleep. Had breakfast and went back to the beach, relaxed!!! We had the best week ever!!

After driving Patricia to Bordeaux I went with my parents to Mimizan, Messanges, Hossegor and Capbreton. We really had a great time. I surfed almost every day. My dad went to buy bread every morning. We had dinner together drank beer at night, had more than enough time to talk about everything and were kind of lazy for a whole week.

Three more weeks to go and now I was traveling with Tim, great company!! We went jogging every other day, drove to Spain, drove back, drove and drove and in between we went surfing, as the waves would allow us to. One whole week without substantiate swell, damn!! We met a British couple. They were the friendliest ever!! Dave surfed since the 70’s and could not stop telling us the greatest stories ever! He was surfing in France when almost nobody else did!!

Of course we had some stories of our own to tell, for example this one. In some unnamed spot we had to drive down a small road where the car just fitted on, we drove slowly for half a kilometer and couldn’t back out anymore, then around the corner all of a sudden we saw this triangular sign saying steep hill, 18%!!!! Aaaahhhh, shit!! But we decided to go on anyway! A steep S shape curve came up next and I wondered if we would ever get back up here. But we made it down in one piece. The biggest problem however was not the hill, but it was the fact that the beach was facing the wrong direction and didn’t pick up any waves!! So we had to drive up!! In first gear slowly and carefully we drove the first part up, no problem. But as soon as the sharp S turn came up we were in trouble, we had to take out the speed in order to make it through the first part, but then we wouldn’t have enough speed to go up the second part!! We managed the first curb, but as soon as we were in the second the road got steeper, the tires started to spin, the smell of burning rubber penetrating through the windows. With Tim about to get out of the car to push the tires started to get more grip, the van starts shaking first, then starts rolling and finally we move!! We are so happy!!! We’ve made it!! So next time we see a steep road, first check it out by foot!!

The more north we drove the colder it got, no swell and at night nothing to do anymore in this time of October we decided to go back home. Through France, Belgium and the south of Holland we were back in Amsterdam. The car made it, I had a wonderful time traveling, a period witch gave me a lot of experience and new input!! Now while I’m writing this story I’m in Switzerland enjoining some great times with Patricia. Next week I start working again, safe some money, planning my next trip, whereto? I don’t know, anyplace anytime anywhere!!!

Live your dreams, don’t dream your life!!!

Maarten