France

North/West France

Bonjour! oui oui we are in France! Arrive in a small French campground in a small French village across the border outside Rouen. No tourists, when we said in our best French "hello we are Australian, we don't speak French do you speak English" he said no...... we hadn't really planned on that sooo back to French 101 lessons in the van.

What’s the French word for freakin freezing? Wake to ice on the windows and frost on the ground. It was -1' outside which essentially means inside too. We have spent far too many hours trying to refill our gas bottle which now appears impossible. Stopped by Le Mont St Michael a medieval abbey perched on a giant rock that well just doesn’t seem to belong, you can see it jutting out on the coast for kilometers, yet another impressive piece of history and architecture ruined by shops, next to shops next to shops selling tacky souvenirs and scary looking kebabs and waffles.

Crozon peninsula is next, this was meant to be our first taste of surf but absolutely no swell around just a beautiful coastline. Instead we had to settle for reading books in the sun by the beach, having our first zero money spent day and eating fresh baguettes (less than one euro so doesn’t count). We are trying to wake up early which essentially means 8:30am (what’s the point if the sun hasn’t even cracked a few rays). We just can’t get over the 7m tides here, at low tide the beach looks a little something like Kirra does all the time

Onto Quiberon, this stretch of coast rivals the great ocean road. Unspoilt, rugged and rocky, with kilometers of walking tracks. Yet again no swell, we find one break that is barely surfable but a lot of keen as a bean Frenchies have too, plus our van is too high to get under all the height restriction bars that seem to be way too popular on this stretch of coast so we give it a miss. Onto bottle number 4 of French Bordeaux wine so we’ve started to rank them!

Then comes a day we’d rather forget in Les Sables. Narrow streets, incorrect GPS co-ordinates , 4 hours of searching for a place to stay followed by divorce papers being drawn up, Lou was forced to eat McDonalds for dinner which wasn’t pretty, being pulled over by some kind of SWAT team and ending in a restless night spent sleeping in a golf resort car park. We didn’t actually end up seeing Les Sables after all.

Central west coast

Arrive in Le Tranche, we have been in the town no more than 10 mins and Lou buys a surfboard, hot pink ex rental with a cheesy “surf rocket” written on it. Paul reckons he’s still man enough to surf it! We try out the new board just down the road at Longeville sur mer. Meet a lovely Welsh couple Andy and Katie and can’t forget captain their dog, we spend a couple of days parked at the entrance to the beach, surfing, cycling, playing frisbee, drinking wine (1.45 Euro for 1 litre) and playing cards with new friends (more of the latter if we are honest.)

Spend a night in Soulac Sur mer, this is yet another ghost town in the winter months. We think that daylight savings has changed but there is no-one around to ask. Then onto Lacanau ocean which is a fantastic town with slightly more activity than the previous coastal towns. Incredible sunset, spend two days camping next to a pine tree forest. Becoming very intimate with surfboard as it sleeps with us every night. The surf is huge and wild, winds onshore, did someone say washing machine?

South West France

The Atlantic Ocean washing machine look is getting a little tiring. It’s time to do some weather analysis ….3 hours of internet, a cup of coffee and a choc croissant later we emerge from a café. With hopeful hearts we are heading to Hossegor to wait for some promising surf!

We’ve hit camping jackpot in Capbreton just 5 minutes south of Hossegor. We are in a carpark right behind the beach there is electricity hook up and water, a public toilet for Lou, a bread van rather obnoxiously honks it’s horn every morning and the whole thing cost 6 Euro. We sit up on the top of the sand dunes with views of some impressive war bunkers and a magical sunset. A couple of days go by like this and every day the surf looks better, we string up an outdoor shower (what more could a girl want). Then came the day the god of surf made Paul happy; the beach break infront of our camping heaven turns on big, perfect, heavy, barreling waves. Paul, ever the supportive husband takes a break from massive waves to watch Lou on much smaller ones. We cycle into town Paul carrying Lou’s board under one arm Lou cycles closely behind in full steamer wetsuit. What a team! What a sight!

All good things must come to an end, the bread van didn’t arrive one morning but a hail storm did so we packed up and headed over the border to San Sebastian Spain.

What have we learnt

1. Never go bushwalking on a Sunday (it’s hunting day).
2. It is possible to love choc croissants more everyday
3. Opening hours are flexible and unreliable.
4. They don’t all wear black and white striped shirts just like we don’t ride to work on kangaroos
5. If in France -speak french damnit!
6. “It is not possible” means –bugger off tourist!
7. The biggest danger in France is stepping in Dog poo.

Biarritz 1

Andy and Katie LaTranche France

Biarritz 2

Biarritz 3

Biarritz 4

Biarritz 5

camping spot in Lacanau Ocean

Capbreton afternoon glass off

Capbreton Beach looking towards Hossegor

Capbreton Beachie 3

Capbreton Beachie and someone with a sore head

City Transport in Hossegor France

Hossegor beachfront camping views

Hossegor beachies 2

Hossegor Capbreton  beachies - smoking!

Hossegor Capbreton beachies

Hossegor out of control in big swell

Lacanau Ocean beachfront France

Lacanau Ocean sunset France

Lou checking out the surf

Lou wishes this is her

Lou with her new board

The driver and co-driver of the red van

Uncrowded morning session in Hossegor in front of camp site

Unknown in Capbreton Beachie

Unknown tucked into a barrel in Hossegor

Yes bodyboaders still get dropped in on in France