Ready to jump on the bus with the backpacks? *meh*
We rented another car this morning after a brief bus trip to the airport with the intention of heading down the coast. The sun was shining brightly and temperatures were good, in the upper 20s. Great success! I was definitely ready for some pristine beaches and some (hopefully) good waves.
Of course, right as we left the city we hit this:
It was absolutely pouring, the worst weather we've had all trip.
Is it too much to ask for one nice day? Rain makes me a sad panda.
When it finally let up enough to see out the windows, we hit the most amazing sight of the whole journey so far, the Dune. This is the sand dune to end all sand dunes. It sits right off the road and rises out of nowhere, a literal mountain of sand.
Yes, those little specks are people. While it's visible from the road, you have to make your way through the forest to actually hit the base of the dune. There is no transition, it just turns from forest to sand.
Getting up the thing was brutal exercise. Every step up went almost all the way back down. Here, my mom bear crawls while others have to stop and rest.
I just really like this picture for its scale and subject. This little boy is fully leaning into the wind which is whipping sand at him at painfully high speeds. It truly feels like you are getting sand blasted.
My shoes got a bit sandy...
My favorite part of the whole experience was running down the massive wall of sand. I just let gravity pull me down at full speed while my legs struggled to keep up. It's too bad it wasn't video taped since I made it down the whole thing in about 6 seconds. A man watching from the bottom stared at me like a crazy person as I zoomed past him. Of course, after I did it, everyone tried. I almost wish I had fallen. That would be have been EPIC.
After driving down the coast a bit, we stopped at a little beach town (INSERT NAME OF TOWN -- RIGHT AFTER LACANAU). The weather wasn't cooperating but their were a couple of kids body boarding the shore break.
In France, you will see many things, including a man simultaneously wearing a sweater and a speedo.
If you disobey the lifeguards they will lynch you from their helicopter.
This just scares me.
After lunch, we made it to our true destination, Hossegor. This town is considered the best surf spot in all of France and they know it. Everything has to do with surfing. Every other shop in town is a surf shop and they have all the big ones (Quicksilver, Billabong, O'Neill, etc). Everyone is dressed in board shorts, brand sweatshirts (it was cold!), and sandals. One store must have had 200 different pairs of sandals on racks outside. It's so commercialized it's scary.
The main break is right out the main road. It was low tide so no one was out since it's a very fast, hollow break that turns into shore break at the extremely low low tides. Even at good tide, the break is in shallow water and breaks pretty heavy. The ambient and water temps are so cold, it's looking like I won't get a chance to surf. Blast!
Random Thought:
The beaches in France are so much prettier than in Southern California (if you can get past the random trash floating in the ocean). They generally haven't developed right up to the sand and therefore don't screw up the beach with sea walls, failed beach replenishments, and all that nonsense. It just feels more natural.
No comments:
Post a Comment