Surfing in Wine Country

Introduction

On November 27, 2020, Vocal.Media issued a Request For Itineraries (RFI) for future solo trips. It is my pleasure to submit my Surfing in Wine Country itinerary for my as-soon-as-reasonably-possible France trip.

As discussed in the RFI, the objective of this blog post is to share my ideal itinerary for the solo travel trip of my dreams or a trip that’s already in the works; for me, this is France. This answer shouldn’t surprise anyone as the country is full of iconic landmarks, rich culture, and wine. These are all things I plan to include in my itinerary; however, I have a much more specific goal in mind... To surf in the southwest of France!

My itinerary will follow a few assumptions to tie up any loose ends and fill any plot holes that might be discovered as you read along. The assumptions are as follows:

• The trip will be condensed into 1 month of travel time;
• The trip will take place in the spring;
• Relaxation will be prioritized over adventure;
• The cost/budget will not be discussed, though considered reasonable (by me); and
• I am travelling alone.

Background

Before we get into the meat and potatoes; let’s give some background to the situation:

• I am a 25 year old male living in Calgary, Alberta.
• I’ve taken up practicing french with Duolingo during the pandemic.
• When I was 21; I studied in Australia for 4-months living in Perth, Western Australia.
• When I was 23; I spent 1-month travelling through Southeast Asia (Thailand, Singapore, and Bali) with a childhood companion.
• When I was 24; I spent 1-month travelling Costa Rica by myself.

By no means a backpacking veteran, I’ve been fortunate enough to pick up the hobby of exploring the world. We’ll spend a moment discussing my last trip to Costa Rica as it makes my Surfing in Wine Country my second solo trip!

It was the end of November / beginning of December; I spent the first week at a surf camp outside of Tamarindo, ventured into the mountains (Monteverde and La Fortuna) for some classic tourism adventure (i.e. zip-lining), then back to Tamarindo to ride out the rest of my trip in the waves.

I had surfed before in Bali but only in the whitewash (the bubbly part of the wave); Costa Rica was, in many ways, a re-introduction to surfing. I fell in love with it. The surf camp I stayed at provided a rental board (with all the bells and whistles) and an instructor. We’d go surfing every day, hang-out in town, and have family dinners every night. I learned much about the sport and culture (I also read Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnigan; a detailed account of a young man’s worldly travels rich with surfing cultural references and explanations).

One of the things I found most challenging travelling in Central America, was the language barrier. My trips pre-dating Costa Rica were full of English and didn’t seem to be an obstacle when travelling with others; depending on myself, I discovered a weakness I had. The more travellers I met, the more I realized I was in the minority only knowing English. It’s not like I’m completely confined to English, like most Canadians, I took French in school. And like most Canadians west of Toronto, I dropped out of French classes as soon as it wasn’t a mandatory class. So I decided french was a good starting point and that my next solo trip would be to France.

Itinerary

The first thing on my list (and this should be an obvious one) is; Paris! It’s known as the city of lights, the city of love, and surprisingly, the city with amazing water treatment and distribution systems. I’ve always been fascinated with observing how different cities around the world achieve the same goal with different methods. This can be as large a scale as to how they generate energy (fossil fuels, renewables, nuclear, etc.), or as subtle as what they put in their water. Legend has it, the city of Paris is littered with water fountains; some tell tales of carbonated water leaking from taps for the public's enjoyment.

My plan is to be in Paris for only a few days; enough to see the city and hunt down these sparkling water fountains. Maybe play some pokemon go, who knows. Here are a few things I plan to hit up during my stay:

• The Eiffel Tower (obviously);
• The Louvre Museum;
• Pont des Arts (the love locks bridge); and
• Some old churches (not really religious, just a fan of the architecture).

As this is a surf trip, I’d like to limit my time in the Cities. Paris, combined with the next stop on my itinerary will take up approximately 1-week of my travel time.

Once I’ve had all the sparkling water I can hold, I’ll bus/train heading south for Bordeaux. I’m not actually very familiar with the city and will likely need to do more research closer to this s-soon-as-reasonably-possible France trip. Funny story; the first time I heard of this city was actually from Duolingo (teaching me french and geography, way to go).

From what I can tell, Bordeaux is still a beautiful place with much to offer. Keeping this list brief; some things I plan to check out are as follows:

• Multiple Wineries (like enough that I lose count);
• More old churches (gotta get that architecture fix); and
• La Cite du Vin (a beautiful piece of architecture celebrating all things wine; best of both worlds).

I know this is incredibly basic when discussed with respect to France; but, I am going to drink so much wine in Bordeaux.

About an hour and southwest of Bordeaux is where I’ll spend the majority of my travel time. The greater Bayonne area (close to the Spain border) is home to many surf spots and camps. With non-particular camps in mind, I’ll have to look further into it and would love any recommendations. Here’s what I’m looking for in a good surf camp:

• Beginner-intermediate friendly;
• Accessible travel to the beach;
• Socially active accommodations (the camp needs to be friendly too);
• Available yoga classes;
• Meals included; breakfast at a minimum (don’t judge me); and
• A beautiful view.

I’d like nothing more than to sink into a surfing/yoga/beach bum routine in wine country.

The last item on my itinerary is to make a pit-stop in Lourdes for their miracle water! The Lourdes Baths are the source of many claims to miracle recoveries. As one would expect, Lourdes is a very religious place and many of these miracles may be contested by scientists; however, there is definitely a good amount that cannot be explained by modern medicine. This doesn’t mean there isn’t an explanation, it just means I need to take a shot of this stuff and see what it’s all about.

Conclusion

In many ways, this solo trip to France will be a measurement of my progression. I intend to make this a time of self-discovery and self-reflection. I look forward to applying the lessons learned from my first solo travel trip to France. I look forward to seeing my growth from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic.