CARTE POSTALE DE LA "LITTLE FRENCH CALIFORNIA".

As any surfer, the ocean is my element, a playground where I wish to spend most of my time, the place where I can lose and find myself back.

France is a country offering a long west-coast with plenty of surf spots. Further south, close to the Spanish border, you will find an area called « The Bask Country », where the coast is as majestic as steep with endless beaches in sight. Nicknamed « the French Little California », it offers so many possibilities for surfing: beach breaks or reef breaks, between 3 and 10 feet regularly, what provides a happy mixture of long boarders, short boarders, body boarders or any paddlers.

I think the ocean’s appeal could be contagious as a virus spreading on an entire population. Those people are part of a community because surfing goes beyond the simple notion of sport.

Right there, between Biarritz and Hossegor, in the european capital of surfing, you will meet this community everywhere. Streets are full of surfers, skateboarders or bikers, if you stop for a minute, you will distinguish a unique atmosphere, that could be called soothing, peaceful and authentic.

More than a sport bringing both physical and mental health, this is a community in which we share the same state of mind about the environment, art and lifestyle. Surfing is more about living an experience than seeking a performance.

As surfers, our duty is to protect our playground to keep the pure beauty of the ocean safe. This connection to nature reminds us how little we are and how much our troubles are meaningless, in front of the power of mother nature. This helps to take things into consideration and understand what is essential or immaterial.

The relationship between the ocean and human beings is not fair today.

On the one hand, the ocean gives us so much, it feeds us as much our belly as our soul. We get this inestimable luck for sliding on waves and feeling free like a bird in the air.

On the other hand, we keep destroying the maritime fauna and flora without considering the future of our children or respecting the local wildlife.

These surfing towns, between countryside and ocean cliffs, provide lots of surf spots, nature walks through pines forests and large sandy beaches.

You can still camp in wilderness areas close to surf spots and enjoy empty lineups.

Living the moment, sharing waves and enjoying simple things with a back to roots way of life, has become priceless nowadays.

What is the real wealth today? Is it to pile up of goods and commodities? Or, living a moment and sharing a new experience to accumulate memories?

At the end, the source of fulfillment is personal. For me, the ocean is where I feel myself, like a duck to water, I can express my freedom and my personality. My heart and my soul belong to this « French Little California », as long as the ocean will be full of waves.

With love xxx

A surfer girl