The surf was a consistent waist to head high for most of the trip, with ocean temperatures in the mid 20 degrees C and the air temperatures hitting 35 C. We’d get up fairly early most mornings and surf before breakfast, as by the middle of the morning finding somewhere to park was often difficult, especially on the town beaches of Hossegor and Capbreton. An early start also meant the best pick of the waves, as long as the tide was right of course. Exploring the surrounding area on days when the surf was flat took us inland to Dax, and south to the Pyrenees and over into Spain. A day spent in the Spanish town of San Sebastian was an experience, speaking no Spanish I discovered tapas in a back street bar and spent several hours walking the sea front and back streets. Hitting the mountain roads one surfless day took us to a small collection of shops and restaurants that cling to the step hills right on the border. The Rip Curl Pro surf tour called into Hossegor giving us a chance to be shown how it’s done! Highlights were the expression session where surfers are marked on the best trick.${QuickSuggestions} Book accommodation early, especially in the height of summer. We covered a lot more distance than we expected on the night drive from Roscoff and so arrived in Hossegor the night before we were booked into the house. After scouring the area for hours our car ended up in the back room of a small hotel in a village just outside of Hossegor; another ended up back in Dax (after a lengthy begging session at the tourist info centre); and the last spent a second night in the car!

I also discovered the French don’t like you re-entering a supermarket with purchases. I guess no one anywhere does, but after being led to a small upstairs room filled with TV screens, I was told in broken English that I had stolen from them and all three of us would be searched. The three of us, a little confused and knowing we were innocent, laughed, which also didn’t go down very well! People anywhere in authority don’t like to be made to feel stupid (i.e. when I pulled out the receipt for my batteries), but they especially don’t like to be made to look stupid by a foreigner! ${BestWay} Getting to the Aquitaine region is best done either by car or plane. Both Biarritz and Bordeaux have international airports, but, although flying is quicker it doesn’t allow you to transport the same amount of gear, or bring back the same amount of cheap booze! We travelled, like I said, by car, and although it was a 10-hour drive form the port of Roscoff the French road network is very good, and relatively quiet. The motorways charge a toll, but it’s not a lot and the roads are of such good quality we really didn’t mind. The gates can be card or change operated, with some also manned, but the machines give change so traffic is not held at all unless a there’s a Muppet in front! When travelling across the boarder, the easy and quickest way to get to major Spanish cities is to use the motorway, but to really explore the area and get up into the mountains buy a good map and explore the small, steep and windy mountain roads.

From journal Hossegor