Leaving the surf in Biarritz and hitting the world famous San Sebastián in Spain is easy-riding as it is only about half an hour away with no passport needed to cross the border. Think of San Sebastián (or Donostia in the Basque language) and fiesta will immediately spring to mind, in the form of very long evenings winding through the old streets taking on gradually more and more pintxos and wine at each stop. Unfortunately for our Easter surf trip, we happened to hit San Sebastián during a biblical deluge (note for future: there is a reason for the Spanish saying ‘en abril, aguas mil’) which meant zero crowds and less ambiance – which gave us the little required impetus time to hunt for some classic waves.

Small surf just before high tide at La Zurriola, San Sebastian

Starting from San Sebastián, La Zurriola is almost right in the centre of the town at Playa Gros. If you are looking to save money and avoid a hostel, you might be able to park your camper van fairly easily during the off-season by the Patagonia store at the end of the beach. La Zurriola is a decent enough wave but its location in the centre of town makes it super accessible – which means constant crowds.  And so although a surf at La Zurriola is always pleasant, if you have wheels you should fairly promptly carry on your journey towards Mundaka, one of the most mythical waves in the world and discover the various other jewels in the Basque crown.

Surf somewhere in the Basque country

For me, the route that runs from San Sebastián to Bilbao via Mundaka is almost as amazing as the wave itself and is a real highlight of any trip. Although you always have the option of easing along the motorway towards Bilbao, the coastal road that leads you past small traditional Basque towns has to be one of the most amazing stretches of road in the world. Steep and meandering routes wind through forest and dramatic oceanic views. On top of all that, there are many waves that are worth getting wet for, including the beaches at Zarautz, one of the most powerful lefts in the world at Mundaka and the big wave spot Rocaputa. If you drive along the coast yourself, you’ll stumble across many spots, often not too crowded. For us, the discovery of new places pushed us to keep on driving past the fun-looking waves on what was a fairly small swell in search of more perfection. In the end, with the evening running out, we stopped at a place called Laga as it looked to offer a picturesque bay with steep cliffs to the east, decent wave and importantly somewhere to park up overnight. Freecamping overnight out of season was fine and so we enjoyed a peaceful sleep after a quick surf and drink in the fairly basic bar before hitting the water again for a glassy morning session. Laga surf is highly recommended.

Morning surf at Laga, Basque country

For us, the quick-fire surf trip in the east of the Basque country was coming to a close as the swell wasn’t cooperative enough to make us hang around. Mundaka would have to wait, but we’d found enough waves to make us happy along the route. And so having found some small consistent surf and very consistent rain, we decided to grab some shelter at the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao which is only 30 minutes from Laga. The Guggenheim is one of the architectural wonders of the world – perhaps even it holds the same significance for the world of modern architecture as Mundaka does for the world of surf. Whether you are an architect or a surfer, you won’t be let down.

Great architecture at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Is there anything I’ve missed off? Then get in touch!

Biarritz is at the heart of the French corner of the Basque country and is a blend of French, Spanish and Basque culture and tradition. Great wine, great food, friendly locals and a real surf culture which has been expanding ever since a couple of Californian surfers first hit Biarritz’s Côte des Basques in 1956. La Côte des Basques itself is a beautiful big bay with the advantage of lots of space to surf, good facilities including showers year round (useful for those living in a van) and nearby cafes, (personal favourite – the outdoors Cent Marches at the top of the stairs overlooking the bay). It is simply a great spot for surfers and non-surfers alike. Having said that, although surfing is good at the reasonably sheltered Cote, don’t miss out on the rest that the Pays Basque has to offer.

Small surf on a beautiful day at La Cote des Basques

Leaving the world famous Hossegor to one side for now, immediately to the north of Biarritz there is the surf town of Anglet. Anglet’s beachbreaks tend to be a bit heavier than the Biarritz beaches and offer a higher chance of spending some time in the green room. Head to La Chambre d’Amour – if anyone knows a better beach name in the world, the drinks are on me – stuff your face with a Basque taloa and find your spot to surf. All the spots are close by, although during the summer months it’s best to get around on a scooter due to difficult parking. One of the best spots is the Plage des Corsaires – the place to check out if everywhere is flat or if you fancy some real quality waves – although soul surfing this is not as this place gets ultra competitive and crowded when it’s on. Go for the VVF if you fancy something a bit more tranquil in Anglet.

The great thing about spending time surfing around Biarritz is that if the surf goes flat or if you are travelling with your partner, then there is still plenty to do. Basque life has a certain joie de vivre and so food and drink is quite important. But there is more than just wine – so what are my top things to do when the surf goes flat in Biarritz/Anglet?

Cité de l'Océan et du Surf Museum Biarritz

1. Visit Bayonne. It is a beautiful little town that is often overlooked by surfers as there aren’t any waves on offer. The old part of the town (Petit Bayonne) buzzes with students on a Thursday night and I’d recommend the Cidrerie called ‘Ttipia’ to anyone who wants to sample Basque cuisine – all at one sitting. Start with a Basque omelette, move on to the ‘merlu’ fish, then a great tender ‘cote de boeuf’ and finish with some cheese. Oh, and don’t forget the homemade cider which is unlimited and which you serve yourself from the traditional barrels. It’s only 29 euros for the lot – unbelievable value and a week’s worth of food!
2. Visit Guethary and Bidart – these two villages just to the south of Biarritz offer lots of authentic Basque architecture, as well as a great wooden beachside terrace where you can watch the surf. Note of warning – may swarm with tourists in peak summer months as much as anywhere.
3. Check out ‘La Cité de l’Océan et du Surf’ just past the Milady beach. A new museum dedicated to surf and the ocean ? Sounds awesome. Trouble is, despite all the money splashed on the project (including over 500,000 euros on the sculpture outside), it is pretty empty on the inside. Nonetheless, La Cité has some cool things and the architecture is definitely cool..
4. Finally, if you are really bored, you can move on to the other side of the border and visit San Sebastian – which is where this road trip is heading now!

So join us next time as the surf trip moves on deeper into the heart of the Basque country.

If you’ve missed out on the trip so far, you can always catch up on the intro to the Easter Basque country surf trip or the Charente Maritime surf trip guide.

As I pack the van at home in Scotland, Proust’s epic quote rings around my head: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”. Whatever it is, nothing beats the feeling of packing up home for a few weeks and taking off like a man reborn. Proust delighted in new eyes, but personally I’ll opt for new eyes, new landscapes and the ol’ van every time. So feeling ripe for some adventure, I hit the road encore une fois.

Small La Torche (bypassed on this trip) courtesy of Menswear on MSW

For me, it’s a familiar trek from Scotland down to the south of England in order to board the ferry to France, but this year feeling a little plush I opted for the Eurotunnel. The whole Eurotunnel experience is super slick, flexible on departure time and as easy as you like – you can even get in the back of your van for half an hours kip. The only trouble is that you are dumped at Calais, the very north of France, which means a longer drive south… but I’d say the £120 return price-tag for the tunnel was a price worth paying.

Tip Number One: Don’t be scared of the Eurotunnel!

La Rochelle Harbour Towers - quite a sight

Once we hit France, we headed straight for La Rochelle, escaping the toll roads which are known as péages wherever possible. It’s a shame to skip some of the seminal surf set-ups like La Torche in Southern Finestère, but with so much to see and such little time, you have to cut the odd corner and so it was destination La Rochelle. It is definitely one of those places to take the non-surf-soaked travelling companion – we arrived with it in full sunny splendour and the mix of the castle, 15^th century towers and the mellow coastline is a brilliant introduction to France. Clean, chic and historic – definitely worth a detour if the surf is flat.

Alas, I am not one of the legion of the unjazzed and so having had my first spot of lunch in France (shamefully, “un subway”), I was itching to chase the small swell south of La Rochelle. Having bypassed the picturesque but too sheltered Pontaillac bay, we headed for La Côte Sauvage which is more exposed and so picks up more swell. Here you’ve got 15 kms of beachbreaks that can resemble the heavier breaks of the Landes further south so it’s up to you where you decide to explore. On this given day, the best of the bunch was the Pointe Espagnole or La Bouverie (both past the old lighthouse away from Royan). A bit of advice – hidden as they are from the forest, it’s not the easiest to check the breaks round here so you may have to be a bit more patient than you think.

Surf the biggest sand dunes in Europe at the Dunes de Pyla near Arcachon

Having surfed the small swell at La Côte Sauvage, we decided to make one final detour before heading further south and getting stuck into some serious wave-riding. In fact, it’s probably the best spot to head to when the surf is flat, as there is always some action no matter what the tides or winds are doing. Yep, just by the pretty town of Arcachon you’ll stumble across the biggest sand dunes in Europe at the Dunes de Pyla. A word of warning though – you think you’re local surf break is crowded? Then try this on a bodyboard… Grommets all over the place!

Hope you’re enjoying the ride so far – stay tuned for the next chapter as we head to the heart of the French Basque country!

So why should you visit the Basque country on a surf trip? For me, it is hard to find anywhere else where you can combine great culture, great people, great food, wine and fantastic waves so easily. Surf goes flat? Why not go wine tasting in the paradise of French wine near Bordeaux or go abstract in the epic Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. Perhaps this is also what makes a surf trip to South West France and Northern Spain so appealing for any surfer travelling with a non-surfing partner in tow – as I did for the first time this Easter.

A flavour of the Basque Country!

What follows is going to be some of my favourite notes taken from my little black book of surf over the last couple of weeks. This isn’t going to be a competition with your Stormrider Guide. Nope, rather than go spot by spot and wave by wave I’m going to try and give a flavour of some of my personal favourite things along the route which can help you surf and not surf, covering some of my favourite regions (no secret spots I promise!) and what to do away from the beach. Hopefully it will give some texture to life on the road in the area and inspire you to hit the autoroute and take off to the Basque Country on a surf trip.

I hope you enjoy it…

Alternative Surfboards

1.       There was a great thread on surf website Magicseaweed started up just before Christmas by a guy called Finlay. The idea behind the thread is that instead of selling his surfboard on to someone he didn’t know, Finlay offered up his old stick for free – but with the proviso that the person to claim the board would in turn offer up one of his/her own surfboards. Within thirty minutes on a dull winter morning, someone had claimed Finlay’s board and offered up a board of his own – a trend which continued on and on. And we’re not talking about any old board being offloaded here but decent and well-loved pieces of surf equipment, including a Fluid Juice board. What a nice and organic way of making use of those boards which have been loved but are collecting dust in the garage, no?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Joni Mitchell singing ‘For Free’

2.    Feel Good Coffee

At a small locally owned coffee shop in South Carolina, a customer paid her bill and left an extra 100 bucks, saying she wanted to pay for everyone who ordered after her until the money ran out. Inspired by this one act of kindness, more and more people now do the same thing – apparently some people drop by to donate without even buying a coffee. What can we learn from this? A shot of kindness is apparently better than a shot of caffeine!

Thanks to the most excellent and ever-giving ‘Do Lectures’ for this great feel good coffee story.

3.     Gil Scott Heron and Giving

Gil Scott Heron’s ‘The Last Holiday’ is a must-read memoir for any real music fan. The aim of these beautifully poetic memoirs is not so much to tell his own story, rather record the tireless effort that Stevie Wonder put in to make Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. One of my favourite anecdotes is how an already broke Gil turned down a 2000 dollar advance for his debut book ‘The Vulture’ as he didn’t like the publisher’s vibe. So what does the broke Gil do? Ever the principled man, he walks out of the publisher’s office feeling like they were trying to pay him off and more or less immediately chanced upon an old school friend and his father. The chance meeting turned into dinner and ultimately Gil was offered a much better deal all round which more than vindicated his decision to pull out of college. The father of the friend told a story of how he was helped out when he was a struggling young entrepreneur and was helped by his landlord on the condition that when he did get the chance, he’d pass it on. So he did.

It is a simple and almost clichéd equation – if one person helps three people, who in turn help three people, you can change the world. But on a more basic level, as the late great untamed proud poet said in an interview with Jamie Byng: “If someone comes to you and asks for help, and you can help them, you’re supposed to help them. Why wouldn’t you? You have been put in the position somehow to be able to help this person.”

Check out this amazing footage of Gil and Jamie:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Over to you now: what do you think? Do you have any inspiring stories to share?

With contributors such as surf shaper Rob Lion and surfer/writer Sam Bleakley, it’s rare to find such a beautiful combination of light-hearted humour and original thoughts about surfing which celebrate the minor, idiosyncratic and generally uncelebrated – and yet managing all the while to capture something very profound and deeply important.

And so when you get the feeling that you might be about to embark on something equally special, you get the same anticipation of opening up the envelope to your favourite magazine or pulling on your wetsuit on a perfect offshore day.

That’s the same feeling of excitement I got when I found out about this upcoming surf/art publication called WAX which was posted on the ever excellent Endless Bummer NY blog. Here is the blurb:

Donate, contribute, order, read, share, enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you like it, go and taste some more of the distinct Kadjoo flavours!

But is it the fight against plastics worthwhile?

The most interesting article I have read recently on the dangers of plastics doesn’t actually come from Surfrider or Surfers Against Sewage – who do sterling work on the subject – but an article by Stiv Wilson entitled 7 Dangerous Lies About Plastics, which comes with the sub-heading: “Big Plastic is big money and survives regulatory scrutiny by creating big spin”.

The seven biggest lies about plastics are:

• Plastics are safe
• The so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch does not exist
• Plastics don’t kill sea life or pose a threat to people eating fish.
• It shouldn’t be called “plastic pollution” but rather “marine debris”
• Plastic retail carry-out bags are 100 percent recyclable and made from clean natural gas
• Reusable bags are dangerous
• We care about polar bears and recycling (eg Coca Cola)

Are these arguments true? For me, the article acts as a stirring call to arms – albeit a very reasonable and well thought-out one – which puts down the logic behind his seven big statements.

What to do now? Read it and take the pledge to rise above plastics!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Some fun courtesy of Surfrider San Diego.

The Surfrider Foundation have launched a cool competition to celebrate World Water Day on the 22nd March. The idea is to challenge supporters to share their cinematic visions and interpretations of water by creating a three second film. Why?

• Every 3 seconds, approximately 70 tons of sewage and human effluent is discharged into the world’s waterways.
• Every 3 seconds, the world’s population grows by 7 people.
• Every 3 seconds, approximately 103 lbs of nitrogen pollution flow into the Gulf of Mexico

For some inspiration here is “There is Something in the Water”:

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more info visit Surfrider.

But have you ever tried a more alternative form of yoga – Van Yoga?

As a fan of yoga, vans and the company Patagonia (even featuring a recent article on Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard), I’d recommend this article on Patagonia’s blog ‘The Cleanest Line’.

It’s a 13 point guide by Lydia Zamorano on how to get the best of your yoga practise – from inside your van.

Koundinyasana – forget the mainstream, take it back to the roots of Yoga!