Monday, June 13, 2011

WINTER TRAVELS: The destination is the journey...


How time does fly… especially when you’re flying around the world with a hot pink fish and living out of a bag.

We love lists so here’s my (Natty) top five events that occurred in the last 7 months:

Car breaking down in Portugal

Mother and Father weren’t keen on me hijacking their car and driving South of France till I hit the ocean. I made it, hooked up with friends, surfed lots, protested on Japan Dolphin Day and then it broke down. I was stuck in a campsite in Peniche, and it was flat. Then I had to get a bus down to the Algarve for my Animal Healing and Communication Course – and then a bus back. Then the car broke down again in the Pyrenees mountains on the way home, it was fixed by a man in a garage called Jesus. He was, indeed.

Yoginis in bikinis

I knew ditching the waves for my yoga mat would be tough. But thank the Buddha I found the only longboard in Goa so during my 6 weeks of non surfing confinement in yoga training camp I managed a couple of little sessions to keep me sane. Thank you Ray Winstone lookalike Lee! And thank you to all the yoginis in bikinis, Bhakti the dog, Christmas day curries, flesh eating mosquitoes, Dr. John, cake at yummy place, the resident dolphins and Laguna Vista for such a memorable experience.

Whales in Sri Lanka

It was pretty lucky I ended up in Sri Lanka in the first place, and to top off my time there with a whale watching trip with Philip Hoare (author of The Leviathan) spotting hundreds of dolphins followed by 6 blue whales was a dream come true. To then meet my surrogate sista Shone for a crazy night out and bump into the dashing Quincy Jones all before jumping onto a plane at 6am… well, things couldn’t really get any better and that last day left me on a high, which thankfully helped me get through Belgium and back home to the South of France in the deep, dark depths of winter.

Massive full moon in Morocco

Who knows why they have me back, but luckily they do…My latest stint at Surf Maroc felt like going home. The family included new additions and kindred souls. The largest full moon for 19 years meant a big party was in store. We partied, we ping ponged, we didn’t manage to make it night surfing. A couple of days later Gamy the kitten came into my life and the world of the Surf Maroc staff house was changed forever.

Climbing the volcano in Bali

Sic lefts, barrels, slabs, yes,yes, the waves in Bali are awesome but the highlight for me this time was actually climbing Mount Batur during a meteor shower and watching the sun come up. Truly amazing.

Right then, enough reminiscing - it’s about time we started getting fancy dressed up and selling off men for charity. We’re back in the Yuke, getting our act together, or trying to at least.

Stay tuned

Nat xxx

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