Lafitenia - Hossegor

More of the same with a guest in tow.

If you hear a knocking on your door open the portal and embrace whatever waits on the other side. Each guest that comes knocking will arrive with new perspectives and leave a little of their mind etched on your own.

Since departing in June we have experienced immeasurable hospitality in every country we have visited. From family in Denmark to new friends in France we have learnt how far generousity will go towards making or breaking an experience. With each new gift we have resolved to replicate the hospitality ourselves when the opportunity arises, to welcome and entertain in our humble home.

At the end of September the chance arrived when Joey came to occupy our upstairs berth. Between jobs and houses he had chosen to spend his spare time and money with us, a little sunshine and waves before Autumn really started to bite in the UK. And so at the arrivals gate of Biarritz airport two became three as we embarked on a week-long experiment, more of the same but with a guest in tow.

The van undertook a physical transformation - items were shifted around to reveal cubby holes we barely knew existed. Spare cutlery and unused towels suddenly became essential as we tried to maintain our long established equilibrium with three in the van. At night unknown creaks and groans started to sound and in the day items jumped from cupboard to shelf as the van told us it too was adjusting to our new guest.

We spent a week revisiting some of our favourite places and discovering entirely new ones too. The second-hand surfboard we had picked up the week before proved priceless as Joey threw himself headfirst into the water at every opportunity. Only on one particularly stormy day did we have to entertain ourselves inside the van, a bottle of whiskey and some deep discussion providing ample entertainment as the wind and rain raged outside.

Joey’s last day with us was particularly memorable, not least as it also happened to be his Birthday. The day started with van-baked brownies for breakfast and ended with a mountain of moule-frites for dinner. Sandwiched in-between was the unique opportunity to watch the world’s best surfers compete at the Quicksilver Pro. A wonderful punctuation point at the end of a very fun week.

Joey’s presence highlighted how much we have adapted and changed over the last few months in our tiny home. We have developed processes to manage our space and time, habits we didn’t even know existed were suddenly plain to see when pointed out by a guest. It wasn’t only our habitual systems that became obvious, our mental state was exposed too. We have relaxed into a different mindset with no routines or objectives to abide by. We are so far removed from our London lives that at times we struggled to relate to Joey and he in turn struggled to relate to us. This realisation was a startling one, our time on the road is changing us and we don’t even know it.