Words: Sydney Pizza
Saying what’s up from Madrid International Airport for hot second while we are waiting for our flight to Lisbon! Week two of the trip has wrapped up, and if it is at all possible it was even more incredible than the first week was!
Last we talked, Elian and I were in La Tranche-Sur-Mer, France getting ready for the last stop on the 2025 Euro Skim Tour, with some of our Zap family, Yahir Valencia, Mega, Kika Freiere, and Romario de Sousa, and the rest of the French, Spanish and Portuguese crews. That Thursday we woke up and caught the infamous liner pretty good, but unfortunately the wind had gotten pretty bad, so it wasn’t super perfect. On top of that the swell was not going to stick around for the weekend, so the contest hosts made the decision to go to beach number two for the contest. Something consistent, which is more favorable for a contest.
Held at Le Plage de La Terriere, a stunning beach a ten-minute drive from where everyone was staying, an epic three-day event was about to go down. Again, unlike our usual SkimUSA and UST to-dos, this was different. There were around 60 total competitors at the contest, so spreading that out during the best high tides over the weekend was very doable. About 36 competitors in the Open division, 14 in the Masters division, and 10 in the Women’s division, it was an action-packed contest for the Zap Crew! For a full recap check out that write-up on the blog!
It was a fantastic weekend and one that has truly left Elian and I speechless, not just because of the picture-perfect conditions, but because of the bonds and memories that we continue to make with what start as strangers but have turned into some of our closest friends all because of a shared love, and arguable obsession with skimboarding. We cleaned up nicely in La tranche, Elian finished in second, and I ended up winning the women’s division competing against women that I have dreamt of sharing heats with. It was a very special weekend for everyone, and a thank you does not even begin to do it justice! We cannot wait to come back and make this a contest that we frequent! Fast forward, to the Monday after the contest, everyone said their “See you soons” because in this skim family there are no goodbyes and rolled out separately. We headed back to Biarritz, France for an afternoon to return our rental car, and to catch a bus to San Sebastian/Donostia for a couple of days!
San Sebastian is incredible, with architecture dating back centuries, an art scene that is beautiful and a huge surf culture, also being a part of Basque Country it is a fun mix of everything. We have spent the past couple of days wandering around, sightseeing, and eating enough pintxos (tapas) for 12 haha! It was a good break between skim adventures, but now we’re ready for some hopeful Portuguese siders, and Spanish liners, over the next week and a half. Talk soon!
This is quickly becoming the most incredible trip of our lives!