Ah, the beach life

It was one of those rare summer days in The Netherlands, and my destination was the surf school Rapa Nui in Zandvoort, the most famous beach amongst Amsterdammers. This was the meeting point for the Surfana Festival press day. I had heard a lot of good stories about this event but, as a Southern European, the idea of a surf festival in The Netherlands sounded a bit alien. Therefore I was as curious as it gets to see the festival’s premises and learn what they’re exactly about. Since I’ve recently started writing about sustainability for the Iamsterdam blog, Surfana, in their own words “the most beautiful, full of love, coolest and most sustainable festival of the summer”, was something I had to check out.

Paddling, Surfing, Skateboarding, you name it!

I was also very looking forward to dipping my limbs in the ocean, I must admit. I knew we were going to have a press day that would include getting onto a board, and that was enough to convince me to get out of the city. I guess my face on this picture is self-explanatory of how much I loved the paddling session, which was a taste of Surfana’s surf clinics. By the way, during the festival itself, you can take surf clinics but you can also choose to go meditate or follow a yoga class on the beach, try ecstatic or hoop dancing, learn to skateboard or kitesurf, set sail on a catamaran, get a massage, learn about Ayurveda, relax in a hot tube, do acro-yoga, even follow a workshop on personal leadership; so many cool interesting options! Check the program of activities here.

Zero-waste festival in the dunes

Now it was about time to check out the festival terrain and Marten Zwetsloot, one of the founders, was the one who toured us around Surfana’s premises at Camping de Lakkens, where the festival takes place. By the minute I got there, I was sold. I mean, we were in the middle of the dunes, the weather was sweet, and it just felt like I was in Portugal, on the beach where I grew up. I never thought I could ever have this feeling in The Netherlands. From then on I heard Marten talking in the background, but I was in a sort of gorgeous haze, daydreaming about my past life spent at the beach. I heard about concerts with singer-songwriters and international “positive vibrations” bands, vegetarian food and about how kid-friendly the festival is. What fully brought me back was their stance on sustainability. This is going to be a zero-waste, plastic-free festival! I felt like raising my arms to the sky. Also, the premises are totally reachable by public transport as the bus stop stands right in front of Camping De Lakkens, Bloemendaal (a 45 minute ride from Amsterdam Central Station).

Check out their guidelines on sustainability here.

By now we were hungry, so we got pampered with some vegetarian pretty looking dishes, again, just a taste of what you are going to be able to find at the Surfana kingdom.

Thank you so much, Marten, and Surfana team for such a fantastic reception and for being so committed to the surf lifestyle while, at the same time, making sure to preserve the environment of this wonderful little piece of land that will host us on June 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Now, let’s focus on pressing matters. There are still a few tickets available for the Surfana experience! Are you joining us?

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>> Voor de Nederlanders onder ons, check de artikels over Surfana op Barts Groene Boekje en op Theater Paradijs. Veel leesplezier! <<

 

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