Or not? No, of course not! We love being back and we are fully charged to kick some ass here in Holland! But I'll get back to that later. Let's first reflect on a trip that, we think, couldn't have been much better!

What a great trip indeed! All the places we've seen, the people we've met and the special moments we've experienced...

Often people ask us what our most special moment has been, but the answer to that question seems to be rather difficult! At this moment, I'd probably say my windsurfing experience in the Golden Gate is my most special moment. I think Eline considers her Koala bear-hugging as her top experience (you'd have to ask her that personally though, I am not sure).

However, I think there is a big chance that in a few months time Eline and I both will give a different answer to that question. Because also special moments are relative, and I think 'the present' influences our perception of the special moments of the past a lot.

In that perspective, it could very well be that after a few months of hard work at the office, we both answer that our careless hammock moments at Fiji's pristine and sun-spoilt beaches were our best moments. By that time, we have forgotten the fact that 8 out of 10 days, it was poring with rain in Fiji. In addition, we probably won't remember that hours and hours of careless hammock-hanging isn't really 'our thing', especially not when it's raining cats and dogs!
And that's one of the great things about this website! Because our perception of special moments is partly defined by our (subjective) memories of those moments. Those memories in turn, are highly influenced by our own stories, pictures, movies and of course your comments! And since we've mainly presented our positive experiences on the website, our trip is becoming more and more beautiful in our minds (can you still follow me ;)?).

And obviously, not all our experiences were positive ones. We've had some discomforts and problems as well. But hey, that's part of the deal too! And overall, I think we have been very lucky! Okay, my pay card has been stolen, our surfboards have been on several unplanned trips, Eline lost a toenail and we've had some problems with our camera's but besides that, we didn't have any really bad experiences!

A bit of a pity though, is the fact that we haven't had much wind at all! We've been able to kitesurf about five times and I've windsurfed seven times. But still, I wouldn't want to change my few epic days in Margaret River or Taranaki for a thousand average days! And because of the lack of wind we started focussing on normal surfing (without a sail or a kite) more. By now, we like this sport so much we both have a new hobby!

All together, this trip has been a great experience for us. Between Eline and me, things went really well too! Spending nearly 24 hours a day together for a period of nearly seven months can be quite a challenge! A challenge I feel has intensified our relationship enormously!

So now, back home. Back in Scheveningen, in our own house with our own bed and our own washing machine. And back in Holland, with our own family, our own friends, our own language and our own culture. It was great to meet (nearly) everybody again and share experiences.

Oh, and of course back in Europe! This trip truly has made us realise how much we love Europe. We've been to the most wonderful places, but we know now we really are Europeans and we belong in Europe!

An extra treat was the fact that the Southwest wind was blowing when we got back to Holland! And as some of you might know, nothing beats a good day at your home surfspot! That's why we've translated our coming back home experience to 'Southwest, home best' (which is derived from the Dutch saying 'East West, Home Best', meaning something like 'In the end, nothing beats home').

Finally, we would like to thank you all for your support and nice input during our trip! Having an average of 40 visitors a day (!) to the site, it really felt like you were travelling with us! This really added another dimension to our trip.

Thanks for surfing with us!


Eline & Nanco