French Hippie

After the German experience in Catalan I now went to an all French one on just the other side of the Pyrenees. In the Aude department in France there is a community of extraordinary people all living in different little villages and meeting each other at markets, yoga classes, spiritual workshops and healing sessions. Every morning they drink coffee and smoke their joints on the square. Most of them don’t have regular jobs, being free from the system that enslaves, and are able to move within the high vibrations of hippieness. The healing waters of Rennes de Bains, the hidden treasures and Alien landing places of Rennes de Chateau and the many caves and magic rocks and rivers in the area attracks hippie tourists all year round as well. So this is one of the few places where I saw that locals and tourists fit very well together. I thought it was an exageration when this was called a hidden hippy paradise, but really this area is filled to the brim with colourfull, stoned and high vibration people. While also having natural sorroundings that are breathtaking, the writer and anthropologist in me were quibbling for front row seats in my consciousness.

I was only here for two days, and swore to myself I would come back for a longer visit somewhere in the future when my french is better as well. Cause even though the people are open and lovely, they are still French.. and so will speak two sentences in English before moving back to speaking their native tongue in a mercilessly quick tempo.

I stayed with a French friend I met in Ibiza last May and we went to Ibiza after staying at his for only 2 lovely days. His life is quite an interesting one with a rhythm that I hadn’t heard of before. He works for 3 months in the summer Switserland, passes his house in the south of France and moves straight to Ibiza for a good strong hit of Closing Parties in October. Then, after a quick visit home, moves on to either the North of Africa, Asia or anywhere else he wants to go for a few months, heads home to lie low for a few months and heal in the baths etc, then goes to Ibiza for the opening parties in May and back to Switzerland for work. Apparantly this works when all you do in the countries you visit is sleep outside and eat with the locals.

To sleep outside in nature, not to be tied to hostels or rent, to eat and drink with locals and as cheaply as you can: it sounded like ultimate freedom to me. I couldn’t wait to try it out with a man that, I had just found out, lives in a hippie community and should, thusly, be really in connection with nature and spirituality. Then to do this in Ibiza, which already has a big name in the world of spiritual practitioners and seekers all over the world.. WOW!

The funny thing was I didn’t feel “WOW I can’t wait to go”. I felt like I wanted to know more about the French hippie community place and I really did not feel like moving from party to party in Ibiza. But Ibiza Spirit Festival was next sunday and my best friend from Holland was coming to the Island of Love so we booked our ticket and went asap.

Read the next blog to see how it turned out 😉