The perfect 5th @Jastarnia

After the whole summer in paradise prison at Lake Como, I really wanted a vacation. There were few options, we considered even Brazil and Fuerteventura. It looked so appealing to just compose music and kitesurf at the best spot this time of the year at Barra Grande but there was a but. We got cold feet about traveling to South America with the covid stuff that was happening that time around the world and decided to … spend October in Poland. There were of course some guidelines. First of all the place had to be at the very kite spot, had to be at least 2 rooms, secluded and quiet. What we got was/is better than we could have imagined. I got some feedback on my question on fb group and we got a small beach house (with heating!!) in Jastarnia. Location – I take my gear, walk 1 minute, just across the sandbank, and I am at the spot. At the beginning of our stay which was the end o September, there were visitors there in other houses during the weekends but the last 3 weeks is only us and an older couple, last week only us. Jo said that is probably our best time together here. It’s sure to be in my top 5.

Jastarnia is a small fisher willage. Now it’s mostly alive and full off people during the polish summer time. After the holiday season it’s only residents and few tourists. Mainly watersport junkies. Hel Peninsula is a special place. There are spots along the shore the whole way. In Jastarnia, in town, there two main places you can enter the water. Either near the molo or at Draga. Just look at google maps and you will get the idea. The water in Jastarnia is shallow – from waist deep with high level close to shore to ankles deep. The water level depends of the air pressure and the wind direction. No tides, none at all. Altogether up to 17knt it’s almost butter flat (specially around the Mewia Rewa sand bank) over this wind speed it gets choppy. Wind is like it is at polish shore. It’s completely weather depentend. Formally it’s called local wind. During my stay (last week of September and whole October) direction od the wind was 80% S/SSE; 15% W and 5% N. The North direction is good for Baltic See, the West strong winds also work well for wave riding on Baltic. Autumn is the storm season.

5 weeks passed so fast. I had to make a few trips to Gdynia meanwhile, but in the end, my everyday drill was almost the same. There were blocks of activity moved around depending on the wind. Hot breakfast, workout, kiting, making music, sometimes Netflix or Hbo (rainy days). Oh, I even started going on walks just to spend some time in nature. Every windy day I got at least 1-2h session on the water. I discovered earlier in Gera Lario, that on “kiting days” cutting workout in the morning is the way to go.

Upstairs of the house was arranged as a bedroom and a tiny studio room. There were 5 beds there so it was quite soundproofing. During these 5 weeks J had so much space for composing. It was so new and so enlightening at the same time. It made me realize that making space for the things we love is amazing. Those tiny things blossom then so fast! I did finish all overdue tracks and even produced a whole new batch of 10 tracks in Anjunadeep style for Eurozonemusic. It made me realize that this is the way to go. When my body is relaxed and gets the entertainment it needs (kitesurfing!) the ideas just flow.

Our furry part of the family was with us. Lilianka liked that place very much. After moving out of a big city we noticed a big change in her. She is calmer, even more friendly, and seems more comfortable/herself. She ran away one time for 2h, went for a solid reconnaissance of the area, and when back told the whole story with details! How does she tell a story? She just kept on miauin’ for at least 30 minutes with excitement. Since then we have been leaving her on a leash outside. Local cats started showing up and we thought one of them is a potential boyfriend… but one time he got closer and they started to fight! Bits and pieces of fur started to fly around, Jo managed to take them apart. Since then she was let out only when we were out. She doesn’t like too much to travel – being on the road is not her thing. Being in another new place isn’t so bad I think. There were places where she got comfy before we even managed to open a suitcase. That said, being around nature works as food for her as for us.

I’d recommend for everyone check out the Polish coast as a kitesurfing destination. During spring and autumn when the wind can surprise you with its consistency. It was windy almost every day in October. The temperature did not go below 10 degrees Celsius until November. At the beginning of November, we left Jastarnia to repack our luggage, spend some time in my hometown and get ourselves on a plane to .. Kenya!