From the mountain to the sea. . . in Agde, France for first time family camping

From Andorra we had come down the Pyrenees to our first camping experience in Agde, at the Mediterranean coast of France. It’s the third oldest town in France, apparently! Since we never had time to research places, we had no idea until we got there. We set up our tent next to our little cabin/hut with no running water, but still close to nature… almost just as the Greeks did it when they settled there in 525 B.C… maybe. Though they probably did not have swimming pools nor inflatable play structures for wild Energizer-bunny-rabbit-fueled kids!!

A father with 2 young kids setting up tent a tent next to a cabin.

#FreeElectrons.Family - camping road trip Europe, Agde, France. — First-time family camping, learning on the road: the boys help set-up camp… lay the tarp, pitch the tent, set the mats and blanket, etc. . . Their first-time sleeping outdoors in a tent.

The first camping site that we booked was at a beach. . . a nudist beach at that! I wonder how it would have been, if we did not cancel it. . . NO Yum-Yum for this Dum Dum. . . this time!!! 😉

first-time family camping: kids at work

A young boy, shirtless, cleaning up with a broom in front of camping cabin. A younger boy looks at him from a patio.

#FreeElectrons.Family - camping road trip Europe, Agde France. — Camping kids at work… learning to clean camp, wash dishes and clothes by hand. . . *the work did set them. . . up for free play later!*

A young boy, shirtless, cleans up with a broom in a camping cabin.

#FreeElectrons.Family - camping road trip Europe, Agde France. — *Camping kids at work: Kaj follows his brother’s lead in keeping the cabin clean*.

Camping was quite a fun and new learning experience for us all. Well, it was not exactly all-out camping in a tent. We thought it was best to have a cabin in a campsite and pitch a tent on the side so the boys could get used to the idea. Best for everyone to slow-roll these things, wife and I thought. So, we actually practiced pitching, sleeping in, and re-packing the tent at home. It did cover the entire living room, however it was a good dry run for all of us.

FAMILY fun CAMPING: KIDS AT play

2 young boys in a huge "Crocodile Swamp" jump-and-slide, inflatable play structure.

#FreeElectrons.Family - camping road trip Europe, Agde France. — *Camping kids at play:* this huge jump-and-slide, inflatable play structure, right next to a swimming pool kept the kids at play. . . almost all day!

A toddler swims in a kiddie pool with a "salvabida" (lifesaver).

#FreeElectrons.Family - camping road trip Europe, Agde France. — *Camping kids at play: Little Kaj’s first swim in a pool* (he’s more of an ocean boy).

The last time I pitched a tent was in the Philippines, and that was some old-school boy scout kinda thing where other (better) scouts actually did for me. So, you can imagine me convincing mi alma (my wife) of this wonderful adventure of all four of us sleeping in one tent. I had to somehow project this can-do, confident super-dupper, savior of the universe…. Super Dad! Gotta put the benefits up front, I thought… and not the benefit for me, but to my kids and mi alma. And what’s that?

A young boy wrapped in a towel, sitting on a kids chair on green grass, next to a huge crocodile-themed, jump-and-slide, inflatable play structure.

#FreeElectrons.Family - camping road trip Europe, Agde France. — *Camping kids at rest: a giant “crocodile” jump-and-slide, inflatable play structure, right next to a swimming pool, children’s activities at night. . . this camping site is kids’ heaven!*

A not-so-full-of-people swimming pool divided in 3 areas, including a kiddie pool, under a summer clear blue sky.

#FreeElectrons.Family - camping road trip Europe, Agde France. — *Camping kids (and parents) at rest:* an inflatable playground, a swimming pool with 3 different areas (including a kiddie pool) and, most importantly, a restaurant bar in the background. . . this place can keep you happily locked in!

Convincing the boys that camping was fun was actually quite fun and easy. We just wrapped it all in a story… a story of ninjas, samurais, Spartans and the big black voodoo Oso that lurks in the wood and gets annoyed when awaken by noisy children.

FIRST-TIME FAMILY CAMPING: KIDS AT rest

2 young boys wrapped in one towel, laughing to their hearts content, by the side of the pool.

#FreeElectrons.Family - camping road trip Europe, Agde France. — When your kids laugh out loud like nothing else matters. . . this is one of the reasons why we quit our job and changed a family lifestyle into a sometimes-employed, semi-nomadic family.

A paella (rice) dish with shrimp, mussel, chicken, strip of red bell pepper, with two sexy glasses of amber-colored local beer.

#FreeElectrons.Family - camping road trip Europe, Agde France. — One of the few times we actually indulged ourselves and ate out. Ok, OK! I get it. We were in France and ordered paella!?! Sacrilege, right? We should have ordered that Escargot (snail) dish. . .But it was a gypsy flamenco night at the camping site! Ole!!!

With that tent-camping-at-home experience, we were confident in booking campsites. And yet, still, we needed to slow-roll this baby out. First test came on Day 7 of our first family summer camping road trip at a camping site called Le Maridor.