Chile Surfing The Travel Show

Now on BBC News, The Travel Show.

On this week's Travel Show, we're in a surfing community trying

to hold back the tide of development on the Chilean coast.

Also coming up...

We go looking for lost ships beneath the Canadian waves.

We discover a novel way to make a cake in rural France.

And our Global Guru, Simon Calder, tackles the biggest

question in travel...

Where next?

Let's start this week's programme on the stunning Pacific coastline

of central Chile.

Punta de Lobos is best known for its dramatic high cliffs,

with views over black sandy beaches and rocky outcrops,

where sea lions gather.

And it's also become famous as one of the best places to surf

in South America.

This is insane.

Wow!

With a consistent swell and regular runs of huge waves,

Punta de Lobos is considered one of the best breaks in South America.

And it's become a paradise for big wave surfers.

I've arrived in Punta de Lobos at a particularly good time,

because word has gone around that this morning's swell will be

unusually strong, with waves of up to 30 feet.

These huge waves have been tracked all the way from Antarctica,

and have drawn out locals and people from across the world to watch them

come in and crash against these rocks.

If you look really carefully out there, what looks like little birds

bobbing on the surface of the water, are surfers taking on these

gargantuan waves at the risk of their lives..

-- gargantuan waves at the risk of their lives.

It's pretty incredible.

One of the servers out there is Kohl Kristensen,

-- One of the surfers out there is Kohl Kristensen,

who flew here yesterday from Hawaii just to catch these waves.

The forecasting these days is so good that we can actually see

these big storms forming, and it gives us enough time to jump

on a plane and come down here.

Punta de Lobos, for me, is, you know, a pretty magical place.

It has a special place in my heart.

The point itself is one of the more beautiful places I've ever been,

and people travel from all over the world to come here for a good

reason - because the waves are so good.

And, it turns out, the surfing bug is contagious.

Everyone keeps talking about how amazing these waves are,

so I've got my wet suit, about to jump on a surfboard and try

and find out for myself.

My teacher is a local who introduces novices to the art

of surfing every day.

I suspect, however, that he's used a rather more coordinated students.

Looking...

LAUGHTER.

It turns out surfing is definitely not as easy as it looks.

I got whacked in the face with about ten waves in a row,

so I swallowed most of that water, I think.

It was super fun, thank you.

OK.

Gracias.

Luckily, Punta de Lobos has plenty of beautiful views to enjoy

for those who aren't the most gifted of surfers.

But despite its idyllic appearance, this place is not all paradise.

In fact, it's been the site of a battle between local private

interests and conservationists.

Until recently, Punta de Lobos was relatively unknown,

but over the past couple of decades, its popularity has

soared as a surfing and a tourist destination.

These days, 5,000 visitors arrive to the point

daily during summertime.

Perhaps not surprisingly, this has attracted developers,

keen to capitalise on the area's newfound popularity.

Much of the coast is in the hands of private owners, and plans

were made for extensive building along the cliffs.

A lot of private projects are real estate projects,

big ones, were wanting to be developed here.

Like, where we're standing here, there will be houses hanging

on the cliffs, four buildings seven storeys high, like a surf resort,

or not even a surf resort, but huge density of construction

and people coming here.

We have a real threatening situation for such a special place like this.

Matias is a director of the Punta de Lobos Foundation -

a non-profit organisation created among locals to fight

the development plans.

Along with other conservation bodies, such as Save The Waves,

they've worked to halt shoreside construction and to keep the cliffs

open to the public.

But that was only their first challenge.

It was a mess here.

If you put 1,000 or 1,500 cars here, you could take an hour,

1.5 hours to just go a mile out back to the highway.

And the second thing is that there were no bathrooms

here, so people would do their needs in the cliffs, in wherever,

and this would be very dirty.

The Foundation responded by regulating the traffic

with a roundabout and installing eco bathroom facilities.

Along with a recycled fence along the cliff line

to protect it from the erosion of visitors' feet.

Community involvement has been a vital ingredient in the success

of the conservation project and some local businesses

are adopting a low impact philosophy.

This hotel overlooks the Punta de Lobos beach and was built

with the aim of causing as little impact as possible

on the surrounding area.

Unlike earlier hotel plans, it's designed to be camouflaged

into the hillside and it's built with local and recycled materials.

It's all in the architecture.

We don't want it to be like a big hotel, five storeys tall.

We have 12 rooms - we could have had 40,

50, but we wanted to offer

something different, something special.

This is a very sensitive and special place and spot for us,

so we wanted to protect it.

Many involved in the efforts here see Punta de Lobos

as a landmark conservation case for Chile - one that

could have a much broader impact than just protecting one

favoured surfing spot.

We are very eager that Punta de Lobos is successful

because it's the example in order to scale this project

throughout Chile.

There's a need for conservation in Chile.

We are a developing country, we're just getting

started, and we can learn from so many mistakes.

That Punta de Lobos could set the example for future developments

along the coast.

From South America to Europe next, and the village of Arreau,

set high in the French Pyrenees.

They're big on tradition when it comes to cooking here,

and they've got a novel approach to making cakes that dates back

over 200 years.

Still to come on this week's Travel Show...

Looking for a long haul in October?

Our Global Guru Simon Calder has some seasonal suggestions.

And we go to the Canadian islands, where the sea can bite.

The Travel Show - your essential guide,

wherever you're heading.

Welcome to the slice of the show that tackles your questions

about getting the best out of travel.

Coming up shortly, ideas for a great October escape,

and managing money for Mexico.

But first, peak tourist season in Europe is underway and so I've

asked Britain's biggest airports for the days this summer

when they expect to be busiest.

Here at Gatwick, it's Sunday 13th August, with travellers passing

through at a rate of two per second.

At Manchester, Friday 18th August is the key day,

and at Heathrow Airport - the busiest in Europe -

the peak will be on Sunday 6th August, with over 250,000 passengers

arriving and departing.

Jane wants to know...

What's your top long haul recommendation in October?

At that time of year it's hard to go wrong with a trip along either

the East or the West Coast of the USA, from Washington,

DC, south to Florida, or on the Californian coast,

from San Francisco to the Mexican border.

The climate is benign, apart from the odd storm

on the East Coast, and if you like to swim

in the ocean, it's about as warm as it gets.

On the East Coast, spend a few days in the US capital and then fly

to Florida, pick up a rental car and call in at Cape Canaveral

for the Space Coast and Miami Beach.

Or, on the West Coast, explore San Francisco then hire

a car for the trip south along California State Route 1,

with some of the best coastal scenery in the world; spectacular

cliffs and marine life, which may include sea lions.

Highlights include Hearst Castle, the hilltop mansion of a newspaper

magnate, the Hollywood Hills, offering genuine urban wilderness,

and at the deep south of California, San Diego -

the ideal city in which to end an adventure.

Next, Pauline and Rob Stannard followed my advice to visit

Nicaragua and simply want to know, where next?

Well, if you enjoyed the landscapes and elements of hard-core travel

in Central America's largest country, let me recommend a couple

of other alluring Latin American destinations...

Cuba and Ecuador.

Both of them are a little frayed around the edges,

with unpredictable but entertaining transport, and have plenty

of beautiful towns.

In the capitals, Havana and Quito, you'll find echoes of the colonial

atmosphere you appreciated in Granada and Leon in Nicaragua.

Finally, Fran wants to know...

Is it best to take US dollars or pesos to Mexico?

Take dollars.

In my experience, the very best rates for Mexican pesos are to be

found inside the country.

So take in cash and change it at one of the many casas de cambio.

If you're heading for Cancun and the Riviera Maya area,

then euros or pound sterling are recognised and accepted

at all the resorts.

For the rest of Mexico, though, US dollars are the only

universally recognised currency.

Other foreign funds may be regarded with suspicion.

Whether you're travelling on a shoestring or a gold-plated

credit card, I'm here to help, so e-mail your question

to [email protected] and I'll do my very best to find

you an answer.

From me, Simon Calder, the Global Guru, bye for now and see

you next time.

And to finish this week's programme, we're off to Canada

and the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

The waters can be treacherous and many ships have run aground

on the rocks here, meaning that lots of people who live in the area

now are descendants of shipwrecked sailors, who were washed ashore

when their ships went down, giving them a unique respect

for the sea.

ETHEREAL MUSIC.

My name's Nancy Clark.

I was born and raised on this island.

As an islander, when we say "home", it's something very strong

and something very rooted, because our ancestry

is like all in one island, so our sense of belonging

is very strong.

Most island families have..

It affects them in some way or another.

My uncle, her brother, drowned and my father's brother also

drowned, so I've two uncles that have drowned.

My father's brother actually drowned just over there,

right across the road.

This is where Robert Best, he would be my grandmother's

grandfather, and he shipwrecked from the Channel Islands on a ship

called the Perry around 1875.

He married a local woman.

We have very strong ties to the sea, because it's generational.

So my family, it's like six generations of fishermen

and also my brother's fifth-generation boat builder,

so these things are handed down through the families.

I feel so comfortable here and I've never felt that

feeling anywhere else.

Like knowing every little nook and cranny, and the beach

and the cape and just feeling completely at ease.

Well, unfortunately that's all we've got time for on this week's Travel

Show.

Coming up next week...

Continuing the shipwrecked theme, Ade's in Bermuda, where he'll be

meeting the team who are digitally mapping the hundreds of underwater

lost ships there, for everyone to be able to see online around the world.

That was quite literally breathtaking!

So do join us then, if you can, and in the meantime,

don't forget you can keep up with us while we're out on the road

in real-time, by signing up to our social media feeds.

Details are on the screen now.

But for now, from me Christa Larwood, and the rest