GAUCHOS DEL MAR started out as a surf trip when two Argentinean brothers and surfers decided to journey from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires. In March 2010, Joaquin and Julian Azulay, decided to earn an extra money, buy a car and set out for a trip they would remember till the end of their lives. After 403 days, 13 countries and 30,000 kilometers camping and surfing in the American Continent, they got back home, Argentina. To cherish the memory of their journey they decided to produce a documentary of the whole trip, which won 9 awards at international film festivals. After an experience of a lifetime experience discovering American Pacific coastline the brothers realized they never come to know their coastline and thus went on to explore Patagonia. Adrex.com asked the guys couple of questions about the trips, surfing and unforgettable experiences they encountered along the way.
Hi ADREX, we have been filming and post producing our second film shot during 6 months in Patagonia and now screening “Tierra de Patagones” film in different Film Festivals in USA and EU.
The legendary freestyle windsurfing event on lake Neusiedl is back! Since 1998 the best Freestyle Windsurfers in the world travel down to the Austrian water sports capital to compete in the European Freestyle Pro Tour. This edition, taking place
between the 27th of April and the 1st of May, will be…
2.An obvious question; how did the idea of traveling the American Pacific and surfing 13 countries came about? Have you thought about it before or it was one of those spontaneous moments?
We had this dream since we were young kids, so we had it in our minds. But we didn’t think much about it before starting, we wanted to do it and went for it.
3.What was the hardest part before you set off ?
The most difficult part of it was to start. We had to leave some things behind and go after our dream.
4.How much money did the whole trip cost? Did you have to earn some extra at some point of the route?
We left California with a really small budget and we knew that with that money we weren’t going to be able to complete the journey to Argentina, so we worked in constructions, took photos & videos of other surfers, worked as taxi drivers with our truck to take other tourists surfing, sold clothes and hammocks, painted constructions or cleaned boats to finance the trip.
The only costs that we had were gas and food as we camped or lived in native’s houses that invited us to stay, so it was “cheap” for being a year + trip.
5.What was the best moment and also the most rewarded of the whole trip from your retrospective view?
The trip was full of “best moments”, surfing new waves in between brothers, living in the middle of a dessert or an isolated beach, eating from plants and sea, sharing with local people… the retrospective once you get back and you remember memories are so many that you cannot decide on only one best moment…
Maybe the most rewarded part of the trip was pushing us to live for this, making us produce a film, get awards, get people interested in what we do and being able to do a second film in Patagonia.
the car that made it all the way from LA to Bueno Aires
earning some extra money along the way
6.How long have you been surfing and how did you started?
We started when we were 9-10 years old. Our Dad was one of the pioneers in Surfing in Argentina and he introduced us into the sea since we were young kids, first with a bodyboard and later with surfboards.
7.Who or what was your main influence to keep on surfing?
Our Dad and Mom, as we went for holidays to the sea and they pushed us into the water.
8.What was the best break you got to surf on the trip?
We found some really nice waves in our way back home in Mexico, Nicaragua, Galapagos, etc. There are so many good waves along the American Pacific… it is a beautiful coastline.
9.The funniest moment?
In every country we had very fun moments, it is difficult to decide on only one…
10.Was there ever a point or a moment you thought the trip was a bad idea:)?
No, we were living our dream… every good or bad moment that appeared we took it as it came.
11.Now, tell us something about the Gauchos del Mar movie. Was it something that crossed already your minds while on the route or it came about after arriving home?
The Gauchos del mar movie was not meant to be a movie. We were filming and taking pictures for personal memories. At the beginning of the trip we made a blog to share what we were doing and suddenly more people got interested in it, so we created a facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/gauchosdelmar), shared more photos, some short clips and decided to do a film, submit it to film festivals and then sell it. It was nice and natural process.
12. Why the title "Gauchos del Mar"?
After two weeks we had left Los Angeles we met Mateo, a really creative guy from California that was living in a small town in the Desert of Baja California. He told us that as Argentineans, being all day in the water and drinking “mate” we should get this nickname. Maybe that is the way that people see the Argentineans, as our country has lots of “gauchos”, which are the people that work on the countryside.
13.It won 9 awards at international film festivals, congrats. I read you plan on a similar trip to Africa. How it's going? Is it easier to find sponsors after Gauchos del Mar's success? How can people support you?
Thanks, we were supposed to go to Africa after the American Pacific trip, but suddenly the Patagonia trip appeared and we went for it. The Africa plan is on and we want to go there in 2015/2016. Maybe now it is a bit easier to get sponsors as they realize that it is a serious project and not a holiday trip… People can support us via these links:
Web: www.gauchosdelmar.com
Fb: www.facebook.com/gauchosdelmar
Twitter &instagram: @gauchosdelmar
Youtube.com/gauchosdelmar
Vimeo.com/gauchosdelmar
To get a direct contact with us they can write us to info@gauchosdelmar.com or FB. Or you can rent or buy the Gauchos del mar film here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/gauchosdelmar
14.Tell us something more about the African trip? What are you looking forward the most there?
Surfing is our excuse for going on long trips to regions that we don’t know. But it is not only about it, we like to get to know new cultures, meet people, see how they live, share an environmental message and share our experiences with others through social media and the films so incentive people to try to do what they really love. Maybe they cannot go for it now, but if they propose themselves and put attitude in it, for sure they will be capable of doing it. We are not talking about surfing or travelling, everyone might have different passions and dreams, and we believe that they can be achieved with effort.
15. The best surf spot at home? What place would you recommend our readers?
Argentina has some really good waves when the swell and wind conditions match. We live 450kms away from the sea and drive to Mar del Plata or Necochea when the waves are good. But there are 3500kms of coastline and some really good waves towards south.
16.It was nice to chatting with you guys. Keep it up and we wish you all the best; have fun in Africa and make your dreams always a reality!
Thanks ADREX!!!
Gauchos del Mar Trailer
Tierra de Patagones Trailer
All images are courtesy of Gauchos del Mar; Copyright applied.
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