IK VERTREK, 21 MAY 2022 - In the broadcast of Saturday 21 May 2022, we have a reunion with Valentine and Yvonne Van der Valk. A lot has changed since they first left in 2012 and, in addition to family expansion, new accommodation has been built.

Update Family Van der Valk - Puy Saint Vincent
The past eight years have been intense but we have achieved a lot. Corona time became a time of reflection and recovery for us. During the months of lockdown, we enjoyed our family, nature and peace, and took time to think about what the next phase should be. "Live!" became our anthem, and regularly the five of us danced in the living room while roaring the lyrics.

We found people with whom we strengthened our base team and with whom we could share responsibilities. This ensured more quality of life for us, and at the same time higher quality in the hotel. Thus, with the arrival of chef Anne and her friend Simon, every plate coming out of the kitchen became a true feast, and that too with more local and honest products.

Besides our successful formulas for winter athletes and cyclists, we were also able to run our first yoga and outdoor retreat with sister and brother-in-law at the end of April. A try-out for programmes to come: with real attention to body and mind, in balance with the nature around us.

A new adventure
This balance will also be the theme of next spring's trip. Because the ball is in the church: April 2023, we will pack our backpacks (maybe bikes) again to go on a 4-month adventure with our children. To be inspired by people living in balance with nature, and discover our own nature more again. And with the mission to bring back that wisdom to express it in our daily lives, as well as in the way we run the hotel.

Whether we will ever leave Puy Saint Vincent?
Not for the time being! Over the years, the authentic mountain village has increasingly become our place. With every season that arrives, we sigh to each other: that really is our favourite season. Spring when everything turns green again, the sky so intensely blue and the fields full of flowers. The warmth of summer, and crowds of family and friends coming to cycle, raft, climb and hut-trip. The fiery colours of autumn set against sometimes already white mountain peaks, accompanied by a pleasant calm. Then again the first snowflakes that everyone eagerly awaits, completely transforming the world into a white paradise for a few months.

We couldn't wish for a better place for our children: all three of them have a great time at the village school of 32 pupils in total, and by now correct us when we speak French (or worse: laugh at us). In winter, they are skiing every day and only Lilou (4) is just able to keep up with us. And the other months of the year too, they are outside a lot, building huts and dams. When we all walk to school in the morning and Iza points to a low-hanging cloud mysteriously obscuring the mountain peaks as she mutters blissfully to herself, "Wow, how beautiful", we are the happiest people on earth.

Our base
An evaluation of recent times would not be complete without expressing our gratitude to Vincent and Ilonka. The moment we cycled into Puy Saint Vincent in 2011, they welcomed us with open arms and gave us all the confidence to run chalet and campsite together with them. Since then, this cooperation and friendship have only deepened.

A foundation on which all subsequent collaborations built. A lot of collaborators have come and gone, but with everyone we have not only worked together but also shared life for a while. And that creates a bond. A bond that we most certainly also experience with the current top team: Anne, Simon, Martijn, Abel, Frederique, Axel, Eloïse, Margaux, Sophie, Sarah, Patrick, Veronique, Laura...

We are also grateful for all the people we have welcomed here in recent years, and for all the special moments we have shared with them. Without them, life here would have been very different for us. At the moment, the hotel is still closed, but in a few days we will receive our first cyclists. The tour de France has a finish on 13 July on the col du Granon, 30km from here, so it promises to be a great cycling season anyway!

Text: I Leave