“If I am where I am today, Esterel Caravaning had something to do with it.”
– Alban Eraclas, a loyal guest since 1977
A piece of my childhood
I was two and a half years old when my parents first brought us here. It was 1977, one year after Esterel Caravaning opened. My father, Jean-Louis, was a sales representative. He would set up the caravan, go back to work and return to join us whenever he could. My mother, Dominique, stayed with us. We spent two months here every summer.
My parents tried taking us elsewhere. It never went well. We absolutely wanted to come back. Above all, for our friends and the freedom! The campsite was so central to our holidays that even going to the beach could feel like a chore: everything happened at the campsite, with our friends, the swimming pool, the clubhouse and all the activities. The only rule was to be back on time for lunch and dinner…
In July, there were the Germans, the British and the Dutch. In August, the French. Two months, two different worlds. Throughout the school year, we made an effort with our English and German so that we could make ourselves understood during the holidays. I often think about that when I look back on my career: Group Quality Director, international positions, Germany, Poland, Slovakia. That taste for different cultures started here, I’m convinced of it.
A second family
Saturdays were all about the departure ritual. We were a group of eight-, nine- and ten-year-olds. We would all sit on the steps of Reception and watch some people leave while others arrived. We cried as the first ones departed and eagerly watched for the newcomers. Losing a few friends, finding new ones. It was campsite life condensed into a single Saturday morning. I formed some very strong friendships during those years, friendships that I still have today. They became like a second family.
And then, of course, there were the first summer romances. Those first emotions, experienced right here, somewhere between a swim and an evening dance. Even today, I sometimes bump into former girlfriends in the campsite’s pathways, all of us now with our families, our children and grandchildren running around us. My wife knows about it, accepts it and actually finds it rather funny…
From camper to entertainer
From the late 1980s onwards, I started working here. As a youngster, I began by collecting glasses, then helped out at the restaurant. After that, I became an entertainer, and eventually Head of Entertainment for around ten years. Those two months of work each summer helped pay for my preparatory classes and engineering school. But it wasn’t just work. My job was to have fun and make sure everyone else had fun with me. I even recruited some of my friends, as well as my two brothers.
To announce the evening events, two of us would ride around the campsite at around 6 p.m. on a DAX motorbike. Sometimes I would use my 2CV, and more than once, when I returned to my mobile home, I found my car completely covered in toilet paper. We had fun. It was all good-natured. Connecting with the holidaymakers was everything: learning how to manage a team, bring people together and reach out to others. Essential skills that I would later use in every position throughout my career, without really realising where I had first learned them.
In 2016, I came back for the campsite’s 40th anniversary. That was when I met Valentin, who was working as an entertainer. He said to me: “You know, Alban, when I was a kid, I used to stand in front of the stage, and you were the one performing on the Esterel stage.” I was pleased that he recognised me and flattered, of course… but what a reminder of how much time had passed!
A whole network
I came back with my children, and later with my grandchildren. We swapped my parents’ caravan for a rented mobile home. My wife, who had always been convinced that Brittany was the perfect holiday destination, eventually gave in after a few rainy summers. Today, she knows more about the campsite than I do. During the latest 50th-anniversary quizzes, she beat me twice in a row! My daughters, Ambre and Ève, have caught the Esterel bug too. They now have their own memories here, their own friendships. They are even talking about coming to work here for a summer.
The friendships formed here never disappear. For example, I later worked with Greg Delmer, from one of the campsite’s longest-standing families, at my company. Another childhood friend from the campsite, who went on to become a comic-book artist, now takes part in a festival I organise in my town. There are Belgian friends I travel to Belgium to see. Facebook groups where former guests still share memories and stories on a very regular basis. Esterel Caravaning has created a strong, international network that has endured for fifty years. And that is something truly magical!
Between us: The shaving foam battle
It all started innocently enough: two or three kids waiting for the entertainers on their DAX motorbike, armed with water pistols. The next day, there were more of them. Then the parents joined in with buckets. So the entertainment team fought back with the truck and bins filled with water. The following day, they were waiting for us with shaving foam. Things kept escalating, and there was no real way of stopping it.
Aurore made the call: we needed one big finale to bring things back down again without spoiling the fun. So we organised a giant shaving foam battle at the bottom of the campsite, on the volleyball court. Everyone against everyone: holidaymakers, entertainers and management, all right in the middle of it.
The campsite shop wasn’t too pleased with us for the next few days: we had completely cleared them out of shaving foam!
– Aurore
