Surfing instead of snowboarding

For over 6 weeks, we have been traveling around Spain in our camper van - and we would love to stay here. Right here, on the west coast, by the Atlantic Ocean. Where you can surf. Because yes: we tried it. And we love it! Instead of heading to the mountains for snowboarding this winter, we are putting on our wetsuits and getting on surfboards - and yes, sometimes we fall off right away. But it's still incredibly fun!

But let's rewind a bit. We wrote the last blog from Playa de la Barrosa in Chiclana de la Frontera. There we met Lisa and Marcel from Germany, who inspired us to go surfing. But first, we really wanted to visit Cadiz. The Andalusian port city on the Atlantic coast is located on a narrow strip of land and when you're there, you get the impression that you're on a peninsula. We strolled through the old town for a few hours and were amazed at how many tourists were still out and about at this time of year. The restaurants in the narrow streets were packed to the last seat.

In the late afternoon, we drove south again and parked a few kilometers outside the town of Conil de la Frontera on a sandy pitch near the beach (Playa para Surfer). Lisa and Marcel had ordered us here because they needed a few more players for the game "Secret Hitler" - a modified version of "Werewolf". Together with the two of them and another German couple - Katharina and Martin and their little son Joshua - we spent a fun game night. By the way, Katharina and Martin are using their parental leave to travel through Europe with their little Joshua. They started when he was 3 months old and now he is 7 months old.

The next day, we went to Playa El Palmar, one of the most famous surf beaches in Spain. Because: we had booked a surf lesson for the afternoon. When we arrived, there was a lot going on; the sea and the beach were full of surfers, there was one surf school after the other along the street, and the skate park was full and loud party music blared from various music boxes. Well, we had forgotten that it was Saturday. And despite the crowd; the atmosphere was pretty cool.

An hour later, we were on the beach wrapped in wetsuits with our surf instructor and a few other surf students, warming up. Sarah and I - the only beginners in the group - had to do a few dry exercises. The most important exercise was the pop-up - that's what it's called when you manage to stand up on the surfboard.

Shortly thereafter, we were in the water too. During the next two hours, we splashed in the water, fell into the sea headfirst countless times, and were thrown around in the waves like in a washing machine. Sarah eventually managed to stand on the board for a few seconds - beginner's luck! After surfing, we were super exhausted but super happy - a new passion was born!

In the evening, we continued to Tarifa, the southernmost point of Spain. Where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic. On the way, many people strongly recommended visiting Tarifa.

Just when we entered the small town, it was clear - there are more campers and motorhomes than normal cars here. The roadside and parking lots were full of these rolling tiny homes.

But the next day, it was time to do laundry. Actually a boring affair, but many laundromats in Spain have the advantage of offering free WiFi and power outlets - while our laundry happily spun in circles, we could surf and charge our laptop. In the afternoon, we took a long walk on the beach and visited the old town. By the way, the weather has been amazing for weeks - warm temperatures, sometimes up to 20 degrees, and a clear blue sky. It couldn't be better.

However, Tarifa itself did not grab us as much as expected. There is a beautiful old town, a nice long beach where mainly kite surfers can be found, and a shopping street with many individual shops - especially surf and hippie shops. There is also a wide range of activities - quad biking, surfing, biking, whale and bird watching, horseback riding on the beach, etc. I think it was just a bit "too" big for us. Tarifa is not a huge city, but we prefer more remote places. Where you can simply open the door and let the dog out. Where you can also take the table outside. Nevertheless, it was a great experience to explore Tarifa. After two nights, we were really in the mood for surfing again, so we drove back up to the surfer's beach Playa El Palmar. But before that, we desperately needed a hot shower - for the past two weeks, we had only cleaned ourselves under cold beach showers. We decided to go to a campsite (Camping San José in Zahora) for the exceptionally comfortable hot showers, free WiFi (we don't have mobile internet at the moment!), and all the disposal and refill facilities - for 20 euros. By the way, this was the first time we stayed at a campsite in three months - since we met the Perler couple in Cinque Terre.

The next day, it was time again - we rented wetsuits and surfboards for 10 euros per person and went surfing on our own this time. We had watched several surf tutorials on YouTube beforehand and felt somewhat ready for the waves. And it actually got better and better and we were able to master more and more foam waves while standing. Plus, this time we had the ocean to ourselves - it was Tuesday and there were only a handful of other surfers on the waves besides us. No comparison to last weekend, when it felt like being part of an ant colony (see pictures).

In the evening, we returned to the spot where we had been a week ago (Playa de la Barrosa in Chiclana de la Frontera). It's just super cozy here - a paved, free parking lot right by the sea, including super clean toilets and (cold) showers, and right next door a cozy café with Wi-Fi. The next day, we met young Germans here again - Hanna, Hannes, and Tim. We got into a conversation and decided to go surfing together in El Palmar the next day.

We then spent a few great days with the Germans. Hanna and Tim had a really cool bus - a self-converted 1985 Mercedes Benz D 508 that is registered as a vintage car. Fun fact: vintage cars hardly pay any insurance fees and all the environmental zones do not apply to them - they can drive into any city and blow out their emissions while "normal" older diesel vehicles without retrofitting are not allowed to.

Actually, the five of us fit in the vintage car and spent two cozy evenings in it. Unfortunately, both Hanna and Tim, as well as Hannes, who drives a smaller VW, had to start their journey back to Germany today because they want to be home for Christmas.

Sarah and I are currently sitting in an internet café and trying to plan a route for the next few days - on Wednesday we have to be in Lisbon because my parents will be coming for 10 days and spending Christmas with us. We have rented various AirBnBs and will explore Portugal together. We are looking forward to seeing them! :-)

See you next week and have a wonderful Advent season!

Author: Stephanie Köllinger