I like to think that I am a bit of a seasoned European traveller. I have spent many a summer in the
Netherlands, Germany, and France, and my first real backpacking experience was around Eastern Europe when I was 19. However, one place I hadn’t ventured
to was Spain, which is actually quite odd as, according to a study published by
the Telegraph this year, it is the most popular
EU country for British nationals.
So, this summer, armed with my somewhat dusty and decrepit rucksack, I set
off for sunny Spain for a friend’s 30th birthday. I flew Turkish
Airlines for the first time, and I was pleasantly surprised! The trip was split
into two legs, with a few hours wait in Istanbul. And, honestly, it was a
relatively stress-free and relaxed journey.
I spent the first week on my own, and my first stop was Madrid. However,
I had decided to only stay the one night in the capital and head straight down
to Valencia first thing the following morning.
Spain is
one of the most popular destinations for
windsurfing in Europe, and, for this reason, often plays host to international
world championship competitions. Growing up in a very outdoors’y country
and spending most summers at the beach, I have always been a bit of a water
baby. So,
for my first week in Spain, I decided to do a five-day windsurfing course with
Ocean Republik.
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| Ocean Republik, windsurfing school. |
For the
first three days, we learned the basics in a marina-type environment. How to
gybe, tack, and sail from point-to-point. The most difficult part was trying to
avoid the young Spanish kids from the local sailing school. I’m certain they
could smell fear, and spent most of the time attempting to capsize each other.
And us! It was like bumper cars…on water.
Once we had mastered the basics, or so we thought, we were taken out of the marina and into the open sea. The beach was a speck on the horizon (this may be a slight exaggeration). There were a few seasoned windsurfers in our group, and they were quite literally sailing in circles around us, the ‘beginners’. We were tasked with sailing to and from a red buoy just outside the entrance to the marina, which, on the first day, I didn’t get anywhere near to. Out on the open sea, the water was pretty choppy and it was quite difficult just staying on the board. So, for the first day, I spent most of the time in the water as opposed to doing any actual sailing.
The second day was a lot easier, as it was not as windy, and I managed to successfully tack and sail relatively close’ish to the buoy. The course passed by in a bit of a blur, but by the end of the week, despite being bruised, beaten, and tired, I had somewhat mastered the basics of windsurfing.
Once we had mastered the basics, or so we thought, we were taken out of the marina and into the open sea. The beach was a speck on the horizon (this may be a slight exaggeration). There were a few seasoned windsurfers in our group, and they were quite literally sailing in circles around us, the ‘beginners’. We were tasked with sailing to and from a red buoy just outside the entrance to the marina, which, on the first day, I didn’t get anywhere near to. Out on the open sea, the water was pretty choppy and it was quite difficult just staying on the board. So, for the first day, I spent most of the time in the water as opposed to doing any actual sailing.
The second day was a lot easier, as it was not as windy, and I managed to successfully tack and sail relatively close’ish to the buoy. The course passed by in a bit of a blur, but by the end of the week, despite being bruised, beaten, and tired, I had somewhat mastered the basics of windsurfing.
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| The location of Ocean Republik. |
(Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get any photos of me actually windsurfing. Next time, hopefully!)
