I'm back. Back from catching (or attempt to) waves. It's been over 10 years since I stood on a surfboard. I got the surf itch more than a year ago when I saw pictures of a surf camp and I knew I just had to go again. It was tricky to find an organisation that catered to all my needs. Not that I'm high maintenance and I've had rougher accommodations in the Philippines but I really looked forward to have some form of extra comfort. So I stumbled upon Zarautz Surfvillage. We didn't need a lot of time to think about it. It looked so good we booked almost right away.
Tipi
I really wanted to sleep in a Tipi. Now I realize I took no pictures inside or around the tipi which I deeply regret. So I told Robin (husband) that we have to go again to make this right (I can try right). I actually enjoyed sleeping in the tipi. I had a good group. Nobody snored or maybe one person just a little. It wasn't too warm and too cold at night. We had beds and matrasses which normal tents don't have. That's definitely an extra advantage. I also had a rack where I could put my clothes. This was very useful as it reduced the clutter I would normally cause while digging in my suitcase.
Food
Food. Specifically vegetarian food. It's hard to find a restaurant that has vegetarian food on the menu. So we opted for a full pension at the camp site and I'm so happy we did. The food was great there was a lot of diversity during the entire week. It did help that there were vegetarians and vegans that helped prepare the meals. Who am I kidding it helped a lot.
The few times we did eat out we found two good places I would definitely recommend. First one is Shelter. A place at the beach well known by surfers where you can find healthy food bowls, nachos, smoothies, cake, ... . Great for breakfast or lunch. The other place was called Mele Mele. A burger place were you can fill in a piece of paper and compose your own burger. I know what I like so my burger was delish ! A great concept and fun for lunch or dinner.
Sanitation
There was a sanitation block that was available for the entire campsite, not only ours. The facilities for men and women are separate. Showers and toilets are together. It was well taken care of as I saw the cleaning ladies every morning. The only downside is the distance. It isn't that far but when you wake up in the middle of the night and you have to pee, it is.
Surfing and activities
I brought a book with me for to kill the time. I finished my book because it wasn't that big not because there wasn't a lot to do. We had surf lessons almost every day. Which I really enjoyed. I learned a lot more than 10 year ago. Our instructor Imke De Bruyn did a great job making sure we had the proper knowledge and technique to catch a wave.
Aside from surfing there were several beach activities we could participate. I found there were also a lot of activities planned as an entire group. We all went to dinner and drank some disgusting cider (apparently it's something you learn to drink such as beer), we went to San Sebastian and did a few bars in Zarautz itself. One evening we had a performance Rum for Breakfast which was really good.
Needless to say we didn't have a bored moment and the week flew by. I believe we will do this again as the experience was great. Hopefully I will return to Zarautz in this lifetime but the memories will be with me forever.
xoxo
Pictures : Miek Matheve , Robin Struyf, Stephanie Cruijsweegs, Hanan Vandenberghe
