Surf days and Flamenco Nights
Bank holiday weekend in Spain
It was a bank holiday weekend in Spain and the surf hostel in Conil where Charlie was staying had arranged a surf camp and it was fully booked. Everybody had surf lessons all weekend. Charlie went with them in the van to El Palmar and took some photos of them surfing.
Charlie and Tamara felt a bit nostalgic that morning as Alberto had left and with him the last one of their little group. Tamara had two more days in Conil before she would have to go back home too.
Surf photos and a girl’s lunch
Charlie enjoyed taking surf photos again. She hadn’t really done that ever since she was at the Quiksilver Pro in Hossegor the year before and it was a whole different story to take photos of professional surfers and of beginners during a surf lesson. But Charlie enjoyed it and she went back to Canibal Royal to immediately sort them. When the girls would come out of the water, she would have the pictures ready to share with them. Tamara, Alicia, and Alessandra joined Charlie for lunch and were happy about the photos. What they were not happy about was that the staff at Canibal Royal had mixed up orders and their food had been served at a different table. It probably didn’t help either that they moved to a different table to catch some more sun. It took a bit, but in the end, they got the food they wanted.
Sunset and Live Music in El Palmar
They returned to the hostel with the van at around 5 p.m., took a warm shower, and relaxed a bit in the common area. Charlie used that time to write about the things that had happened the previous day when they went to Caños de Meca. Alessandra and Alicia who were part of the surf camp group had a dinner arranged for that night that had been organized by the hostel. Tamara whose surf holiday in Andalucía would soon come to an end wanted to eat out and enjoy some live music in El Palmar. Together with Vivi, one of the volunteers at the hostel, they left the hostel at 7 p.m. – perfect timing to enjoy the sunset on the beach in El Palmar before heading to a bar.
Just after the sun had disappeared at the horizon, they started walking along the beach to check out the live music in the different bars in El Palmar. One place had been recommended, El Dorado, and they were willing to walk 10-15 minutes to reach this bar. Unfortunately, there were no tables left and they would have had to wait for an hour. They decided to walk back towards the bars that are closer to Take Surf School and settle for the music there. They ended up at TunATun where a guitarist and singer were performing some traditional Flamenco. The music was very enjoyable, the food selection…not so much. Charlie who had fallen in love with Salmorejo, went for that option again, Vivi and Tamara ordered some chicken nuggets and chips. To put it in the words Tamara used that night, it was “the worst dinner they had all week”, but it was still a great night out with good music and lovely company.
The music at TunATun finished at 11 p.m. and they continued their journey along the beach road to check out the other bars. They ended up in El Niño del Surf where they were still playing some music. Different groups and singers were taking turns and even the audience could join in and show their musical talent. It was all exclusively in Spanish and Charlie didn’t dare to go to the stage and perform any of her songs in English, but it reminded her a lot of the music session in Fuerteventura during her last stay there.
They returned to the hostel just after midnight. The next day would be a bank holiday in Spain and it also was Tamara’s last day. The thought of her leaving made Charlie a bit sad and it was once again incredible how much could happen in one week and how close you can get to people in only a few days.
PS: A few weeks later, Charlie received a message from Tamara:
It reads:
Hi, I hope you’re well.
😘
Yes, all good. How are you?
Gooood, I thought of you 😊
