05 Jun
The main accommodation of Spanish & Surf is at the four story building called Casa Carmen. It is a nice white villa along the Bristol promenade (one of the fancier areas of Corralejo), with a hypnotic sea view and good ambience. From the quiet and safe area of Casa Carmen you can walk into the town center in just a few minutes and there is a couple of grocery stores only a few blocks away.
For me sharing a house with people I didn’t know was a totally new experience. My experience of staying in hostels pretty much consisted of a party trip (many, many, many years ago) to Turku, the second largest city in Finland… so I admit that I did not know what to expect. But yet again Fuerteventura surprised me and gave me a new memory I will never forget.
I stayed in a spacious shared room on the top floor with six beds (three bunk beds) but out of which only four were occupied at once. Us girls had a room with a magnificent view over the sea and the boys had a shared room downstairs with a small private patio. For those who like some more privacy there are three private rooms available. At most the house accommodates around 15 people but I think we were max 10 people staying there at once. Casa Carmen is spacious and light and even though you live with others it does not feel crowded or unpleasant at all. It actually feels cosy and nice having people around you even though you just slouch on the couch reading or surfing…on the free wifi!
Besides the surfing and the spanish lessons, getting to know all these wonderful people from all around the world is what made my solo-traveling all worthwhile! You form a certain family with the others staying in the house no matter where they come from or their age. I met some lovely people that became friends for life, and all the goodbyes during my month was the most painful experience of this voyage. It’s amazing how fast you connect with people in an environment like this that attracts like-minded people.
So, for a month I hung out with 21-42 year olds from Germany, Italy, UK, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, New Zealand, Russia and Spain and felt very comfortable with my newly found international entourage. I got to practice all the languages I ever studied in school, and besides improving my Spanish my German got notably better! Echt geil!
And thanks to all the italians on the island I now understand a fair share of italian too…and gesticulate with my hands even more than before while speaking. Capisci?
By Monica Gren