If you had said to us a month ago that we were beach people we would have scoffed. "You mean, like, lying in the sun, reading a book, on your tiny patch of sand, with a hundred other people. No way!"
Big swell at Playa Amio, Cantabria, Spain
Then we discovered some of the incredible beaches in Asturias and Cantabria, Spain, and we found we are, in fact, beach people. Especially because there weren't many other people ;-)
Just a few things to pack for the day :-)
We found that, for us, being at the beach is about acting like a couple of hyper-active 8 year olds. There's so much to do!
Like catching the first wave of the day at dawn. Then catching more after breakfast, then again mid morning, then again and again for 'just one more!'
Yes it was hard core at just 13 degrees. And no we don't have wetsuits. It was worth it!
Then there's yoga for me and building extreme stone sculptures for David
Yoga on the beach for me, and stone sculpture building for David.
And drawing big patterns in the sand.
David making sand art
Sketching beach, after beach, after beach.
Asturias, SpainSame rock, different tide - endless fascination.Playa Fuente, Cantabria, SpainNext year we're talking of getting a surf board too!
Hours of frisbee throwing and hours of slacklining.
Slacklining on the beach.
And finding awesome spots to sleep and wake up
Van life :-)
Exploring rock pools
Little black crab. So cute!Rockpool treasures.
And going snorkelling.
Going snorkelling on the island off Playa Amio, Pechon, Spain
We even sometimes dragged ourselves just a little bit away to go climbing. But not too far!
Multipitch climbing above the sea, SpainClimb, swim, climb, swim :-)
Yes, there were 'grown ups' on the beach and people 'acting their age'. Some of them probably thought we should just chill out, but we thought they should do something crazy!
No need for persuasion :-)
Oh, and we got plenty tanned too ;-)
Now, 500km inland and a tiny fraction closer to home, this feels so yesterday! But it's not adios to Asturias, it's hasta luego for sure.
There's something irresistibly paintable about a weathered fence post half-swallowed by summer wildflowers. It's the contrast that does it — rough, sun-bleached wood against the soft, fleeting delic...
Five times at Périgord Retreats, and the magic is still there.. Every single time I hop on the train in southern France and get whisked through French countryside and villages to Gourdon Station — ...
Ater spending time in South Africa recently, surrounded by the kind of wildlife you only see there, I came home with many sketches of zebras, giraffes, warthogs, baboons and more and a strong urge to ...
