Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Barcelona waves

So the move to Catalunya comes ever closer (beginning of May now) and we are just starting to get plans in order. There is a lot to do and think about - how do we get out there (fly/drive/ferry), how much/what stuff to take, bank accounts, accomodation etc.

The only one thing that has been worrying me about Barca is that, for all the amazing climbing nearby, the quality mountain biking just outside the city, and the fact that the ski-lifts of the Pyrrannees are only a 3 hour drive away, the fact is that the Med is not exactly famous for it's waves. In fact, for 8 months of the year it is pretty much as flat as a mill-pond. I had heard rumours that the winter months bring some small swell every now and again, but months of web-searching only found a couple of low-res pics, and a lot of hearsay.

Yesterday though, while searching for an example to show Mr Rhys, I happened to stumble upon www.funkysurfing.com, a photo-diary dedicated to "the waves of Barcelona and Tarrogona". Check the waves of two weeks ago, at Barceloneta (the city's main beach). Needless to say, my mouth hit the floor, and perusal of the rest of the season's waves revealed at least some sort of consistency. From the pics I'm guessing that the winter waves of the Med are about the same size and consistency as summer waves in Wales (i.e. usually a foot or two of wind-chop, with the occasional bigger and/or cleaner day). I guess I'll only be able to see how consistent it really is when I live out there, but one thing's for sure - if waves like the one below come along even once every couple of months, I'll definitely need my board!

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