The surf house was like a hostel: our dorms were clean but basic and there was a friendly hostel vibe. The only thing lacking from Latas was a common room. The dorms didn't have any comfortable place to hang out and whilst there was a bar/lounge, this felt very separate to the surf house and attracted mainly non-residents. For those of us staying at the surf school, we had the option of eating food cooked by the instructors (when they felt like it!) from a hut outside. There was a gazebo and picnic benches next to the hut, where people tended to socialise, but it got pretty chilly in the evenings.
Surf lessons were 11am-1pm every day. The surfers were split up into a couple of groups, which means that classes were large - usually at least 20 people. The first lesson was incredibly speedy, consisting of a quick explanation of currents and a demonstration of how to get up on your board. I was glad that I'd had a couple of lessons before or I don't think I would have known where to start, as there was no instruction on how to actually catch a wave! However, when Ale - a typical surfer dude with dreads and a deep love for the ocean - started to teach us, I learnt a lot more! As the week went on we received more individual attention both when practising on land and whilst in the sea. We could also help ourselves to the equipment in the afternoon so we could get more practise in!
Further afield
Apart from surfing and sunbathing (weather permitting!) there was little else to do. One day we went to explore the centre of Somo, about a 30 minute walk away. Apart from a few surf schools and a disproportionate amount of cafe's, there wasn't much there. However, it's likely that the town has much more of an atmosphere earlier in the season as one of the guide books suggested places to 'escape the crowds of Somo'... we were looking for more crowds!
Another day we took a walk in the other direction to the town of Loredo. Loredo is even smaller than Somo, and had a drum total of 4 restaurants, two of which were closed when we were looking for lunch! We ended up at a specialist croqueteria, where a woman was singing to the locals, leaving us feeling rather conspicuous. However, the food was delicious. We were wondering why tapas portions seemed so expensive. The answer? Because they are HUGE. We shared two half portions of croquettes, a salad and venison meatballs and we were full to bursting. So full that we just went to the shop and bought slices of meat and cheese for dinner.
In terms of entertainment, the locals were loving the massive funfair right next to our campsite. I have nothing against tweenagers staying out late and family fun - we even found a churros stall to satisfy our sweet cravings. The problem was the funfair was blasting out music until 5am. When you are exhausted from surfing, the last thing you want is all day dodgems and a creepy inflatable SpongeBob looming at your window. One night we swallowed our pride and went to investigate the frivolities. After applauding the 1950's-holiday-camp-style band, we followed the crowds to a large, bubble-covered tarpaulin. Here we found groups of competing teenagers run across the plastic, down a bottle of coke and spin around 12 times before running back over the slippery surface. The point of the competition was lost on us (entertaining as it was). The next night we were 'lulled' to sleep by the not-to-dulcet tones of Spanish X-factor reject, Natalia... thankfully that was the last night of the fair!
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