De Anonymous , 06-05-2009

not the same as it was - I thought i leave it a while to follow on from my previous post about sand being dumped at el palmar and the damage done to the break.. a full season in fact.

el palmar no longer works well through the tide and has lost a lot of its consistency and shape for smaller swells.

the sand that was dumped is a courser grain so it has piled up along the shore making the smaller waves surge and close out as a shore dump. also there was some unforseen consiquence of trying to fill in the rocky sea bed by dumping sand.

it seems that the erosion has greatly increased and never have i seen so many rocks exposed, some dangerously so. this has also affected the quality of the wave with less sund under the break than ever.

hope in time that all this sand brough from offshore gets washed away and el palmar returns to what it was before man decided to try and "improve" the beach for summer tourism.

all that said there were still some epic days this winter. when its on its still hossegeor without the hassle.

just not as often anymore.

De Anonymous , 19-10-2008

Surfboard rental in El Palmar / Conil - Hello, I will be in El Palmar the second week in November and will need to rent a surfboard. Can anybody recommend some surfshop or surfschool where to rent a board? Unfortunately the guys from winterwaves.com told me, they will be closed during that time.

Many thanks in advance!

Harm

De John , 14-10-2008

el palmar - great set up-but doesn't get a huge amount of swell consistently. Also, loads of van people on their big OE learning to surf. Now don't call me a snob, but when I leave on a trip, I like to get away from crowds of German long boarders and Spanish boogie boarders. So unless its pumping, you can be in Portugal in a day, and Morocco too. If you like tuna, you will love this place, its the best tasting tuna in the world...

De Anonymous , 08-09-2008

dont stay in Camping El Palmar - I would like to inform you that the Camping El Palmar (http://www.campingelpalmar.es) is the biggest rip off I have ever encountered when surfing Spain and staying in Spanish campsites (I have been coming to Spain for 8 years). The campsite itself is very tiny, dusty, dirty, and the owners are very greedy. They will make you pay one week in advance for a plot and then will allocate you a 2 x 2 meters place where they say your car and tent should fit in. You complain and they will tell you that you can park your car in the parking area (far away from your tent) even though you have paid for a plot that should include car + tent + electricity. They will tell you that the electricity is included in the price and the next you ask where the electricity is they will tell you that you have to pay extra money for it. I recommend you to stay in other camping sites in Cadiz region, just dont stay in this sh***y camping.

De Andreas , 08-08-2008

finally we may rejoice - Thanks for the correction of the below.
I will be going to el Palmar in september and was quite alarmed...
Now I'm really looking forward to catching some waves.

De Arne , 08-08-2008

el palmar NOT destroyed - the comments about EL Palmar being destroyed are complete bullshit.
They bring sand to El Palmar every May or June - nearly every year. At least the last three years I´m glad they do so. Who witnessed the big storms and waves in the winter (especially in April), will know how much sand got dragged in the sea. The waves got actually a little worse after the big storms in April. There were too many rocks exposed and some wired sandbanks. So gladly they brought some sand back to El Palmar. The underwater rock formations (the rocks way outside) in El Palmar will always form the sandbank in it´s unique perfect style. It only needs a couple of new and full moon high tides, some swell and some levante and everything will be back to perfection. See you in El Palmar ;) !!!

De Anonymous , 27-07-2008

news from el palmar? - anybody witnessed the same destruction of the el palmar surfspot??
how come there hasn't been some insurgence from local surfers?

I plan on going to el palmar in late August...any chance of catching some small swell there (or rather nearby)??

De Anonymous , 23-07-2008

el palmar is destroyed - update from below. a small swell has come in since the work has been done and thus far the damage is clear. el palmer is not breaking well at all and the swells now just surge up the beach and dump onto dry sand or close out as one big section. the condours of the seabed are completely changed now and as far as i can see in this small summer swell the break at el palmar no longer exists. what is worse is that the sand that has been dumped here is of a different type to what was at el palmer before. the grains are larger and it is full of broken shells, what this means is that the sediment system is now changed and only time will tell how this will affect the formation of quality sandbars. some irony is that now the beach extends out into an area of rocks so it is not very good for the summer tourists who want to paddle about with their kids, some of these rocks are dangerous and are only a few inches below the surface right in the shoredump. sad that in thier attemt to make el palmar more attractive to tourists they have made it less so due to the rocky sea bed and less attractive to surfers due the the wave gone. i will update agin on the next decent swell (>4ft)

De Anonymous , 01-07-2008

goodbye el palmar - the vejer council in thier infite wisdom have decided there is not enough sand at el palmer for summer tourists(even though this is part of a 15km beach?). their solution is the dumping of thousands of tonnes of sand, brough from offshore, to extend the beach about 100 meters out into the sea. what was the main peak is now dry land and they are slowly working north filling in the beach and destroying the break as it currently exists. so basically what were some of the best beach peaks and hollow shorey in europe are now gone!!! only time will tell what the long term effect is, maybe a winter storm will wash away the "fake beach", maybe el palmar will be better than ever with all the extra sand? a sad time for el palmar while we wait and see the damage........ for now RIP surf at el palmar..... also forget the chilled vibe here as vejer council have plans to turn the area into the next torremolinos; no surprise if they concrete over all that horrible sand for high rise hotels and sports bars. the fact that they lost the blue flag this years says it all about how much they care about the beach... shame on them!

De Anonymous , 03-06-2008

Expensive Cafes - Word of advice. Kotadalu Cafe is really expensive. 7 euros for a bit of bread and two scamblled eggs on a plate.
Go to the nearby supermarkets for cheaper and best option