Wakeboarding in Barcelona: Simply Too Much Fun

A picture of us, exhausted after our hour of wakeboarding! Did you know you could go wakeboarding in Barcelona? Neither did I! OK, full disclosure I have never really done any board sports, and although I used to waterski as a child, I was definitely a beginner with a capital B as I headed down last weekend to the forum to try wakeboarding with my fiance and a couple of my boys.

My Experience Wakeboarding in Barcelona

"Wakeboarding in Barcelona?" I repeated confusedly back to my friend when he asked if I wanted to come. So yes, you can wakeboard in Barcelona, and I was about to find out just how much fun it was. We arrived to the forum (the place is a bit difficult to find) and luckily there was no one else there as the weather wasn't so hot. The guy running the place (unfortunately I forget his name but he's a sponsored professional wakeboarder) was super friendly, spoke English, and was really psyched that it was my first time. Basically, you pay 50 € and what you get is the equipment (wakeboard, wetsuit, and lifejacket), lessons if you need them, and an hour of wake boarding time, with up to 4 other friends. Split between some friends it's a really great deal. [caption id="attachment_36811" align="aligncenter" width="614"]
Freddy rockin the park[/caption]

There's NO boat involved?

Nope. According to our instructor using boats for wake boarding is now a thing of the past. Boats use too much gasoline and are too costly. The future of wake boarding is on cables! Yes, they have cables setup overhead and the line that you hold on to is attached to this cable. The instructor has a control box and he manipulates the controls to pull you back and forth along the water. It's actually pretty ingenious. Also because the angle of the line is much higher compared to wake boarding behind a boat, there is less drag and it's much easier to get up on the board (this worked well for me with my beginner status). I got up the first try and didn't have much trouble. [caption id="attachment_36816" align="aligncenter" width="590"]
Look Ma! One hand![/caption]

How it Feels

Wakeboarding feels amazing. It's super strenuous so if you need to get in shape like me it's a full body workout. Flying along with the wind in your hair is wonderful, and for those of you who might be a  little nervous, falling does not hurt one bit. I wiped out over and over and it hurt a lot less than I had anticipated. If you are already adept at wake boarding or are feeling a little adventurous there are various jumps and ramps (a la skate park) setup for your aerial pleasure. [caption id="attachment_36815" align="aligncenter" width="576"]
getting ready to take the plunge[/caption] All the info you need can be found at the DoubleWake Website. Wanted to share this nugget with all you SuiteLifers. Have you been? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Cheers, ~Benny