The last time I went camping was with Sienna’s dad on a surfer beach in Puertecillo, four hours south of Santiago, Chile. We pitched our tent in a wood right by the black sandy beach and fell asleep to the sound of the Pacific Ocean. When Sienna came along I always knew I wanted to share a similar experience with her; sooner rather than later.
But when you don’t own a car (I literally passed my driving test three months ago and don’t have a credit card so can’t rent one), and don’t want to purchase the equipment (I am trying to keep our material possessions on an all time low), how does one take their children camping?
I had the misconception that I couldn’t camp with Sienna because of the above two factors, but thankfully new startup Kampaoh proved me very wrong.
Kampaoh, pitched on Andalusian soil across five different coastal campsites, has a large range of tents and tipis equipped and pre-setup for 2-8 people - giving you the comfort of a hotel whilst enjoying a camping experience. Each tent comes with ready-made beds, towels, plates and cutlery, and for all the rest you have the campsite facilities on your doormat. So we really could sleep with the stars, just as I had promised Sienna.
We stayed on Camaleón campsite in Los Caños de Meca, an hour east from the city of Cádiz. Located in the Beña National Park, we loved the forest of pine trees and its scent (although the mosquitos that came with it not so much!!), and the beach was just a five minute walk away. Reputed for its hippie clientèle, Camaleón has an onsite bar and restaurant with music concerts throughout the summer, and there is an artisan market, bars and restaurants local to the campsite too.
Having always relied on public transport, Sienna and I mostly go on city breaks, so Kampoah gave us a whole new blissful experience in the nature. Kampaoh at Los Caños de Meca is accessible by bus (we travelled with Comes and a single ticket to or from the city of Cádiz is 6.21 Euros - children under 4 travel free of charge).
Because we were travelling by land (I'm thankful to have a break from airports having taken over 30 flights with Sienna in the past three years), we were able to discover the cities of Sevilla, Cádiz and Faro en route back home.
Her majesty's wish was granted (this time) with a horse and carriage!
The beautiful city centre of Cádiz.
Completely by chance and without warning, we ended up in a chapel in Faro made from bones!