Anyone else feel like relaxing on a beautiful beach for a few weeks? Well if you're going to, why not take a look at these beaches, voted the top in the world by 'The Guardian newspaper'. Read through the article, adding the missing words as you go along.
Read the full article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/feb/16/beach.top10?page=all
Mention Spanish beaches and most people instinctively think of the Mediterranean. Yet the wilder, stunning Atlantic coastline of Galicia, just north of Portugal, has far more dramatic praias – with far fewer people on them. One of the jewels of this coast is on Las Islas Cies, a 40-minute boat trip from the pretty town of Baiona. Once a pirates' haunt, Cies is now an uninhabited and pristine national park, open to the public only in summer. Galegos come here to spend long, lazy summer days on the Praia das Rodas, a perfect crescent of soft, pale sand backed by small dunes sheltering a calm lagoon of crystal-clear sea.
Locals call this their "Caribbean beach", and the water is _1_ enough, the sand white enough to believe the comparison ...until you _2_ your toe in the water. Then it feels more like Skegness. You can sleep in an idyllic campsite, shaded by tall pine trees, with a view over the ocean. And, this being Spain, there's even a proper restaurant _3_ great seafood.
Where to stay: Camping Islas Cies is open Easter week and June-September.
I've never been as instantly _4_ by a beach as I was the moment I set eyes on Tayrona. After a 40-minute hike through the forest, I was expecting to see a classic Caribbean beach, all white sand and calm turquoise water, perhaps a few cabanas for the tourists. Instead I was greeted with a wild sea _5_ on to rocks the size of houses that are dotted along the untamed and semi-deserted beach. In a country with a "healthier" tourist industry Tayrona would undoubtedly be a major resort, but as it's in Colombia the virgin rainforest cascades down the mountainside right on to the sand. And there was no one on it save a small community of backpackers who sleep in open-air _6_.
On arrival I wandered along it, marvelling at the raw beauty and remoteness of the place but after just 10 minutes I quite literally walked into my friend Jim! It was the unlikeliest spot for a "you'll never guess who I bumped into" travel story, and made for the best beach holiday I've ever had. I gather it's become more popular in the ten years since I was there, but thanks to its national park status the developers have been kept at bay.
Where to stay: Under the stars in a hammock strung between two palm trees.
Sydney has Bondi, LA has Venice, Rio has Copacabana and Ipanema - town beaches that are both world famous and a microcosm of their city itself. I lived in Salvador, Brazil's _7_ city, for several years and Porto da Barra was where I would come for an early morning swim or a cold beer in the late afternoon. The location is stunning, at the entrance of the magnificent Bahia de Todos os Santos, with a small, white colonial fort at one end and a whitewashed church sitting up on a hill at the other. There's always something going on here: small fishing boats unloading their catch, young lads diving into the sea off the old stone harbour walls, older boys eyeing up girls, beach volleyball, football and tennis. As the beach is in a bay the water is calm and also (given that it is right in the heart of Brazil's third-largest city) incredibly clean and clear, so it's perfect for swimming. And in a country with over 7,000km of east-facing coastline, the Porto is one of the few facing west, so you can watch some fabulous_8_.
Lesson by Caroline
Link:Travel Tips
