Hello,
with relief and a little pride, I can happily announce you today - we are officially open again!
Today, after almost 4 months, we had the first guests and therefore students in our surf courses.
I founded OTRO MODO Surfschool almost 13 years ago. A lot has happened since then. What started with a yellow VW bus and 10 surfboards from Germany is now a small family business with several permanent employees.
There have been many ups and downs in recent years.
Be it the lengthy journey through the Spanish office jungle to really make the business compliant with all applicable laws or to live up to the promised quality of the courses 52 weeks a year.
I have definitely grown some gray hair, but my team and I have also grown through these constant challenges.
After 13 years, you already have a certain professional calmness and calm to tackle problems in a solution-oriented manner.
So that it doesn't sound too clear: I can't say that I'm the coolest person when it comes to problems, but I've become a little more analytical and calm in recent years.
Severe economic slump in tourism due to Corona
In the past years I have often observed how much tourism in the Canaries with existing flight connections is growing or shrinking. After the bankruptcies of airlines and tour operators last year, the tourism sector in the Canaries has already shrunk in 2019.
Even the most blatant pessimists did not expect a pandemic and the resulting consequences for tourism.
Until the actual lockdown, I also did not assume that tourism worldwide would virtually come to a complete standstill.
Here in Fuerteventura everyone lives directly or indirectly from tourism. Everyone in the acquaintances and friends felt that they had been unemployed in the past few months.
Finally our surf school can work again
Now we can finally do what is a job and a vocation for us - to bring our enthusiasm for surfing closer to other people.
Of course, with the new security rules appropriate to the situation. But they hardly affect us when surfing. We are almost always outdoors in the sun and wind, so nature is the best protection against the virus.
In the car on the way to the beach, a mask is required, but everyone knows that from the plane and of course from home.
There were no crowded beaches in Fuerteventura, even before Corona. Thanks to our Land Rover, we can get to beaches where nobody else surfs.
Is there a better place in Corona times than a deserted beach with clean waves ?!
Conclusion
It took 4 months, which in the meantime seemed like a year. Above all, the occasional uncertainty has left a nerve. But now we can finally give courses again and thanks to natural disinfection by sunlight and wind, we only have to adjust our program on the beach minimally. As of today we are giving surf courses again!