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Cool Spanish Phrases To Help You Enjoy A Hot Day On The Beach

By Peter Christian

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 24Aug2009 Word count: 688 Viewed: 466 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

¡Llegó el verano! My favorite season of the year is now under way and many tourists and ex-pats will flock to the beautiful beaches of Spain and the Hispanic world to bask in the glorious sunshine and top-up their tans. Here's some really cool Spanish phrases that will add an authentic, vibrant flourish to your spoken Spanish so you can enjoy a great day down at the beach wherever you are in the Hispanic world.

Let's start with a nice easy one. If you're going to the beach, all you need to say is "Voy a la playa" or just use vamos instead of voy if you're going as a couple or a group. Vale, many people like to find a quiet, secluded beach so they can enjoy the peace and quiet and there are a couple of nice phrases for such a beach:

Una playa virgen - An unspoiled beach.

Una playa con encanto - A charming beach

Una caleta - A small beach.

If you're lucky enough to find a nice quiet beach then you can say:

- Hemos encontrado una caleta, no hay ni un alma. ¿Quieres venir con nosotros? - We've found a small beach that's totally deserted. Do you want to come with us?

No hay ni un alma - Totally deserted, there isn't a soul.

The beach here in Barcelona is just the opposite and throughout summer it is absolutely packed with los veraneantes - summer vacationers! Here's how you describe such beaches in Spanish:

Las playas están a rebosar - The beaches are packed.

I really enjoy sunbathing - tomar el sol - and in English I'd be called "a sun-worshipper". But in Spanish, sun-worshippers are called "los largatos" - Lizards - which I really like! Estar a la sombra is to be in the shade but did you also know this phrase is also used to describe being in jail? So, estoy a la sombra can also mean "I'm in jail", so now you know!

To tan yourself is Broncearse, so: me gusta ir a la playa para broncearme - I like to go to the beach to tan myself. But don't lie in the sun too long and don't forget to apply plenty of sun-block or lotion - bloques de sol, crema solar o protector solar. The sight here in Barcelona of guiris with burned red skin doing their lobster impressions after over-doing it is very common and it looks really painful for some of them! If you do become burned, here's a Spanish phrase you may find very useful at the pharmacy:

Me quemé en la playa. ¿Tiene usted crema o loción para piel quemada? - I got sunburned on the beach. Do you have cream or lotion for burned skin?

¿Te gusta nadar en el mar? Me too and here the sea is crystal clear - cristalino. Just as we say in English: "I'm going to take a dip", it is virtually the same in Spanish: "Me doy un chapuzón which is really easy. Also, the sea here is very calm during summer and although you could say: "El mar está muy tranquilo" a much more cool Spanish phrase would be: El mar está como un plato - the sea is very calm, literally like a plate - and it is only used in this context. Great phrase to add to your growing Spanish vocabulary!

And after you've spent a hard day sunbathing on the beach, you may have worked up a real thirst! To quench your thirst, just look for los chiringuitos - open air cafés and snack bars that line the shore. It's a great way to "wind down" as you enjoy una cerveza fría o un refresco and watch the burned guiris gingerly making their way back to home-base!

No hay nada más relajante que pasar un día en la playa pero ¡no olvides traer tu traje de baño! - There is nothing more relaxing than spending a day at the beach but don't forget your bathing suit!

Have fun in the sun,

Buen viaje,

Peter.

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