The Simple Road to Happy Camping

Plagued by soggy memories of leaky tents, sodden sleeping bags and food from a tin, camping and I have never really got on. That is until now. Camping it seems, like most things, is way more fun when away.

In South America, it’s a little more daunting; instead of the threat of the odd ant you have hungry armies of them. That rustle in the night is more likely to be a snake than a mouse, and then there’s the worry that the guy who dropped you off at your desolate beach of choice may never come back to collect you. But after four days of low-impact living on a beach, and a truly tropical storm I had surrendered to the Tarzan (or maybe Jane) within, I had forgotten about hot water and emerged, amazingly, a very happy camper.

Camping for many (my former self included) is a last resort, the “if we really have to” of the holiday world. But beneath its Boy Scout exterior is a weekend away that ticks so many boxes. First up is the luxury of low-impact life. It’s just you, and your tent (or homemade banana leaf shelter depending on your level of adventure/madness). When you’ve got a beach to yourself, fish to snorkel with, and crazy fighting crabs to entertain you, there really is little else you need. We all know it, but the simple life really is a good one.

Then there’s the fun of finding your supper. Depending on your chosen camping spot and the beadiness of your eyes there is a myriad of delicious things that can be fished, foraged and found. A quick evolutionary rewind unleashed a dormant hunter-gatherer in me that produced a far superior supper to the rudimentary sausage-and-beans combo from camping days of old. The four quite tropical-looking and un-nameable fish we managed to catch with a highly effective bit of nylon on a stick, wrapped up and roasted in a banana leaf with a bit of wild coriander were a veritable feast, if just a teensy bit sandy. A few lonely wind-fallen coconuts and mangoes did a sterling job of keeping the hunger pangs at bay when we were too busy playing Frisbee/reading/tanning. And it’s cheap as chips. Budget travelers love this.

OK, it’s not essential to a good weekend but it definitely makes it easier. Rent a tent from a friendly local for a few pennies and you are good to go — a credit-crunch dream. Trust me, despite what those retrospective waterlogged memories tell you, camping when away bears little resemblance to the camping we love to hate. When the holiday season is over and you fancy a break, skip the hotel, brush up on your fire-lighting skills and have yourself a happy camping holiday.

Photo: Bahia Taganaga, Colombia, courtesy of Lottie Delamain