If you aren't lucky enough to have your own private swimming pool in Madrid, regular visits to the municipal swimming pools are an absolute must.
Summer is definitely my favourite time of the year. Everyone is happy. The summer months being synonymous with days spent lazing in the park topping up your tan, long balmy evenings enjoying a beer or ten with friends and, of course, Spanish sunshine on tap.
Unfortunately, the sweltering heat also brings some rather unwanted consequences if you live in the city. The smell of the drains, just about tolerable for the rest of the year, become rancid to the point of vomit-inducing.
There is a massive upswing of passengers on public transport reeking of B.O. and all other manner of unpleasant things. And as you make your way around the city, hopping from one air-conditioned bubble to another, in between, you can't shake that nasty sensation of feeling hideously hot and sticky. Madrid has a lot of things going for it, but sadly a beach is not one of them, and regrettably it haas no suitable lakes or rivers to take a dip in either. So when you're stuck on the Metro with your face buried in someone's distinctly fruity armpit, melting into a pool of your own sweat and wishing you were far far away, what on earth can you do to cool off?
Luckyly, there is a solution. Madrid has a total of 23 outdoor public swimming pools and the good news is they are all open for business from 31st May until 31st August, every day of the week from 11am-9pm. I deccided to visit the Centro Deportivo Municipal Casa de Campo (Metro Lago) in order to check out the facilities and, more importantly, check out the talent. I first go on a quiet Friday morning on the pretence of making the most of the sunshine, but mainly because I haven't broken out the bikini since last summer and am somewhat apprehensive about baring my whiter than white body to the madrilians en masse. After being given heaps of information by the helpful guy on the desk and being told to enjoy myself by the attendants at the entrance, I head off to change, then sidle outside.
The place is indeed pretty deserted, with just a couple of guys ploughing up and down the pool and several serious sun worshippers catching a few rays, one leathery-looking woman even has a pair of tanning goggles and is already the colour of creosote. I sit in the sunshine for a bit then decide to take a dip, and after recovering form the initial shock of the freezing cold water, I do a few lengths before stopping to float along on my back, gazing up at the azure blue sky and thinking how pleasant this all is. Emboldened, I vow to come back on Saturda when things are a bit busier.
And busy they are! There are buff gay men checking everyone out whilst hiding behindd huge shades, kids dashing around scattering water droplets over annoyed-looking sunbathers and old men with hairy backs parading around in too-tight trunks. There are gaggles of skinny Spanish girls, giggling at the boys trying unsuccessfully to impress them with their dive-bombing skills, whilst large group of Americans and Brits toast themselves to a nice shade of lobster-red in the sun. Apart form bare fresh, there's a lot on show, big and beautiful tattoos, teeny-tiny thongs, snug-looking Speedos, tan lines, boob jobs, massive shades and the Spanish mullet, which just won't go away and looks even worse than normal when wet. Whereas a few health freaks are swimming lengths and some kids are rolling down the grassy verge, most people are indulging in activities no strenuous than chatting to friends, smoking and eyeing everyone up, so the atmosphere is a pretty relaxed one.
By the end of the day I'm feeling extremely chilled-out and have decided that going to the pool could become my new favourite summer pastime.
If you fancy doing the same, full details of all Madrid's swimming pools (including timetables, prices, facilities, addresses and how to get there) can be found on www.munimadrid.es/deportes. If you feel like something a little more luxurious and don't mind putting your hand in your pocket, try the Hotel Emperador's pool on the roof on Gran Via. Treat yourself at the weekend and cool off whilst scouting out the talent. Soon the smelly metro will be a distant memory!
