Surfing in Portugal?

Last summer my ex tempore trip to Portugal stole my heart away.

Although I didn't see much - considering that I spent most of my time surfing at the peninsula of Costa da Caparica - the old pastel colored buidings of Lisbon, the surf and the tropical climate among with the cheap prices were enough to assure me I would have to come here again. Also, I really love the language barrier - when most of the population only speaks Portugal and the possibility of people understanding Spanish let alone English is weak, you really feel like you are traveling. Although I love it how you can get around almost anywhere with English, it's also a bummer since it takes the exoticism and feel of adventure away.



So... I was thinking maybe I should go surf in Portugal for 3,5 weeks in between Rock Werchter and Tomorrowland..!!

I started thinking how sweet it would be to rent a villa or an apartment with some mates for the time :) But... I have NO idea who would come with me. Jasmine would probably be up for it, but she's the only one of my mates that surfs and is up for spontaneous adventures.. ANYONE UP FOR SURFING IN PORTUGAL IN JULY ?

-Second picture by Rafael-

Fuck Sightseeing - Surf

28.7 Costa da Caparica



I had only two days left in Portugal but instead of seeing Lissabon, I decided to just surf....! I knew I could always come back and I probably would anyways next summer during the Tall Ship Races.



I was getting a bit stressed about Paris. I only had my ticket to Irún, next to France’s border, where from I’d walk to Hembaye train station – a five minute walk away. But I had no clue whether a train to Paris during that time of night (I’ be arriving around 12ish ?) would even stop at the station nor that whether I’d even get on the train... Damn stupid PARIS ! It’s impossible to get there since every freaking interrailer wants to go there. I only objective is to get Belgium so I can get on my flight and head back home. But damn France is in the middle of my way... I realized that although I WOULD get to Paris, I’d still have the problem of getting OUT of there. It might be the case, that all the trains from and to Paris would be reserved for the next 3 weeks (or that I’d have to upgrade my interrail ticket into a normal or 1st class one, that would cost me like 100e or so).



That’s why I decided to buy a plane ticket. I’m usually up for an adventure, but in this case I was running out of time. I didn’t wanna go fooling around with only one week left.. So I bought this plane ticket from Valvedrois (at least I think that’s what it is called) to Brussels for 115€. Argh, chocked of using the money I had been saving, from spending less, on a stupid plane ticket -__- Fucking France.



Anyhoo, after this hassle I ran to the ferry and took off to Costa da Caparica again. Spent the whole day at the beach with Rafa and Mali (the life guards) again. Went surfing, met this Portugese surfer. He made me try his (short) board. He gave me some tips and was cool :) Too bad, my arm muscles are weak as shit so I quickly switched back to Rafa’s long board 8)



Rafa invited me to have dinner with them and I told them I’d have to go back to my hostel at first but I’d think about it. I left back to my hostel at 7 and just decided to chill at the hostel. I was soo knackered from the sun and the surf. I had a nice time hanging out in the dining room / kitchen with these two polish girls (one of them was super crazy :D) and Lien though :)



The next day I was supposed to meet Mali and Rafa at the beach cause we had made tentative plans about going surfing to another spot. They told me they would wait for me at the life guarding spot, If I decided to come. The day before I had been considering whether to see Lisbon, but in the morning I had decided that nah, I can do what ever I prefer, and I wanted to surf SO... fuck sightseeing ! PLUS I was going to Madrid after Portugal, so I wasn’t seeing the sea anymore anyways.  ...until winter... and BALI! ;) ). I arrived at 1ish and just as I had suspected, they had left already ;/ I went to the near-by restaurant where Rafa+Mali’s mate, Rafael, worked. I asked whether he had seen them and he told me they had left an half and hour earlier to surf... DAMN.



Oh well, went to the store, bought some water, peaches and pastries to keep me company. The day was spent lying on the beach with my book – The Marching Powder. I also trusted the (other) lifeguards so much to leave my stuff with them when I went swiming in the sea. Although I was bummed that I didn’t get to hang out with Rafa and Mali and go surfing with them, it was a day well spent :)



However, there was an element of failure in the day. When I arrived at the hostel, I went to get some fresh clothes and my towel from my backpack that was in the –closed- dining room (I was leaving that night so that’s why my stuff was there). I think I still had my phone on me. I THINK it was in my shorts. But when I went to the public bathroom and left my clothes outside of my shower stall, I discovered, after taking the shower, that my phone was missing ! BUT the 5 euro note in my pocket was still there... How weird. I tried to look for my phone in my pockets and so and also in my backpack, but I just couldn’t find it. I’m not sure whether I dropped it when coming home or whether someone stole it from my clothes, but kinda seems unlikely since why wouldn’t they have took the 5 euros in the pocket, too? Also, I had this crappy ”cerial box phone” so, don’t see a point in stealing it : D



I wasn’t that bummed about the phone since it was a basic phone worth of 25e only, but still. Pissed me off that I’d have to get my third phone this year.... and it’s not like i’m made of money anyways!! I was in a hurry though to leave to the train station, that when the receptionist offered to call my phone, I was like ”nah, I gotta run and I don’t even remember my number anyways since it’s a Polish sim card”. Oh, what a dummie : D I could’ve found out my number from Facebook in 2 minutes. Oh well.

Costa da Caparica

27.7 Costa da Caparica, Portugal



Photo by Raphael Diaz

Today was by far one of the best days of my trip so far.
Thank you good karma !!!

But before getting into detail about how karma rewarded me with, i'll start from the begining.

I had decided the day before that I would go surfing to Costa de Caparica so after having breakfast with Lien, moving my luggage from the room to the other one (i want o stay in the cheapest room for 12.5€ so I have to change rooms two times.. :D)  and getting my stuff ready, I headed to the kiosk downstairs to charge the public transport card Lien had given me. Unfortunately the lady working there only knew Portugease, so I couldn't really communicate with her in Spannish nor understand anything of what she was saying to me. I decided to 'fuck it' and strolled to the terminal, where from the ferry would leave to the island. The guy working there told me in (English!) that the next one would leave in 50 minutes so I tried to figure out how to kill the remaining time.



I decided to go the near by café and have a coffee and finally taste that famous pastry "pastéis de nata". I've been getting by just fine by talking Spannish to people (after - of course - asking them "hablas español") but when I ordered a "café con leche" (café latte) I got this tiniest cup of dark coffee in it - an espresso. I don't like that stuff but I didn't really care so I just sat outside with my delicious pastry, coffee and my brilliant book in my hand. I was just feeling so incredibly happy. I don't know if it also had to do with the fact that I was in the middle of a good happy happy joy joy chapter in "The Marching Powder", but at that point I just felt so good.



I got on the ferry and watched the beautiful scenery and smelled the ocean. Oh, how I love that smell... :) I'm so happy that next summer I'll be smelling the ocean for three weeks if everything goes as planned...! When we arrived in Trafaría, I found out that the bus was due to leave in 20 minutes so I just wandered around for a bit. I felt almost ecstatic. It was such a beautiful day - the sun was shining, I was walking on a freaking peninsula in Portugal, the scenery and the buildings were ashtonishing and I was about to surf (finally!!!). I was just so unbelivably happy. And also, just so grateful to be traveling on my own. Once again I was going through a list in my head of things that I appreciated about traveling alone. I just loved it how I could fully absorb everything without any interference. If I were to travel with someone, it would mean that I would need to keep that person company - which would mean talking. Don't get me wrong, I love long conversations but sometimes it's just pleasant to be in silence and enjoy the environment.



After the bus journey I was dropped off at Costa de Caprica and I wandered to the beach. I was looking for this surf shop the receptionist in my hostel had recommended for me. He told me he had a friend working there ("just ask for philippe") and that I could rent a board and a wet suit from him. I had to get my map out to see what the street was called and suddenly this guy in board shorts, who was passing me, asked me in English whether I was looking for something. I gestured at the address and he told me he knew that place and asked whether I was looking to buy a surf board.

"No, I just wanna rent one and a wet suit too. I'm staying at this hostel and my receptionist told me that his friend works at this surf shop."
"Ok I know where it is, I know the owner too."
"Oh, really?" (thinking that I'd better get a good deal know)
"Yeah it's just there *points at the flags of the shop* But I mean I have a board and a wet suit, you culd just borrow them."
"Really? That would be sweet, for how much?"
"For free"
"No way, that would be so nice of you! What kind of board do you have? Long or short board?"
"Both."
"Well could I borrow the long board? I don't really have any paddle power for the short one."


So yeah. Good fucking karma. I saved so much money today and hang out the whole day with the coolest life guards. A wettie would've cost me 20e for haf a day (so fucking expensive!!) and a board god knows what. I was so grateful for Rafa, the Portuguese life guard that lent me his board :) I went surfing and was froffin'... It was so good to be in the ocean again and all those bad memories from Morocco, that I might've combined with surfing in my sub concious, where whiped away :) After surfing I was just hanging out in the life guard tower with Rafa and his work mate Mali, a Brazilian guy. Just sun bathing, enjoying life and reading my book. I was just so amazingly happy. Eating my fruit and smiling to myself :) "Life is better when you surf" - so true.

It was funny when Rafa left out for lunch and I stayed back with Mali. He doesn't speak really any English so I was having a conversation about Brazil (world cup, weather and how they have winter when we have summer) with him in my basic Spannish and his Spannish/Portuguese :D Amazingly we did actually succeed in having a convo and I was just even more proud of my Spannish skills :D



Mali and Rafa have to use radio phones while working so at one point I just grabbed the phone and started chatting into it in English/Spannish about taking Mali and Rafa as hostage and how I "Necesito dinero rápidamente" !!! Mali was cracking up also - when after talking into the radio phone - he sighted very loudly and I told him "Hard work, hey". Yeah, so hard, sitting on the beach the whole day and looking at girls !

I was a bit bummed that I had't taken my camera with me (I left everything valuable back home and didn't even take a wallet with me so that I could go into the ocean without a worry) but luckily Rafa had his camera with him. He has a Nikon D200 and a SICK lense.... It was a sigma 200-500mm and cost him 2000e..... eheheee. (He is a photographer while he is not rescuing lives on the beach). We made some great "baywatch photos" and he promised to e-mail them to me. I told him that tomorrow I would come to Costa de Caprica with my camera so I could take some photos myself and surf some more (since I can use hi board again, yay !). He invited me to stay and have dinner with him and his friends tomorrow so I might do that too.



When I left home after five hours on the beach (I applied sun screen many times!) it took me two fucking hours to get back to my hostel so all the shops were closed since it was half past nine already. Luckily had some stuff at the hostel so I made a salad (without feta boo) and joked aroun with Lien and Marta. Too bad the girls are leaving tomorrow but yeah, I don't think I would be hanging at the hostel that much anyways... TIME TO SURF!

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal 26.7






Today was such a big hassle day.



So I wake up in Lissabon just when the cute Swedish guy sitting next to me was getting up. It was around 10ish and our train had just arrived in Portugal. I said bye Erik who hurried to the sunny outdoors. I started packing my stuff up and then I noticed that Erik had forgotten the cap, that he had been wearing, on his seat. I grabbed the cap with me so that I could give it to him in case i would still bump into him but unfortunately he was nowhere to be seen.



I had no clue how to get to my hostel or were it was (I was doing this in my bulletproof adventure way yet again: just write down the address of the place and you'll end up there somehow) so I kept just asking ppl in Spannish how to get to the part of town where my hostel was. This guy told me to get on the bus so I did so and kept my eyes open for my stop. I arrived at my hostel around 12ish and they told me that if I waited around an hour I would be able to check in. Well my room wasn’t ready after an hours wait so I left to the train station to sort my ticket out. I was kinda bummed I hadn’t realized to do it as I already had been at the train staion when arriving via train that morning.



So I hoped on the bus and asked if the drived could tell me to get off at the right stop. As I was watching the scenery pass and the bus stop names change, I got this feeling that this one stop was my stop but because the bus driver didn’t tell me anything, I didn’t get off. It was not until we drive on to a ramp that I went up to the driver to ask about my stop. I found out hat I HAD been right about my stop, and I had missed it... The driver told me that there would be another train station stop in 20 minutes so I just went back into sitting and watching the landscape.



When I finally arrived at the train station, I had to kill another 30 minutes in order for the international departure office to open up.. When the thing eventually opened up and it as my turn, it took me like 40 minutes to sort my train  out :D  Usually it takes you a minute... Anyhoo, it had been super easy booking my way out of Lisbon: the Lisbon – Madrid train for Friday BUT the way Madrid – Paris = everything booked. I’ve never been to Paris but I must say I’m not that excited anyways about it, I just wanted to get to Paris because I have to get to Brussels so I can fly back home... So it’s on the way home and the place where I need to go in order to make international connections out of France.



I had been standing in like with two Swedish girls who told me they were going from Hembaye, border of France, to Paris, so I decided to give it a try. The booking person could only book me from Madrid to Irún but he told me that the next station was really close –  only a five minute walk away from Hembaye station. I would arrive in the middle of the night so I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to get a train to Paris, or where I’ll be sleeping that night... but I decided to book the train anyways as there were no other options for me.



So I returned to my hostel and was fianlly able to check in. Took that well needed shower <3 I was in the bathroom were the showers are and I met this girl Lien from Belgium. I asked her whether she knew where to find a super market. Se was really nice and traveling by herself too. So I walked to the super market (I don’t get it how people say it was ”far away”, come on, a 10 minute walk? And who wouldn’t like to walk in a foreign country and see more stuff...!) and I was so amaized how cheap everything was !!!! I even took a picture of the groceries I did for 12 euros 8D Bought a bottle of red for myself and cooked up some salad for dinner. I made so much of it and had like 3 portions which after I was super bloated of :D



I was sitting ouside with Lien, eating, and we decided to go walking. Because she needed something out of the store we walked there again and I bought some readymade Sangría. Gotta love San Juan. ;) We walked up to this castle and because the sun was setting I was a bit camera happy ! We randomly bumped into Lien’s uncle ?!? Small world much? Anyway, we were just sitting and drinking Sangría and enjoying life :) She told me about this time she got high with her mate and then they found some bubble wrap from the trash can which they then took and got this brillian idea of selling it... ”Selling fun” they called it :D I mean who wouldn’t love bubble wrap?! Anyhoo, people were really getting into the bubble wrap thing as they were trying to make everyone they passed on the street to purchase it. Eventually they got bored and just started throwing the bubble wrap all over the street and then the police got a bit interested in who was trashing the streets and –being high- they got super freaked out and ran away and then paranoia hit in and they were hiding inside with the curtains closed 8D Alrighty. But yeah cool, love people who can just make fun out of nothing...such as bubble wrap!



We also went to walk on the promenade or what ever you call it. I took pictures of the beautiful ”25 de Abril” -bridge that lead up to the peninsula. The bridge looked exactly like the Golden Gate and it actually WAS designed by the same company that constructed the Oackland Bay bridge in San Fran but not the Golden Gate (as someone told me) Wikipedia says.