Portugal onwards

Thursday 1st November Day 56: We hit the road and within 20 minutes had passed the border into Portugal. There were no border formalities. Within a few miles the countryside did feel slightly different to Spain, there seemed to be less rubbish for a start. Our first stop was cabanas de Tavira. When we pulled up we could see a couple of Instincts across the river estuary on the island. After a wander, finding the kiteshop and a bit of faffing we got a small boat across the river to the sandbank / island with some kit. Typically, by the time we got there the wind had dropped off and it wasn’t enough to kitesurf. The locals were really friendly and the local kiteshop owner was keen to gauge our interest in buying some Ozones. We had seen the second hand kites on the web and were interested anyway so we were happy to have a go on her 07 11m instinct sport. We both agreed that it was indeed a nice kite and faster tuning than the 06 and made an arrangement to meet at 0930 (luckily as the clocks are back another hour this wasn’t as early as we thought) the next day to try a 13m sport and 9m light. After some sitting we caught the boat back across and moved on to the campsite at Olhao (which definitely isn’t pronounced how you expect it). The campsite was really nice, but busy (prompting a short-lived dispute about whose responsibility it was to select the optimum pitch) and the pitch we eventually found was at the back overlooking the salt flats. In the evening we set off on the bikes to look around the local area and found ourselves making an impromptu visit to the local nature reserve which was really stunning in the evening sun. The whole area around Ria Formosa is lovely and the coast is a series of sandbars, lagoons and little islands which looks ideal for kiting.

Friday 2nd November Day 57: An early start to head back to Tavira Cabanas. The sun woke us up anyway and we made it to the kite shop by 09:30. The shop owner took us across the ria and we spent about an hour trying out 13m Instinct Edge, 12m Light and 11m Sport. You can definitely tell the difference in the way the kites are designed. There wasn’t enough wind to get on the water so we only had the chance to static fly. Limited by the choice available to us in second hand kites we decided that the 13m Edge and 9m Light would probably be a good addition to our quiver. Back on dry land we headed to the cash machine to withdraw some money for our purchases. Unfortunately the machine got a little upset and swallowed Steve’s card. Despite protesting with the cashiers we were told we couldn’t get it back for another three and a half hours. We filled the time having a great meal at the local restaurant which did a very tasty and reasonable prato del dia, and reading the latest kitesurf mag the shop owner had lent us. Finally we got the cash and the kites and headed back to the campsite....stressful day!

Saturday 3rd November Day 58: We headed off early to check out Fuseta, a short way back up the road to Olhao where it looked like there woud be lots of little lagoons and islands to explore. We got there early but the wind was only about 12-14mph and there was no-one else out so we thought we’d head to the lagoon at faro where the wind was supposed to be a bit stronger. After a short detour due to a missed exit we turned off to the Praia da Faro. We could see at least 20+ kites on the lagoon as we drove down. The only drawback was that the beach / lagoon was a good 25 minute walk from the parking. We only took the 13m Instinct Edge as the wind seemed quite light. When we finally got there we both had a good time trying out the 13m on the flat water. Although the Edge is high aspect we both found it really stable and a nice fly in the conditions. After a couple of hours we packed up as the wind had died and the lagoon was emptying. We regretted our lack of foresight as we hadn’t brought any water or food with us to the beach. By the time we got back to the van we were both v thirsty. We drove on to a campsite at Quarteira and refuelled.

Sunday 4th November Day 59: Unable to find internet we were unsure whether to head on down the coast or go back to the lagoon at Faro. As it seemed pretty windy we decided to go back to Faro as the lagoon had been mint the day before. It was a bit windier so Steve took the 11m and I brought along the 9m Light to see what it was like. Steve headed out first and had a good session doing grabs, transitions and rotations. I tried the 9m for a bit but it needed the back lines and 5th line shortening a bit so was quite twitchy first time out. It wasn’t really windy enough for it so I stole Steve’s 11m instead and practiced some lame jumps, toeside and carves. At about half two we made the long trek back and then got some good food at the cafe. We decided to head on to Amarcao that night and found a campsite. Had pasta.

Monday 5th November Day 60: We made the decision to go onwards to Alvor to see if the river mouth there would be a good spot. The beach was really nice and after a wander down to the breakwater to check out the lagoon it felt like the wind would be ok. Unfortunately once we’d got our kit together and started our journey down the path it felt like the wind had dropped. We climbed the nearest sand due and concluded that the wind was indeed a lot lighter but decided to carry on to the lagoon and hope it would pick-up. We waited a couple of hours reading, scaring off sand flies and trying out the 13m but there definitely wasn’t enough. As soon as we packed up and started back to the van it picked up a bit but when we got back and checked with the wind meter it was only 12mph or so. We drove on to Sagres. After Lagos the development petered out and the countryside improved. Down at the tip the beach at Martinhaal looked cool but the developers were already moving in. We went to the lighthouse for a gander and then found he campsite.

Tuesday 6th November Day 61: Up early we cycled to the nearest beach to have a look and watch the birds. The area around Sagres is lovely with lots of migrating birds and pine forests. We spent the day up at Carrapateira where we were told you could landboard. But there was no wind and the sand definitely wasn’t hard enough so we just enjoyed the sun and swam.

Wednesday 7th November Day 62 (two months in!): We left Sagres early and headed properly North for the first time on our trip. The countryside of the Alejanto made for some nice chilled driving and enjoying the view. We stopped briefly at Porto Covo for a stroll but then decided to go on to a lagoon further up the coast in case there was wind. There was no wind and little to keep us there so after a brief sandwich we went back to Porto Covo which was more visually appealing. We spent the rest of the day on the beach. SD fell asleep on the beach and got a little sunburnt. Later on our mission to find a restaurant which was open was unsuccessful so we spent another night in the van (SD I had noticed that most of the restaurants/business seemed to be closed until mid-November but SJ didn’t take any notice).

Thursday 8th November Day 63: With no wind days forecast we headed inland to the town of Evora. The drive was nice and rustic with varying quality of road surface (SD mainly a convex bumpy road surface that caused the van to rattle worryingly). We wandered into Evora and had a look at the roman ruins, numerous igrejas, pracas and parks. After coffee and some quality cakes we decided we didn’t want to wait another 2 hours until the restaurants opened and so headed back to the campsite for another night in the van.

Friday 9th November Day 64: We drove on to Costa Caparica so we would be in Lisbon for Saturday. Much of the beach is being re-developed so there were lots of vistas of concrete. We finally made it to a restaurant for a good meal out having a top-notch mariscos com arroz and coffee at a restaurant on the front.....then headed back to the campsite for yet another night in the van.

Saturday 10th November Day 65: Up early we got the bus followed by metro into Lisbon. Did lots of sightseeing and wandering, and also had a great lunch in a restaurant just outside the Barrio Alto. SD- We found the top of the elevator that is made of ironwork (Elevador de Santa Justa), the view from the top was great although my legs turned to jelly after the dodgy spiral staircase to get up.

We had loads of time in the afternoon so we got the tram to Belem and grabbed a ferry across the Tejo to Costa Caparica. On the way we decided that kitesurfing on the Tejo was definitely out as not only is there some petrochemical depots, a kick arse current (I imagine) it was also full of jellyfish.

Sunday 11th November Day 66: Sarah was 28 today...woohoo! we drove to Foz do Arelho and celebrated by spending the night in the van and drinking. Steve made a card out of tinfoil (SD- It was a craftwork masterpiece!!).

Monday 12th November Day 67: Still no wind and forecast for the rest of the week looks poor. Went for a run, cleaned the van, did the washing and found some internet.

Tuesday 13th November Day 68: Left Foz as wind definitely wasn’t going to be nearly enough for kitesurfing. Headed to Peniche to see whether there was any potential for landboarding. Found the main beach behind the dunes. The tide was heading back in but the sand was hard enough for landboarding and there was a good 8mph or so of wind. We had some lunch then got the 12m frenzy out for some light wind action. We practiced surface handle passes and blind riding until the water got too high then headed to the campsite. The campsite was only a short distance from the beach which made a nice change as we wouldn’t have to drive anywhere to ride. After sorting out the van we wandered into town to have a look at the place, find internet and get some food. Once it got dark we headed back and spent another exciting evening in da van.

Wednesday 14th November Day 69: There was no wind when we first got up but after some food, when Steve started to take his bike apart, it began to pick-up. Bike back together (and clicking which he had thought was a broken bottom bracket resolved by simply tightening the bracket) we got our kit together and biked to the beach. The wind gradually picked up as the tide came in and Ste enjoyed practising on the 13m instinct whilst I flew the 12m Frenzy. We both had a good session, Ste managed a pop-shovit and I nailed some more 540s from toeside, got my 360s more inverted and worked on riding blind. After some lunch we went out on the bikes again cycled out around the headland, explored the town some more and had coffee and pastries.