It was just another sunrise as the train pulled in to Lisbon
train station in Portugal. Tired and only a little irritable but we had things
to do and friends to see. However, our friends Henrique and Verena were at work
so we had an entire day to experience Lisbon before they picked us up. We met
Henrique and Verena in Las Flores, El Salvador where we stayed in a super basic
palapa right on the beach. We got sick waves down there and spent many good
sessions sharing the waves with them a few months prior. Anyway, we left the station after stashing
our backpacks and cruised to Sao Jorge castle that sits on top of the hill
overlooking Lisbon city. The castle dates back to the 2nd century
and Roman,
Suebic,
Visigothic,
and Moorish
settlers lived where the castle now stands but more recently it was used as a
military structure. We continued our tourist trail by heading down into the
city where midsized apartment blocks stand above cafe owners setting up their
shops for the day. It certainly has an old feel as Lisbon has been a trading
route through Northern Africa for many years. These trading routes bring up the
famous Moroccan hash that is so prevalent through southern Portugal and being
young (ish) backpackers we were offered it and other things quite frequently.
We jumped on the tram and headed down to the Belem area. Once there we found
the Belem Tower and the Jeronimos Monastery which was nice but to be honest,
all the churches are starting to look the same by now. Walking along the water
front we were impressed by the scene but it was hard to ignore the ugly
industrial buildings and ports that contrast the vista. We spent the afternoon
laying on the grass in the botanical gardens. We were so tired from the
previous night that it was awesome. After that we got some food and a
waterfront restaurant, which sounds like it would be expensive but Portugal is
so much cheaper than a lot of parts of Europe so we ate and drank without a
conscience.
Henrique picked us up from the metro station and drove us
out to his house in Ericeira which is about 30 minutes north of Lisbon.
Ericeira is a surf town and rightly so as it has some really good point breaks
and beach breaks. After a nice sleep in, we went and surfed two point breaks around
the Ribamar area. Both were clean, fun
and crowded but the crowd were quite mellow so I got my share of good waves. We
also checked out the new skate park that adjoins the Quiksilver surf shop. That
night we went to a local seafood restaurant with Henrique, Verena and some
friends of theirs. Being a coastal town, Ericeira is renowned for its seafood
and we dined on Octopus and fresh fish. The next day we went and surfed Ribamar
again and because it was a little smaller Danielle paddled out for a couple. It
was a good scene down at the beach with Henrique who was a local celebrity and
seemed to know everyone at the beach. The sun setting, waves coming in, kids playing
on the beach, beautiful. That night we kept a low profile so that I could get
up early and grab a couple of waves in the morning before our flight back to
London. The next morning didn’t disappoint as Coxos, which is reportedly one of
the best waves in Portugal was big, clean, powerful and had no one out. I was
the first one to paddle out and I definitely was a little nervous as I watched
from the rocks as booming sets came in. I had never surfed it before and there
were strong currents running. I paddled out and managed to get three really
good waves before I had to run for the bus that was to take us to the airport.
It was a short surf but worth it. So now it’s back to London for a few days
before jumping back on the Eurostar to start our chalet jobs in St Martin de Belleville,
France. The dream continues...
