It's
now been nearly 3 more days, and the surf is non-existent. We stop off
at Carrapateira to kick it on the beach and rent a board if the surf
comes up. The only thing up today is the wind, it's blowing fierce,
and those guys out in the water can barely keep themselves on the wave,
once they're up, as the off shores are blowing so hard, it's knocking
them off their boards. While it looks like the surf is picking up a
little, still not enough to get out and short board it, so we head
south to the sleepy little town of Salema, just east of Sagres to spend
our last night with wheels. This town is so cute. Two to three rows
of renovated old fisherman homes line the streets and hillside,
overlooking a beautiful beach. One important note to emphasize is that
all the beaches we've seen on the Portuguese coastline have been litter
free... They are impeccably kept, and people really look after their
trash. I haven't seen any cleaner beaches than the ones we've seen
here - it's a welcome sight.
As
we cruise through the streets, we're pulled over by a little old
fisherman who asks us in Portuguese if we need a place. Of course, we
tell him, so happy to be back to a place where the oldies are so
actively recruiting us to stay. As we walk between the towering
fisherman homes on the cobblestone streets, we look up to see little
old ladies poking their heads out of their windows, welcoming us to
look at their rooms. We check out several, and eventually settle with
"Grand Mother Teresa" who has a room with shared bath, and it is
tricked out with all the little granny details, doilies on the tables,
lace curtains, little bedside tables with carved matching bedposts.
The room has the sounds of the ocean roaring through, and fresh smells
of sea water swirl with the typical smell of "grandma's house." She
ensures we're comfortable, and clears the bathroom pipes of the rusty
brown water. We're set. We walk the steps down to the beach, and low
and behold, there's surf. It's pumping. And there are only 3 guys
out, all on short boards, and spring suits. The water here is a few
degrees warmer. I look around anxiously, to find a board rental place.
It figures; the one place with pumping surf, has no facilities to rent
boards! Ugh!!! I'm told I can rent a kayak at the lifeguard
station... But that's not very helpful. So we sit and watch the sun
set over this gorgeous beach with pumping surf, kicking ourselves that
we didn't have boards with us, and that we need to turn in the car in
the morning the next town over. We have a fabulous dinner at a little
local mom and pop run restaurant, and tried the caldeirada that was the
other local famous dish we were wanting to sample - and it was amazing.
We met a fun couple traveling from Scotland, in their 70’s... and
inspiration for a long, prosperous life of travel adventure. Our trip
along the coast here has been amazing and memorable. Definitely a
destination to come back to with a bunch of friends, rent out a villa
and relax in the future.
