Surfing in Ericeira

We stopped for 4 nights in the town of Ericeira, just north of Lisbon, right in the heart of Europe’s only World Surfing Reserve (4 kilometers of amazing beaches dedicated by the Save the Waves Coalition in 2011). What better place to kick off your surfing career, right?

The town itself was small but cute, with a swimming beach right below the cliffs. But the main attraction was obviously the surfing. So on our second day, we headed out to one of the main beaches, Praia de Ribeira d’Ilhas, for two days of lessons. We had a great time, and both really enjoyed it, despite Kristina’s previous apprehensions about ocean swimming (she doesn’t like the fish). While it might be too soon to announce a career change, Alex did successfully ride his very first wave (a sign maybe?) and both of us managed to stand up over the 2 days. And as Kristina sat there on her board floating just past the breakers, one of our instructors smiled and solemnly informed her “now you’re a surfer”. So there you go, it’s official!

Thanks to our hosts and great to meet so many nice people including Erik and Eleonora, our fellow converts to the surfing lifestyle, and Spunky the dog, world champion surfer and resident of the Blue Ocean Guest House. See him in action here.