Lisbon and the Portuguese coast

I wasn't really planning on going to Portugal on my trip. Then again, I wasn't planning most of the things I did in Spain. I was really itching to surf and I knew Portugal had great waves so I took an overnight bus from Sevilla to


Lisbon and quickly learned a valuable lesson: bring a pillow, sweatshirt, and most importantly EARPLUGS on overnight bus trips; at least in Portugal. The bus driver would randomly blast the AC, fire up the lights, and scream into the mic at every stop. It was pretty funny...the first few times. I arrived in Lisbon to a great sunset and when I got to my hostel I found myself having breakfast in a very diverse table with people from Argentina, Spain, Mexico, India, Switzerland, Peru, Portugal, Italy, Australia, and of course...New York! People were exchanging Facebook info and rushing out the door as a new wave of guests came in and I found myself hanging around with a few Mexicans (Patricia, Ivan, Salvador, Hector) a Swiss girl (Stephie) and an Indian guy from the UK (Manish). We had a great time seeing some of the sites, getting the best 10€ deal on beer, juice, water, and more juice and talking Spanglish.


Lisbon didn't impress me as much as places in Spain did but that could be because I was there for only two nights. I think it was also a quick stop en route to my surf trip which I was extremely excited about. One thing I will say about Lisbon is it definitely shows off its Portuguese pride for being excellent watermen. Some of the monuments related to sailing and exploring were fantastic and have been some of my favorites thus far.


After a quick bus ride from Lisbon to Peniche I was in the water for my first of eight surf sessions. Peniche is a small fishing town surrounded by high dunes and consistent surf. There are plenty of surf camps to choose from to learn how to surf making them very attractive for Europeans on holiday.


After 2 days of fun surfing in Peniche I was ready for something new so I rented a car and headed south to Ericeira. You'd think hugging the coast and keeping the ocean to your right would be easy huh? Nope. At one point I ended up on a gravel road being chased by a farmer's dog! I asked the farmer which way to the 'praia' (beach) and after 20 seconds of not understanding his Portuguese he finally pointed. I thanked him and skidded out in the direction he pointed. Although getting lost is frustrating sometimes, I'm learning to be more in the moment...something I had a hard time doing a month ago. In this case getting lost paid off...big time! Out of nowhere the gravel road turned into the equivalent of PCH and all of a sudden I was looking at a beautiful beach with nearly perfect waves.


This stretch of road looked a lot like the southern California coast but much less developed. I surfed this area (Praia Navio and Santa Cruz) the next two days and had phenomenal waves. There was little localism but like any newcomer I had to 'sacrifice' a few gems to not upset the locals. I ate some great meals after each surf session and also got in some good beach time to read and plan out my next trips. I mentioned earlier how I wasn't impressed with Lisbon and truthfully I was starting to think of Portugal as a whole that way. Well what Lisbon lacks in beauty, its coast more than makes up for it.


It is big, long, rugged filled with waves and the people are ready to welcome you and help you out...as did the farmer whose property I stumbled upon. The Portuguese coast is definitely a place I'd like to explore some more (with the fellas and some surfboards...) I'm actually writing this from Amsterdam, Holland! I'm sitting at a plaza reminiscing about Portugal and planning my next few days here. I just landed a few hours ago and I'm already noticing how interesting this city is and how much there is to do. Doei!