Day 69 (Monday, December 6, 2021)

Costs for the Day are in the Table below:

Today, I woke up at 6am, had a cup of coffee and some granola. Then I grabbed my surf gear, walked a few blocks to the rental car, and drove 30 minutes out to Zavial. Praia do Zavial is somewhat remote with a little restaurant that is closed this time of year and not much else around. It’s a picturesque little beach at the end of a long, winding dirt road and when the swell is larger it forms a slabby right along the rocks that is fast and hollow.

The forecast in Magic Seaweed showed 3-5 feet and 11mph offshore winds. The waves felt significantly bigger though because they suck the water out and pop up into a thick overhead wall that forms rapidly and breaks with a lot of force .

Interestingly, the left hand side of the beach can have only small waves while the right side has a decent break. I was supposed to meet up with Lisa but she ended up feeling sick and Dom showed up instead. It’s always more fun to surf with friends, especially in spots like this where there is one take off point, it’s crowded, and people can get aggressive.

Check out the video below:

Personally, I had a very poor session and only caught a couple decent waves. Someone dropped in on me on one of the waves with no apology. However, I had a wipeout where I almost hit a girl and got in the way of a guy trying to catch a wave. I always apologize but I don’t see the same from most others. Anyway, terrible session but I’m still glad I went out.

After surfing, I said bye to Dom and then headed back the the apartment. On the way, I stopped for gas at the grocery store, Intermarche. Gas here is quite expensive at 1.648 EUR/Liter which translates to around $7 USD/ US Gallon. The cost to fill up the tank was 43.34 EUR.

Once back at the apartment, I had a coffee and wrote for a bit while Bi made a delicious brunch of halloumi and tomatoes with avocado on toast. She also made some goat cheese and cranberry toasties.

After brunch, I got a call on my phone and we received a package from Amazon Germany. Bi had ordered a Doggie Backpack (Cost: 46.21 EUR). It was nice quality and the delivery arrived even one day early.

In the afternoon, we drove out to Aljezur and Arrifana on the west coast. Aljezur is a bit inland and was a significant hub for the Moors during their occupation of Portugal. The town has a small castle and fort and a canal running through it. However, the canal is not as picturesque as it could be since it is partially filled in now with overgrowth and mud. In general, we were not overly impressed by Aljezur. It had a few shops and restaurants but was not particularly appealing to the eye.

Next we checked out Praia da Arrifana which is located on the west coast about 6 miles away from Aljezur and is well known for surfing. The cliffs form a crescent shape and the waves break in several spots which is good because the parking lots were overflowing with van-lifers and surfers. The multiple break points help to spread out the crowd in the water. The vantage point from the cliffs is excellent and I think you can see all the way down the coast to Sagres. The beach at the bottom of the cliffs is long and narrow forming a thin strip of light sandy brown between the cliffs and the white water from the breaking waves.

There are several houses and restaurants with the central spot being Sea You surf cafe which is at the top of the cliffs overlooking the beach. To me, it would be a wonderful place if it wasn’t so over-crowded with vans and campers.

After exploring Arrifana for a bit, we drove back to Lagos and grabbed some of our climbing gear.

Then we biked over to the meeting spot to hitch a ride with our new friend Saul who is a very strong climber. He drove us to the bouldering gym, Vertical, in Estombar that he goes to on a regular basis. It was a ton of fun! It’s a small place but the routes are interesting and the vibe is friendly and positive. (Cost: 7 EUR each). Unfortunately, Bi ended up twisting her ankle on a fall so she currently has it propped up on a pillow with ice.