Baleal Surf Camp, Baleal, Portugal

A few days have passed since the last blog. Lots of things have happened this week, but most of it was surf lessons. We have been surfing for about 4 hours every day with some side trips thrown in. As the week has gone on, the surf conditions have deteriorated. When the surf was really small our coaches let us vote on alternate activities. One day the entire camp of about 50 people was shuttled to a surf spot close by called Almagreira. The waves were more powerful and a little bigger there. We had a nice beach party day, with surfing, volleyball, soccer, frisbee and sunbathing. One afternoon we visited the Fatum Surfboard Company and had a tour. We got to see the process of how they make their custom surfboards. The camp also took people to a medieval festival in a nearby town called Obidos. Katherine and I opted out of that trip to relax in our apartment instead. One morning, Felippe gave us a long discussion on the formation of waves, tides and currents, which was really beneficial. Another morning, we got together for a video analysis of our surfing. Yesterday, the surf was dismal, so after catching a few small waves the Red Team paddled our boards around the Baleal island for some exercise. It took about an hour, and way out in the water we came upon a guy that had captured about 20 octupi to sell at the market. Last night was the end of the week BBQ over at Bar do Bruno. In addition to a fantastic dinner and all night dance party, we viewed the video footage and photos from the week. Tomorrow, we leave and head back to Lisbon. Our flight to Barcelona, Spain has been cancelled on TAP airlines and we have no idea what is in store for us. Bring on the adventure!

 

Every morning Team Red gets ready for lessons! Our group consisted of 2 Belgian kids living in Spain, 8 Swiss, and us.

Katherine can still make a killer meal from the mini market across from the surf spot. Finding ingredients is always an adventure in itself.

The next door apartment is where we viewed Team Red's surfing. Everyone had a few seconds of video to watch. Felippe, our coach and the head coach of the camp, analyzed what we did for paddling, timing, and popping up technique. Everyone learned something.

Of course, I had to take a shot of Katherine.

This is the back porch of our apartment, also called a VAT porch. Katherine's brother Andrew has named it such. Little inside joke.

Great attempt at a Portuguese dinner complete with soup. Little did we know that Portugal is the soup capital of the world!

This is the surf spot that we drove to one morning. It was a little better here, but not much. It was still fun, but difficult to time these waves. The smaller the waves are, the more difficult, which will make for a better surfer.

That's me using the wash basin on the back porch of the apartment. We saved a few Euros by doing laundry ourselves.

I had to get a pic of the Baleal Surf Camp Land Rover. Can we petition to get the 4 door versions offered in the States? This vehicle is sweeeeeet! Land Rover Defenders for everyone!

We took a trip to the Fatum Surfboard Company another morning. It was great to see the pride these guys take in making their boards. I had only seen these operations in magazines, and never up close and in person. Making a surfboard is a true craft.

Slater talking to Katherine about the design of surfboards. These guys were really excited to talk about what they do, and what board to use for different situations.

Here we are with different blanks. These blanks are where the process of making a board begins.

The paint room.

This guy hand sands the board from the machine cut. If you want a complete hand shaped board, they will also do that.

Those boards on the top are all "blanks" that will be custom shaped for their clients.

This is the fiberglass that is layed over the foam before the resin is applied.

Mmmmm... resin.

This is where the fins get inserted.

A little carbon fiber in the tail for support.

Interesting.

Katherine at Bar do Bruno. I had the Bruno Burger with a quail egg, cheddar cheese and bacon, and she had the spinach soup.

Felippe helping me catch a few "lefts."

Katherine nicely balanced.

Gman taking the easier for me "right."

Felippe and me assessing the situation.

It was a great week that just flew by. Now we are off to Lisbon by bus, hoping that our cancelled flight to Spain can be corrected. We'll see about that!

 

 

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