Day 18: Thursday
Carrapateira, Bordeira, Arrifana, Aljezur
A morning visit and coffee with Chloe in her new home in Carrapateira. She took us on the grand tour of the town from one side to the other (in 5 Min) and to the church and town square. She says the “Guilt free gluten free” pizzas are a towns highlight! At 10:30 a siren went off and all the town folks head down to the market for fresh catch of the day. The town has about 250 residents, majority Portugese. There are about 5 Coffee shops in the square, a small surf shop and a grocer. What more do you need đŸ™‚
Bordeira, we drove to the town center (the town is smaller than Carrapateira) and we only saw one lady watering the church flowers. So we carried on driving….
On to Arrifana for a surf check. Ankle to knee high waves and the surf schools are out in force. The hike down the mountain makes me appreciate how easy it is to paddle out in the Cape Town line ups… no mess no fuss. Upon my search for information about each of the surf spots I came accross this description of Arrifana: “Surrounded by cliffs and in close proximity to a small fishing village and harbour, Arrifana beach is a popular destination among surfers and bodyboarders. In addition to enjoying the stunning seaside and its sweet waves, visitors can enjoy a long walk through Costa Vicentina’s National Park and its plentiful woods. Accessible by car and by foot, it is a secluded, peaceful beach with violent, turbulent waves, perfect for surfing.”
I keep refreshing my surf forecast and check daily on multiple beach cams and websites but it seems we have hit a serious dry spell where the common words are “Flat to ankle high surf” https://magicseaweed.com/South-Algarve-Surfing/110/
We stop for Lunch in Aljezur, a town with the narrowest roads I have ever seen! We stop at a place called Cafe da Ponte on the waters edge, watching the ducks and two geese cruising in the river below.
Homeward bound for an incredible afternoon trail run, up to the highest point in Praia Da Luz and along the trail towards Faro. I keep my eyes peeled for snakes but im told its not something to really worry about here (I still worry ofcourse)
As the day comes to a close and its about three hours post bed time we enjoy building Lego and chase all the kids out the pool with a water cannon blasting session!
Leave a Reply