Costa da Caparica: Surf & Family
Our days in Costa da Caparica were unforgettable for many reasons. Let’s start with the first one. The day we arrived there, we could not pay at the supermarket- and we even couldn’t get money from the bankomat. Something was really wrong. With Clara’s help with some phone calls, we found out that our (only) debit card was demagnetized.
That’s when I can used the word: shit. We had money, but we couldn’t pay or take cash out. In just few hours of brainstorming, it came out that the easiest and best solution was to buy a ticket to Italy and do new cards there.
That what happened, actually. I was in Milan for 5 days, just for a couple hours at the post office to do 3 cards. Two with us and one at my best friend’s place, just in case. So now we have back up. More is better.
Then when i came back I re-met Filipe, a shaper with his brand Y-Surfboards I met in Pantin during the surf competition. We’d stayed in touch and I surprised him by visiting here. He actually surprised me more when he told me he wanted to sponsor me with a new board, only pay him the materials. Amazing, ah? A brand new 7-foot board, perfect size for me and for my beginner skills.
It wasn’t just the board that made me more than happy. It was actually have him teaching me- with his long experience- and have him bring me out in the waves at 7 in the morning to try to overcome my fears.
I can say big waves are still pretty scary, but anyway I was out there, by myself, dealing with the ocean. He saw in just 5 days the progress I was making. Good for him, good for me.
He also was so kind to give me an old wetsuit that my lovely wife tried to repair, but it became more of a Frankenstein suit, so we decided it was good for me to buy a new one. I found a good deal in decathlon for the suit and for a board cover that will keep the board safe, since it usually stays on the top of the van.
So full gear for me now. And good lessons in Costa da Caparica by my mentor Filipe. Advice and tips that I will carry with me and use every time I get into the water. And I’m trying to do it every day, keep it real so that one day I will ride the wave.
We left yesterday, and we continued our drive south in order to arrive around middle of December in Spain where we’ll get the ferry to Morocco. We still have a lot of places that we can visit in Portugal our slow travel way. We stopped at a nice beach yesterday and met a courageous German woman who stopped by the van asking if was ok for us let her sleep in her tent just near the van. Yes, of course, was our reply.
Then we hung out with Monica for a beer and later for a long chat where we shared stories in our van, warm and cozy. She travels by foot all along the Atlantic coast, just with a small backpack and a tiny tent. Amazing girl. It’s always nice to meet fellow travelers on the road and be helpful from time to time, like this morning: when she got a hot coffee to start off her day. She was so happy. We’ve been without coffee before, so we understood.
We’ll be in touch soon with our next adventures,
Armando, Mel and Mork
