Day 8: Surfing Course Santa Barbara & Lagoa do Fogo

July 12, 2020

After breakfast (again there was a selection of rolls, croissants and cakes, with honey, Nutella, jam, peanut butter, butter, cheese and sausage, and on request eggs, scrambled eggs, omelettes, various pancakes, fruit salad, muesli, porridge and yogurt. Then we relax on the terrace of our 'Retreat Villa No. 5' before taking the surfing course at 12 o'clock today.

The kids and their dad want to dive into the waves. I prefer to watch from a safe distance and take videos and pictures.

We have booked 3 surf lessons for 2 hours in advance. The time is determined by the tides (beginner courses are only possible at low tide).

Directly on the beach below our resort is the surf school 'Santa Barbara Surf School Azores'. 

Our surf instructor Sergio is already welcoming us. After the different boards have been explained and the rest of the family has received cool long wetsuits, we walk with boards under our arms to the beach.

According to Sergio, today is the first day of the season with perfect surfing conditions. 

Although today is Sunday, we are almost alone on the beach. There is another surfing course with 3 people next to us, and a handful of bodyboarders are playing in the sea.

After the basics have been explained, we get into the water.

First step: paddling with the board.

Next is another dry exercise. Now my family should learn to stand up on the board. This promises to be exciting *grin*.

Sergio demonstrates it, then he helps each one individually to catch the waves. Sonny manages to be the first one to stand up on the board and surf a few meters before falling into the cool water.

Even the dad is successful several times, but our daughter seems to be a natural talent. After a few attempts, she is already surfing standing up all the way to the beach. Sergio is totally thrilled!

After 2 hours, everyone is exhausted and crawls out of the water. Meanwhile, the sun is shining, the sky is almost cloudless - and the sand is immediately scorching hot!

We quickly hurry back to the path and drag the boards back to the surf school. That was already a great success. Tomorrow we will continue!

We walk up the hill to the resort from the sea and go to the infinity pool. We are all alone, so let's get in the water.

The pool is also not for the faint-hearted. The sea has an estimated water temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, and the pool is not really warmer. Maybe 22 degrees!

But since the sun is now shining down on us with full force, it is very bearable. I swim a few laps and enjoy the water when an American couple comes to the pool.

But both of them only manage to take a selfie in the pool.

Comment: 'Too cold!'

That makes me happy, so I can continue swimming undisturbed. 

The weather is great now, the mountains are almost cloudless, so we decide to drive to the Lagoa do Fogo viewpoint.

On the way there, we pass the hot springs 'Caldeira Velha', where you can theoretically bathe in a thermal pool. There are also pools with waterfalls.

Unfortunately, the nice man at the entrance tells us that all pools are closed. Too bad....

We hope that the pools and thermal pools will be allowed to reopen from July 15th. Until then, the 'state of emergency' has been extended, which is why, for example, the thermal pools are still closed.

We continue up the hill, passing several viewpoints until we reach the viewpoints of Lagoa do Fogo. 

There are several points from which you have a great view of the lake. One more beautiful than the other.

At the lake, we see some hikers, but today we don't feel like going down the steep path.

Sonny is also struggling with nausea, the serpentine roads did not agree with him at all. So we make long photo stops and enjoy the view. 

When we look at the many parking lots and especially the bus parking lots, we realize again how great it is to be able to enjoy everything so 'exclusively' and almost alone.

The parking lot opposite the facility, where the day tourists come to the beach, is packed when we return from the lake.

Down at the beach, there is now quite a crowd, but all of this is still far from the usual tourist crowds in the high season.

We spend the rest of the day at the villa, on the terrace, and in the jacuzzi

It's really beautiful here!

Today we also didn't receive any feedback on when and where we should do our 2nd Covid test....