Day 50-57: Salt water in the nose

Day 50-57.

A new day, a new beach. We let ourselves be guided from the next campsite in Zambujeira to a spectacular cliff beach. It's easy to walk down what feels like 600 steps, but then we have to climb back up again in the afternoon 😰.

Luckily, there is a reward waiting for us at the campsite: 3 pools at once. We splash around a bit with Lore. Then there is a warm bath for the child and a hot shower for the parents. We see lots of young parents at the campsite, some with even smaller babies, and we realise once again that Lore is not the only baby who doesn't want to go to sleep in the evening. It's strange that this realisation somehow makes you happy...

After all the relaxation, the action-packed holiday can now begin again. We look for a beach where you can rent surfboards and where there is also a campsite nearby. We find both at Praia do Malhão. The huge campsite exudes an 80s charm, but we are 600 metres from the water. The waves look small and the water calm. Perfect conditions for beginner Eva. After a short thought, she decides to take another surfing course instead of falling flat on her face with the board.

The next day is about

At 9:30 we hit the water and the decision turns out to be the right one. We surf the first wave straight away! The fact that the surf instructor pushed us into the wave is irrelevant. Lore sleeps for two hours while Eva surfs a few more waves, but otherwise mainly swallows salt water, shakes salt water out of her ears and rubs salt water back into her eyes. We spend the rest of the day in the little town and treat ourselves to a hearty lunch.

On our way north, we also pass Portugal's capital. Even though we've both been there before, Lisbon is definitely worth a second visit. There is a campsite near the center, but it is poorly rated and overpriced. So we look for a free parking space in the border district and plan to take the train into Lisbon. When we arrive at the parking space, we are greeted by grey skies, grey concrete facades and grey caravans. Meh! That's not it. We move on to a parking lot near the ferry, which is only marginally friendlier, but at least closer to the city center. With a queasy feeling, we leave the bus and take the ferry to Lisbon.

It's a weekend hustle and bustle here. After a mostly nature-filled town vacation, the big city with all its colors, sounds and smells catches us. There's no time to just stroll through. We push our way towards the botanical garden (which is supposed to be very beautiful) and breathe a sigh of relief when we enter the almost deserted park. Yes. What can we say? We're going to a big city to be back in nature. The irony.

Our stomachs start to growl and we quickly look for a restaurant. Then we go to a hip rooftop bar, where Lore definitely lowers the average age considerably, but she also makes the other guests laugh.

After the culture shock, we decide to drive to the next parking spot and not spend the night in the dirty parking lot at the ferry.

So we head back, pack two Pasteis de Nata and, hey presto, we're back on the ferry.

In the evening we arrive at a beach parking lot near Ericeira, where several buses and vans are already parked. The beach is within walking distance again and we are amazed when we see all the surfers in the water. Then we get our first sunset by the sea and are happy that we can park here for free.

After Eva had thrown herself onto the board, it was now Chris' turn. The very next morning, they head out into the waves with their wetsuits and surfboards, along with 50 other surfers. The conditions turn out to be a little more difficult and Chris, who has had back problems since the start of his vacation, is once again bent over in the waves. No matter, it was still fun.

We watch the other (professional) surfers and agree that we'll probably stick to the smaller waves. The day is topped off by the best pizza yet in the beach restaurant and we go to bed satisfied with many other campers/surfers. The spot is very popular, every corner of the parking lot is taken.

Since we're totally into the surfer vibe, we check out the surfer hotspot Ericeira the next morning and go from one surf shop to the next. Basically, all we notice is that the hip brands are just as expensive as at home and there's no room for new clothes on the bus anyway. So we just stroll around. Nice too!

In the afternoon we drive on to the next parking spot, another parking lot right by the cliffs near Santa Cruz. Chris casts his fishing line again, but there are no bites. We enjoy the second sunset by the sea from the bus and plan our next overnight stay.

Now that we've been camping for a few days, we're in need of a shower. So let's head to the next campsite with a water slide. Hooray! 🐟