"Surfing's the source, man... swear to God" - Point Break, 1991
- Sitting at Bar do Bruno, the perfectly situated beach bar and restaurant that sits overlooking Baleal Beach at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, overlooking stunning waves under a massive and cloudless sky.
- The sun is warm but the constant breeze keeps things cool. The coffee is a mellow roast, and my skin is roasting mellowly.
- The iPod is paused occasionally to hear the sound of the waves; in-between, "Cuatro" by Cafe Fuego, "Release the Pressure" by Leftfield, "Goodbye" by Junior Boys, "Straight to the Bank" by 50 Cent and 20 more tracks shuffle me into the weekend.
- Across the deck, a girl of about 5 years old raises her Princess Barbie camera (yes, I have nieces) and takes pictures of her parents, quickly showing them her handiwork afterwards.
- Next to me, a group of four late teenage girls chatter on happily in Portuguese, which to me still sounds like drunk Russian.
- The beach is very busy, but not overcrowded. People and shapes are easily identifiable nearby, and further out they are moving silhouettes with the sun behind them.
- Surfers of all levels are tackling waves of all sizes. The good ones make it look so easy; my body screams that it is not.
It's easy to see the romanticism of the surfing lifestyle - wake up, wetsuit, waves, eat, repeat.
The week was excellent; come here if you want to learn to surf and learn to chill out. The service in the cafes and at the camp could not have been friendlier; the level of instruction (as mentioned in a previous post) is very high. So am I (naturally, of course) as I'm off to Lisbon for the week.
From bed to beach - could get used to this...
Instructors Gabi and Turko - beautiful people who teach by season in Argentina, Brazil, and Portugal
Bar do Bruno; it is also the surf camp base, where you wetsuit up and wax (eloquently)
Video review and a lesson on the history of surfing
0 comments:
Post a Comment