The 9-5 routine in Portugal
Monday morning, up at 8am, stumble into the kitchen, have some breakfast, then off to work. The usual routine, for most of us, can sometimes get a bit tedious, but not if 9 til’ 5 means working on a beach all day perfecting the skills of surfers…
Recently peeler embarked on a trip to portugal, it was our first trip as the peeler team and it went swimmingly… or surfingly…
After 6 hours of traveling we got dropped off in Lagos, a busy harbour town in Portugal, where we got picked up by Aldo from Arrifana surf lodge. – a small up and coming town with a harbour full of British owned yachts which was strangely like Poole, Dorset. After admiring all the yachts we couldn’t afford, we got picked up by Aldo from Arrifana Surf Lodge.
Aldo took us up into the hills in his trusty VW Transporter, far away from the hustle and bustle of Lagos. After 45 minutes of driving through the Portugese countryside, getting to know Aldo and admiring the thousands of cork trees, we arrived at Arrifana Surf Lodge, our ‘home from home’ for the week.
Upon entering the Surf lodge, we were greeted by Sarah (Aldo’s wife), Sierra (Aldo and Sarah’s daughter) and Ruby, the most laid back dog in the world. The guys at Arrifana Surf Lodge made us feel so welcome that after a couple of days we felt we were staying with friends.
We soon settled in and the next day another guest arrived, a glaswiegan surf legend, comedian and all round great guy called Grant! Meeting Grant was an experience in itself, it was like having Billy Connelly stay with us for the week, a constant source of entertainment!
After a couple of days of chilling out, enjoying Sarah’s cooking, Aldo’s barbecues and listening to Grants stories about Swaffelen, we got into the weekly routine, which consisted of the following:
The Routine
Up at 8:30am and eating as much breakfast as you can.
By 9:30am after helping Aldo load the surf wagon we were soon whisked off to Arrifana beach (a great spot for constant clean waves all week long)
As soon as we were suited up Aldo took us through some surf theory and then into the sea to perfect our surf skills and make us into true ninja surf warriors! Aldo’s patience, enthusiasm and teaching skills soon knocked out all the bad habits we’d picked up over the past few years of surfing and we were soon catching some awesome waves.
Not only a great teacher, Aldo is also an accomplished surfer. Whilst we were tucking into our freshly made sarnies, Aldo was out in the green, showing some of Portugal’s finest how it’s done.
After a day’s surfing it was back to the surf lodge, where we were greeted by the girls (Sarah, Sierra and Ruby). Sarah had a fresh platter of fruit prepared for our hungry stomachs. This became one of my favourite points of the trip, where we talked about the day’s surfing, chilled out and soaked up some Portugese sun over a bottle of beer or two.
At 7:30pm we’d tuck into the evening feast prepared and cooked by Sarah (or Aldo if it was a barbecue). The food was absolutely amazing and Aldo’s barbecues were legendary, specialties including Brai Brekkies and Ribs. After refuelling, we’d sit outside talking, whilst the sun set on Arrifana surf lodge.
Every night we met someone new, from travelling Swedes to ex-semi pro snowboarder and now bowen practioner, Paddy, who had some great stories to tell. Then it was off too bed for a well earned rest before another day of surfing at Arrifana beach.
Throughout the week we got to know the guys at Arrifana really well and tried to figure out how they get the time to run the surf lodge and sociallise with us. The Arrifana Surf Lodge slogan is ‘Home from Home’ and this is so true. By the time the following Saturday come we didn’t want to leave, we made some true friends and will definitely be going back next year for some more punishment (I mean surf ninja training) from Aldo, great food from Sarah and an amazing time in Portugal!
To find out more take a look at the Arrifana website – www.arrifanasurflodge.com
Click the image below to enlarge
Being a big part of the very first Chicks with Sticks event was something special indeed. With a focus on surf girls and an even bigger focus on being green, the event was well received by everyone who came along.
