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We forget the time is the exact same as British time in Portugal so we end up sleeping in a bit longer than anticipated. Jamie the surfing bar man from last night has been waiting on us for a few hours which I feel bad about, so we get ready as quick as possible and then head off with another one of the boys called Dave and also Sally, the only other female staff. Thankfully Matt has offered us to use his van, as I don't really think 3 surfboards would fit in Charlie. The rental is cheap- a board and wetsuit for a whole day for only 15 euros- its good having contacts! Jamie drives us to a beach about 20 mins away and when we get there the waves are quite ferocious and foreboding. It's very choppy and I'm nervous to say the least. We plough on regardless and while Jamie is far out and going for it, me, Greg and Dave are all battling to make it by the first set of waves which keep pummelling us. We are all getting battered about like we're inside a huge washing machine but I will not be defeated easily. I
can tell it is messing with Gregs asthma, it's even sore on my lungs it's such hard effort, and he has to sit out for a while at the side. I continue on and a few times I manage to get to kneeling stage which is an achievement. Just at that point, Jamie suggests we try another beach which isn't as savage apparently and a bit better for beginners, so we happily agree. I think he finally realises we are actually shit and it's best to end the torture sooner rather than later. He takes us to Sagres, which apparently the first explorers to find it thought was the end of the world, which is its nickname. It's the most westerly point in Europe. We stop for a quick churro and coffee whilst looking at some of the knitwear on offer at the stalls (who would have thought this is what you would find at the 'end of the world', but hey, there you go).
The next beach is a lot calmer, so much so that I can't even catch a wave at first. After a while I manage to catch a few and again get to kneeling stage
but I just can't get my feet up onto the board. It's a lot harder than snowboarding that's for sure! A few hours later and we're all about ready to head back. We've offered to cook dinner for everyone tonight as a thank you for letting is stay, and Greg rustles up his infamous Spanish tortilla and I do a Greek salad with some fried aubergine. Both go down really well thankfully. One of the other guys has made chicken wings and potato wedges, which makes it a nice, fulfilling meal. We head off to bed earlier than usual as we have a long drive ahead tomorrow.
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