Finisterre to Figueira da Foz, Portugal

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With only a few hundred kilometers left of spanish coastline to cover, we enjoyed the day cruising through the small towns that lay between Finisterre and Baiona. We camped out just north of the Portugal boarder, deciding to tackle a new country and language after a good night´s rest.

Our fisrt encounter with people from Portugal was at a carny...and yes there are even midgets in Portugal. We quickly discovered that portugese is not an easy language to fake. You should´ve seen us trying to order a round of hot dogs. Later in the day we pulled into a busy campsite in the town of Villa de Conde and rented a bungalo for two nights. Dan, Mike and I had a good jam night with people staying at the campsite. We came to this town in search of more waves. I had one good night session there, but nothing to really boast about. The northern trade winds in this area are dificult to hide from, and getting up early before the winds start blowing was even harder.

In search of better waves we decided to drive further south. I had heard of this great right-hand point break in Buarcos, so we elected to go in search of it. To our surprise were greeted with polluted water, large factories everywhere and blown-out surf. Not so good! A bit frustrated we went in search of the local surf shop to try and get the low down of the local surf scene. While driving around on these miniture side streets, Dan smoked a curb and blew out the rear left tire. We couldn´t get the wheel repaired till the next day so we were forced to stay the night in the city of Figueira da Foz. We checked into the Paintshop hostel, hoping to just relax and get some sleep.

This is the part of the story where it gets good. Our english-speaking hosts Jacques and Kate welcomed us to their place and made us feel right at home. What we thought would be a one night stop in a sleepy city turned into a week of partying, surfing, and debauchery. The events that follow deserve their own blog entry, and I need to consult with the boys as to how it can all be explained, so check back in a few days.

Hasta la proxima,

The boys

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Photos

Villa de Conde, Portugal
Evening session in Villa de Conde. My first surf in Portugal.