September Sun

Everyones favourite time of year is upon us once again! Its September and the swells beginning to hum across the Atlantic sending some heavenly glass for us to enjoy.

Everybody was on fire last week! we saw people riding from peak to beach, claiming and celebrating after each ride. It's great for me to see everyone so stoked.


With surfing, often mother nature is very much in charge of what we are doing out in the water. It's such a blessing to have a week of mid sized learner waves for everyone to progress on!

The end of August saw the usual invasion of the Gentle family clan descend upon the lodge! Whatever attempted authority I try and demonstrate whilst instructing tends to be undermined slightly when your mother tells you off for putting her on waves that are too big! But of course it was great to see the whole bunch for a couple of weeks! Everyone needs a bit of mothering now and again.

Autumn is only just beginning! Lots more to come....

Medieval Living And Some Rewarding Surf Lessons

Here ye’ here ye’! Tis another blog entry! Huzzah I say!

Before you ask, no you have not stumbled onto some peculiar robin hood fan club page (although we do have pictures of men in tights...) Arrifana surf lodge team went all medieval last week in Silves for their annual 10 day castle festival extravaganza.

What an experience it was! Jousting shows, dance lessons and other forms of ancient entertainment greeted us on arrival, much to the excitement of Kai and Sierra. They headed straight for the dress up tent, along with the rest of the girls, to get themselves into the spirit of things. Aldo and I decided to take a different approach, so went to the tavern to give ourselves some dutch courage to look for belly dancers!

4...maybe 5... ok 10 beers later the girls arrive back with costumes for us to throw on, and before we knew it we were all dancing about so some Ye Olde school tunes dressed in ridiculous outfits! Certainly a day we won’t forget anytime soon.

But I promise we haven’t just been messing around in a castle dressed as peasants! On Tuesday we had some children from the special educational needs and disabilities sector of Aljezur school come down to the beach for a go at surfing! I honestly can’t describe how rewarding it was to see the ecstatic looks on these kid’s faces when they got in the water and had a go at this sport we love. It was truly humbling to see how much joy could be gained from an experience in the ocean.  I suppose sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be able to live the life I do in the beautiful town of Aljezur, and it felt great to be able to give back to the community!

Until next time! Peeeeaaaace out x

Sardines and Political waves

Summer is most definitely here! The beach is packed with aspiring surfers taking to the waves for their first taste of foam based transport. As I collect the flags after each session I can spot Chesire cat grins on the faces of all our students as they carry their boards up the beach towards a well earned lunch break.

 Waves! We had waves this week! The 2 week drought is officially over and Amo’s delivered a couple of scorching days, despite the spring tides making teaching life slightly more difficult. It’s always a blessing to arrive at the beach in the morning to discover the June northerlies have finally decided to subside and glassy perfection waiting to be ridden.

Who else should grace these fine shores but...The Prime minister! Looking especially dashing in his Hof' style swim shorts. We saw the big man minus the suit splash about in the shores of the beach doing some hardcore boogy boarding for the crowd of adoring spectatators...

Sardine fest was as messy as always. For ten euros all you can eat fish and all you can drink beer I suppose it is inevitable. I lost count of how many beers/sardines I consumed but it must haveve been a lot because I woke up the next day stinking of fish and in a drunken daze. I remember finding an unmanned Sagres tap and helping myself to some beers for a while! It’s an absolute miracle I managed to stay on my bicycle all the way back to my flat.

Roll on the next few weeks! Thanks to all the guests at the lodge and Mother Nature for making my life such a pleasure...

At Home

 I'M BACK!!!

but I suppose it feels like I have never been away! Everything in Aljezur feels comfortably familiar. As I drive down the beach in the morning I see the same old man from the past 3 years in a traditional Portuguese suit, dressed to the nines on a 28 degree morning, Dog on a lead barking at the van as it trundles down the hill. 

  This place is a second home for me. The attitudes to life here exist in a time warp, ignoring the hustle of the European rat race. It even feels good doing a good wetsuit wash after the first day back on the job!

Things are going great at the lodge as well. The chickens are laying eggs like there is no tomorrow and the vegetable garden is looking in tip top condition. There are brand new leather sofas in the lounge now that I am finding next to impossible to lift my tired body from after a long day at the beach! We also have lots of new carefully designed Surfsoft boards with extra strength and rocker to offer an easier experience for beginners. Last summer Aldo and I managed to both fit of us on one without it breaking, so here’s hoping they will last for many years yet!

Not only have we got new boards, but the sand banks at Amoeira are looking absolutely perfect for teaching beginners and intermediates alike. Although there was strong onshore wind yesterday, we saw a couple of sneaky 3 foot lefts peeling nicely from the corner. Give it a bit more swell with some kind winds and we are looking at some absolutely classic days coming up this summer!

In other news, Sierra and Kai have also been busy with the fascinating sport of snail catching (not that the snails are able to put up much competition...) which has seen the kids marching triumphantly around the lodge with buckets full of shells! Baby Arianna is getting bigger and bigger every day, happily smiling when she is paraded around the kitchen on Sarah’s back whilst she cooks up a storm.

It was exciting to meet our new Portuguese born-and-bred surf coach Braullio this week! He’s been working with Aldo since April and I have a feeling it’s going to be an awesome team this season.  We are all stoked for the summer to get into full swing!

All in all, it’s brilliant to be back! Watch this space for more updates and news as this summer progresses...