Ever fancied learning to surf? Think you’re too middle-aged or creaky? Or maybe a bit scared of the waves? Here’s why our family holiday at Baleal Surf Camp in Portugal, Peniche, got a big thumbs-up….
7.20 am on a grey August morning and our taxi pulls into the small town of Baleal before halting outside the reception for Baleal Surf Camp. The sky is a moody wash of slate-grey, the wipers of the people-carrier are nudging drizzly rivulets from the windscreen. The surrounding buildings are low rise, functional and uninspiring. There isn’t a palm tree in sight. Who needs palm trees?
Instead, along the horizon are windswept dunes, spiky grasses bending in the breeze, the blue Atlantic sea stretching into the distance and the sound of waves breaking on the shore.
Ah yes. The waves. The reason we’re here. I feel a small swell of anxiety rise within me although to be fair I’m eye-baggingly exhausted having just made the entire journey by train from London to Lisbon and enjoyed precisely….oooh, I’d estimate 2.5 hours of jolty sleep in a bunk-bed while speeding through the night….but that’s a whole different story.
So here we are. The start of our surfing adventure. Two adults, two children age 13 and 9. Four people who spent two hours one freezing cold April morning in Cornwall attempting to stand up on boards under the guidance of their patient teacher Aaron and decided they kind of liked it and wanted to do it again.
And that’s how, after an afternoon prodding at keyboards and bothering Google with words along the lines of: PLACES TO LEARN TO SURF. MAYBE A BIT HOTTER THAN CORNWALL PLEASE. BUT NOT HAWAII OR AUSTRALIA THANK YOU. FAMILY. KIDS. BEGINNERS. DEFINITELY BEGINNERS, we came to book a week in August at Baleal.
WHY BALEAL?
First established in 1993, and just along the coast from Peniche, Baleal Surf Camp is a family-run camp that claims to be “Europe’s most consistent and flexible surf spot…with a laid back vibe, welcoming everyone from singles to families, experts to novices” Sounded good. Encouraging claims that proved to be spot on.
From the moment we arrived and were shown to our self-catering, two bedroom apartment, I felt as if we were stepping into a large happy family by receptionist and all- round organiser, Barbara, who is completely unflappable, (as proved when we managed to mess up our booking dates on the last day of our stay).
With plenty of supervision for family groups, surf lessons for all abilities, the promise of suitable waves all year round thanks to its unique position on the coast – and the additional tempting pull of massages, excursions to local villages and even yoga sessions tossed into the mix, on paper Baleal Surf Camp ticked a lot of boxes, and in reality it ticked even more.
It was with slight trepidation but also a sense of nervy excitement, that we arrived at 9am sharp for our first lesson on Monday morning and gathered at the surf school’s base, Bar Bruno, with equally excited/ anxious looking Italians, French, Dutch and Americans. Groups of friends, couples, families and solo travellers, we were different ages, nationalities, shapes and sizes but were all united with the same intention: to learn to surf or get better at surfing.
After being split into pre-arranged groups, and meeting our teachers for the first time, we were allocated boards and then had the task of struggling into wet-suits before making the few short steps down onto the beckoning beach where our lessons began.
The four of us were paired with a French family with similar aged children (who spoke impeccable English… bien-sur), and later on another family, an English mum who lived in Italy with her 11-year-old daughter and her Italian partner.
After an energetic warm up on the sand involving stretches, lunges and other mirth-inducing and ungainly bends in our wetsuits, our little group was already united as we ran through some land-based drills before it was finally time to head for the waves.
While the children headed off with their teachers, Portugese Goncalos, and Irish James, the adults were guided 50m further along the coast with English Teo.
And so the lessons began and continued throughout the week. Each day we had a morning session of an hour and half and an additional hour and a half in the afternoon.
Having been pessimistic about my chances of actually managing to stand on a board, (I had previously managed only two seconds in a vertical position of euphoria during our Cornish effort), I was genuinely amazed when on my very first lesson – and under the expert tuition of Teo, all of us were managing to stand and wobble our way into the shore on our boards with encouraging regularity. And a quick glance to my right confirmed that the children – with Goncalos and James- were doing even better than the adults. Of course they were…kids eh.
Five days later and I can honestly say that not only were we all competent beginner surfers, I was also hooked.
Yes, it was tiring at times, yes there were some less fun moments including a challenging Tuesday afternoon that saw us battling with a sudden deluge of tidal seaweed that clung around our board leashes in monstrous fronds and dangled from our wetsuits making us look like extras from Doctor Who.
Yes there was the moment I found myself in a tumble drier of a wave, gulping down mouthfuls of water, and spinning in all directions, a tangle of limbs before eventually resurfacing.
And yes there were times when I was flagging and flailing as I made my way out to sea only to be slapped and pushed by the oncoming salty swells, squinting blindly into the stretching ocean as seawater sprayed across my contact lenses, thinking to myself….’Holiday? Really?’…. but the exhilaration and adrenaline surge from actually managing to catch a wave was fantastic, the children’s big smiles, pride and thumbs up signals from further along the shore as they mastered new challenges was lovely to see and the beers at the end of the day that you felt you’d truly earned at the camp’s laid-back Bar Bruno, made it all so worth it.
So my advice to anyone contemplating having a go is: Do it!
A BEGINNER’S SURVIVAL GUIDE: SOME SURFING STUFF THAT’S HELPFUL TO KNOW…
BRRR…BRACING
Even when the sun is shining the Atlantic sea is chilly and surfers tend to wear wet suits all year round. Unlike the Algarve coast further down, you won’t see beach visitors bobbing about for ages in bikinis or flopping astride lilos here. It’s bracing but not freezing and obviously fine if you’re wearing a wet suit. Which brings us onto my next point…
WET SUIT WOES
Getting into a wet suit is about as easy as trying to push a hippo down a slide. Allow extra time if you’re also helping your children pull limbs into clingy and unforgiving arm and leg holes.
AM I FIT ENOUGH?
You don’t need to be super-fit. Our camp had people of all shapes and sizes and fitness levels but it definitely helps if you’re not huffing, puffing and doubling over with wheezy exhaustion after a light 100m jog to the sea. Surfing is physically tiring especially for beginners who will start in the “white water area” where the waves have already broken.
STAY PROTECTED
Don’t forget to apply sunscreen. Because you’re in the sea and covered with a wetsuit it’s easy to forget you need it, as our red faces on a forgetful Wednesday afternoon testified. Those dudes wearing slashes of blue block across their cheeks Adam Ant-style -(yes I’m a child of the 70s)- might look like they’re showing off and auditioning for a part in Point Break, but actually there IS a point to it.
NO ROOM FOR VANITY
Don’t bother trying to look vaguely attractive. I foolishly applied waterproof mascara pre- lesson and left the waves straggly-haired, flush-faced from exertion and sporting Alice Cooper eyes, much to my daughter’s horror. Coupled with a wet-suit it’s not a good look.
THEY’RE BEHIND YOU!
Look out to sea and be aware of what’s going on around you while you’re waiting to catch the next wave or making your way back out as you never know who might be coming along behind you. Fast. You need to stay alert rather than engage in chatty banter, back turned to the ocean, with a fellow group member about the merits of Portuguese pastries and the unforgiving cut of high leg bikinis.
TEACHER KNOWS BEST
Trust your teachers, they know best. The sea can be dangerous and daunting but any good instructor will keep you safe if you listen to what they say and do as they ask. Strong currents and changing tides can’t be ignored. I had complete faith in Goncalos, James and Teo and never once worried about the children further along the shore.
KEEP GOING
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again because the feeling when you master it is SO worth it.
