I pushed on North to check out the famous surf towns of Peniche and Baleal. They are supposed to offer good kitesurfing when the condition are right so I was hopeful to get back on the water.
Unfortunately there was no wind and almost no swell so I took the chance to chill for a few days, did some riding around on my bike, and found some more spots to free camp. It was a nice place to spend a few days and relax but the wind forecast was looking better further North so I decided to leave the surf town and head to Foz do Arelho, Portugal’s largest lagoon.
Finding the lagoon I randomly bumped into a man I had met about 3 weeks ago in the Algarve, Sebastian, a kitesurfer from France, and managed to have a few hours kiting on the lagoon. The wind was gusty, but it was good to get on the water.
Again, another night free camping!
The morning bought no wind at all, so I decided to keep heading North, aiming for Figueira da Foz.
This was a vibrant and busy city with a nice marina, loads of hotels and people, and a nice place to be. I am sure I read that it has the highest concentration of casinos in Portugal, and you could definitely sense there was a lot invested in the area.
Again, I managed to free camp but the information I had read about the wind being ‘thermally strengthened’ in the summer time did not seem to be true so no kite session here.
Still, my cooking skills are getting better, I came up with a dry cured / smoked ham, spinach, and mushroom omelette (amazing taste from the ham), with a tuna, feta and spanish onion salad.
Definitely need to get out more……
John Alex Clarke 