Has anyone ever been or considered going? Does anyone know anything about the surf/surf culture or the country itself?
Surfed France & Spain. Would go to Portugal in a heartbeat. If there's a SI surf trek in the making, we could offer up The Maine Latex Barn BamBam as sacrifice to the hairy women of Europe & then we'd be assured of superb waves. (sort of a convoluted Mayan influenced thang there...)
Drugs are decriminalized so it's got that going for it. Right now they are going through some rough economic times, so be wary of crafty pick pockets. Though, just let it be known that your from New Jersey - home of the ruffian - and the local thugs should back-off. They like drinking and eating over there.
I started to check it out on the web after the post. I was feeling too lazy for the trip to the library. It looks like they get a lot of surf throughout the year and have a sh*t ton of nooks, crannies, and points with surf potential. It's seems similar to California climate wise, and swell wise for that matter. The water is in the 50's-60's depending on the time and location. I noticed that the 40N latitude line goes from the middle of NJ to the middle of Portugal and thought that was trippy. Pj is right about the economy, it seems pretty f*cked like ours is. I didn't check out crime styles yet, but I've heard about skillful pick pockets in Europe. I think the total population of the country was comparable to to population of NYC (I gotta check that). Portugal also has a very long history (much longer than I realized at least). Portugal looks beautiful, I wonder how the people are. They have to be more hospitable than NewJerseyites. I'm definitely considering a surf trip there or maybe even moving there, who knows. I'm not looking for 100' waves btw, even though the freaks go there for bombs (that's big waves, ok spy-tech?). Thanks MIS, I don't even know where to start...... north, south, central. I'm guessing you don't want to blow up anything specific (all good) so I will pm you as I dig further.
Surfing is actually a sport where the various surfers surfs, enjoy there life life near by the beach spots where they do surf. There they organizes parties enjoy there life in that pleasant atmosphere with full of fun. Its a wonderful sport with full of adventure with waves.
Waves are awesome there, just don't go in the summer. Also gets pretty big in the early winter. I went in the spring and it was just right. Lisbon is a great jumping off point. You can rely on public transportation if you stay in Cascais, but if you want to explore some of the better spots you'll need some wheels. I stayed in Ericeira for about 5 days and did 2 day trips to Peniche. There were better reef breaks near Peniche but lots more crowds. More mellow beach breaks near Ericeira and some you may find to yourself. There are some reef breaks as well. Also, if you do go north check out Sintra, very cool little town. As far as pickpockets they are all over Europe. You only get the ghetto vibe while you're in Lisbon. Use common sense and once you get out into the country you're fine. Cars are expensive to rent and so is gas, so definitely travel with a bud or two to save some cash. Also, very easy to rent boards but might want to bring your 3/2.
http://lisbonemotions.com/ Tiago is the man. He is a super nice dude and will give the experience of a lifetime. Salt of the earth guy.
Stay in Ericeira! Surfed a wave there called the cave with only a few bodyboarders and very friendly locals on a small day. wave is epic and hollow. Also there is a lot of other beach breaks and reefs around that area that you can score alone. Portugal is the bees knees
Why did this have to be in 2013?! Could've been POTY14. Wasn't it a POTY13 finalist? I think it's SIHOF material. I say this quote all the time and people love it. I tell them also about this guy jackrichard and they want to meet him lol
one way to confront this issue to recognize the accent of the gypsy - or romanian - or whatever they call themselves. if you know whats coming you can better prepare.
