First Winter

For the first time, this year we are staying all winter in our surf house, in our beloved Portugal. The holidays are just over and it’s winter now. That is, 14/15 C° during the day and 8 C° at night in the worst case. On New Year’s Day we were able to surf with a number of people in Baleal (Peninche). It was fantastic, in the sunshine with a clear blue sky and 18 C ° to 20 C °, no wind and a super beautiful glassy swell. What a start of a new year was that !!

Rightside photo was taken just a few days later during the swell of hurricane “Elsa” at Praia do Sul in Ericeira. This is also winter in Portugal, nice, sometimes big swell. The time of year to be in Portugal if you are a surfer!

In our garden, the Callas, Daisy’s and Crocrosmia’s are blooming. We added some new palm trees to our collection, because it’s our goal to collect as many as possible!

As for our animals; the bees are busy collecting pollen from all other flowering plants in the area. The hive is growing fast, we had to add two stories to house them all! Our chickens keep laying their eggs as if it was spring already! As you might know, we have two rabbits, Thelma and Orca, and they are digging holes like crazy. Our dog Jake keeps an eye out on all what’s happening in the garden. He doesn’t know yet, but we want to add two miniature goats to the family!

I am curious what the rest of the “winter” will bring us, beside a fantastic surf and nature that is in full swing.

We now know for sure, that we do not want to keep this from the people. We already have the idea, of opening the doors to our surfhouse, especially for guests this year (2020) during the holidays. Enjoy being together, eating, making day trips (maybe Nazare when it’s big), possibly surfing, so something for everyone. Ending it all with celebrating New Year in the center of Santa Cruz, where thousands of people gather with a bottle of bubbles under their arms to uncork it at midnight. Live music and D.J.’s on the squares and a huge spectacle of fireworks at midnight!! If you want to be part of this, please contact us in time because there are only limited places.

From October to April the season of BIGWAVE surfing is also on. Nazaré and her biggest wave of the world!! Up to a 100 foot or over 30 meters!! So if you are lucky and you are in Portugal and a good swell is predicted to hit the shore of Nasaré you are, no you must pay a visit to this beautifull little fishermens village to see the enormus waves that will hit the rocks of the farol (lighthouse, pic 2.). But if you are realy luckie maybe, just maybe when the conditions are just right you will see one or more daredivils surf these gigantic waves with there “tow-in” jetski’s.