This is already two weeks ago. Here we are now on a cliff above the beach of Tonel. It's a bit windy but hey, we're literally at the edge of the landmass we call Europe. The lighthouse of Cabo de Sao Vicente points to nothing but four coninents. It's moderately warm so that I'm sitting here barefoot in my jumper, sand between my toes. Djinga snuggled up on her black blanket in the passenger seat. Her head resting on the armrest, she's snorring a little.
The day has been an awesome one. Waking up at the hippie beach of Barranco and having some bread with honey for breakfast, I continued my reading about Darwin and his research cruise that turned into a five year sail around the globe. He must have been one of the first to discover sealife fossils in the high altitudes of South America. Back in the late 19th century, people apparently still widely believed that a supernatural being named God created every single individual - plants, animals and humans. Just as technicians and researchers nowadays develop machines and processes. Each in a different way but with a specific purpose. And if it proofed to not succeed properly in the beginning, than refine it a bit to make it more successful in what Darwin called "the struggle for life".
The forecast which was more of a rumor than the latest update from the internet said there was a four meter swell with a 20 second period approaching in the early morning. Some of the guys had already left the spot since it was clear the small bay would not hold these waves. I sent a message to Luuk, holding my old but strong Nokia against the roof of the van and after three unsuccessful attempts it was finally sent. We met at Burgau and figured out what to do. And this is where modelling meets reality. You're standing on the balcony looking at the sea. Not much going on there. Double-checking with a glimpse at the screen displaying the forecast, making sure it's up to date. All you conclude is that there's quite a bit of a discrepancy.
Eventually we headed to an exposed beach at the South coast. Full tide, reasonable wind-chop. But a funny crowd of seven hooting each other into every North Sea like lump that came in. We thought at least three times about leaving but eventually stayed for no less than three hours playing in the sea. It's something I rediscovered after being so focussed on progressing lately. Funny enough, during many sessions earlier I would just fall off my board during the take-off. No matter how easy the wave seemed to be. A lot of surfing seems to happen inbetween the ears. If your mindset is strange, strange things without any logics seem to manifest in the surf. We were kooking the hell out of this session. Later our friends were asking how it was and we could only reply that the surf was less than average but that we such great fun nonetheless!
At night we all met for dinner at a small local place. Grilled fish from the charcoal barbecue with seasalt grains on the crusty skin, salad with tomatoes and olive oil. The funny vinegar in a spray bottle. Fresh bread and olives. Red wine and laughter. Happy days.