Here I am again, up in the air, on my way to continue taking surf lessons. For this time, I chose to make a few days stop in Madrid and then drive up until Portugal, to Peniche, which is a 6-7 hours’ drive. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty excited! After spending 2 days with my family living in Madrid, I prepared some CDs for the road and I hopped in my cousin's car which I would drive all alone to Portugal. An amalgam of feelings and thoughts were crossing my mind at that point: "Will I reach my destination?", "Will I get lost on the way?", "Will the weather be pleasant and not be a problem as I am driving?", from anxiousness, slight fear, lack of patience to finally get there, up to joy, happiness, peace that I would finally spend time with myself and my ideas; my stomach was tight, my mind was focused and my energy level was high (luckily, I've had a bit of time before to rest and mentally prepare for this trip). I left Madrid with 2 GPS systems, one on my phone and one on the car, with 2 different routes. Sometimes, of course, I got lost, so lacking Internet, my phone would not reroute, but I relied on the car's navigation system and everything felt and went okay. Spain's highways to Portugal are toll-free, and spring did wonders to surrounding vegetation, the landscape featured many varieties of green. The weather was not that good, actually it rained really hard at some point, so hard that I had to stop under a bridge and wait for the flood to pass. But there were also moments of sun, alternating with moments of full cloud coverage without rain. As weird as it seems, this was the weather trend for the beginning of May in the Iberian Peninsula. As soon as I approached the frontier between Spain and Portugal, wild horses would peacefully appear between the diffused trees, glancing at the cars that were passing by. The wind was blowing gently and the entire scenery was lovely, so I instantly stopped the car to take photos. In Portugal, I took a route with national roads which guided me also through some small villages, with chic traditional white houses all crowded one next to the other. I was grateful for this experience, as I continuously discovered the beauty in all surrounding things. Few kilometers to Peniche were left, yet my heart started beating faster, I was so pumped to arrive in this amazing piece of heaven again! My friends from Romania arrived at the same time with me, we checked in a super cosy villa, each had his own room and bathroom, also a terrace, a barbecue area, some other spare beds in a room outside the villa, a large living room - everything was a dream come true! We met up with everyone, said hello to our friends already in the camp, instantly made new friends (many nationalities come to the surf camp); we were delighted to be there again! Each and every morning I got up really early, but with great enthusiasm for my surf sessions. Mornings did not bring very good weather, mostly rain, but afternoons usually improved! We would be in the sand, caressing it, learning more moves, more turns, and more tricks to do on the boards. Then we would go into my beloved ocean, which puts a smile on my face with each encounter, and start practicing, start knowing each wave, start loving each and every movement of the cold but vivid water, in the attempt of sliding our surfboards onto its soft curvy surface. The tolerant ocean was a good host, although at times agitated and anxious. We would do two surf sessions a day, with lunch break, and before going into the water, we always had our great warm-ups, a combination of exercises inspired from yoga, pilates, together with cardio ones to increase our flexibility, mobility and awareness, and moreover to give us good inspiration and a positive state of mind. As I previously mentioned, the afternoons would be beautiful and, starting with 15:30, free to experience and discover the beauty of Baleal and Peniche. Some days I would just have a quick warm shower and then sit on our house's terrace for a well-deserved tanning session. Other times I would instantly get dressed and seek out for secluded places, quiet beaches, isolated locations to chill out, read something, listen to the waves breaking and root in the steadfastness of serenity and peace. We usually had dinner together every night so we tried out several restaurants around Peniche - the food was delicious and always bearing a slight traditional touch (from classic appetizers such as fresh cheese with olives, tomatoes and vegetables salads, to seafood dishes like shrimps cooked in a hot sauce, tuna steak, octopus steak, veal steak with fried eggs on top); some places we really enjoyed and recommend: Taberna do Ganhao (exactly on Ilha do Baleal), Xakra Beach Bar (located at Praia do Molhe Leste, really close to Supertubos Beach), Tasca do Joel (in Peniche). On Tuesdays and Fridays, the surf camp organizes its great barbecue party, and that is the proper time to wine, dine and meet even more new people, have a good time, enjoy some laughs and listen to music. Each day brings on a new adventure, a new lesson, the only requirement is to enjoy, smile and try to do your best with each wave. Our great surf instructor would always advise us not to give up on waves, to try to find balance in our attempts to go until the shoreline with each wave. Of course, at times all that paddling becomes difficult, of course you may have all sorts of inconveniences, discomfort, but as long as you are there with some goals, try to attain them, try to do more than average. Another blissful insight I had in Peniche this time is that every single person there has a story. Their lives are not only interesting, but also intricate, somehow hard and unique. I was very impressed to learn just a bit about their life experiences: people moving from one country to another without regrets, people having kids but not being together with their partners, people taking care of their lovers' children, people quitting their jobs to be one with the ocean every day, people finding a refuge in surf (there was actually a nicely painted quote on the lounge's walls which went like this: "when I kept surfing, surfing kept me"), people being there for now but having great plans for upcoming years, people with injuries from surf, still there, next to the ocean. I felt blessed to be there and watch them smile, sing, dance, be happy, a mere witness to their stories unraveling, a tiny, tiny part in their complicated lives. It felt good to be there, it felt the right thing in the right place at the exact right time. In surfing I learned that you have good days, you have less good days, with less waves, but you are always left with something after each day: gratitude and joy. And also the feeling that with small steps, you are closer to accomplishment. Although in the beginning I was really stressed that I would not be that good, in the end I realized that waves are measured in smiles and happiness, not in figures or numbers. On one of the afternoons, we decided to visit Obidos and Nazare, nearby locations we had only heard of. We soon discovered that Obidos is an old citadel, still inhabited, garnished with narrow chic streets, a "dolce far niente" air, and an imposing castle guarding the entire location. We walked along Obidos' medieval alleys, day-dreaming, indulging our eyes in Portuguese traditions and motifs. The Town of the Queens (Queens of Portugal would patronize Obidos, starting from the late 1200s) provides you with sweet delights to serve while strolling along its tight streets: black or white chocolate cups filled with a traditional Portuguese cherry brandy liqueur known as Ginja d’Obidos. Continuing the road for about 50 kilometers, we reached Nazare (the city) and then climbed up to Nazare’s Farol (the lighthouse), which first became active in 1903. The big waves of Nazare cannot be seen during spring and summer time, but the entire landscape is absolutely overwhelming even in the absence of the infamous huge waves. I experienced the same feeling at Cabo da Roca, in Portugal, in a previous trip there. It makes you wonder how little and insignificant you are when facing Nature, Cosmos, and the Universe and yet, how happy you are to be protected by all the above-mentioned Godly mega-structures. On our last day in Peniche, we woke up really early, I left my friends in Lisbon at the airport and then continued the drive up until Madrid. Sun was up, my soul was mourning after Baleal, but my mind was at ease, totally quiet and grateful for another amazing experience in my life. Back to Madrid at about 3:30 in the afternoon, the clock was ticking, the day was fully bloomed, I picked my cousins up and the day did not end until the late hours of nighttime. I am preparing a separate post about Madrid, though it is a bit difficult because I can no longer see it with touristic eyes, it is part of me since I go there pretty often and do what Spanish residents do. The genuine feeling of belonging somewhere is stunning. I do not know about other world travelers, but I have felt this emotion in some few places I have been to. One of them is Portugal - its shoreline bathed by the cold waters of the Atlantic, host of the first global empire in history (Portuguese Overseas), protector of a nation of sailors, conquerors, explorers, home of gorgeous azulejos, tasty bacalhau and touching fado music (the soul of Portugal), a place where my thoughts are silenced and my emotions becoming louder are prominent. I associate returning to Portugal, and in particular to Baleal and Peniche, to alchemy, my own inner alchemy. I incessantly disrobe layers of ego, until I am left with nothing but the desire to live in the now, to enjoy life and nature.
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