Surfers find paradise in southern Portugal

By Jonas Brunnert Jul 5, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Carrapateira, Portugal - As soon as the sun begins to rise in Carrapateira on the west coast of the Portuguese Algarve, surfers begin to rise from their tents on the beaches to prepare for some early morning surfing.

Within a couple of minutes there are already five people in the water decked out in full-length neoprene suits and paddling their way out to sea on boards.

Carrapateira may be only a small village with few bars and restaurants, but is just a 90-minute drive from Faro airport and the nearby exposed beaches are not only spectacular, but also ideal for surfers.

Founded in the 12th century, Carrapateira is located near Sagres, the most westerly point on the European continental mainland. Once a a favourite landing station for whalers, the town has now become popular with surfers.

On this particular morning, the conditions are perfect for surfing, as it iss low tide and there is a light offshore wind blowing out to sea. The same procedure is repeated over and over as surfer after surfer paddles towards the shore in an attempt to match the speed of the incoming waves.

Once the wave begins to carry them forward, the surfers stand up and proceed to ride the wave. The more experienced surfers manage to ride some waves for up to 100 metres while a common problem for the beginners is being able to catch the wave at all.

After around two hours the surfers are exhausted and slowly make their way out of the water to the beach where sunbathers have begun to congregate for the day.

The tents are packed way and many of the surfers get on their bikes or into their cars and head off to Sagres in search of some breakfast - usually a croissant and coffee - before returning in the evening for some sunset surfing. Breakfast is often followed by a mid-morning snooze after the earlier exertions on the water.

A surfer named Dillan uses the time to check the wave forecast for the coming days. There are a lot of factors to be taking into account when attempting to predict surfing conditions. The wind must come from a particular direction, swells must be manageable while tidal ebbs and flows can have different effects on waves, depending on the beach.

Swell is generated when wind blows consistently over a large area of open water and tends to be larger and more prevalent on coastlines exposed to large expanses of ocean.

Dillan finds it difficult to hide his disappointment as he explains that while the swell is large enough, the forecast for wind is unfavourable, meaning there won't be any decent waves to ride in the coming days.

Poor surfing conditions aren't so important for beginners, so many of the surfing schools and camp around Sagres offer courses even on days when the surf isn't perfect.

The first skills that need to be mastered are paddling out to sea and standing on a board, which can take a couple of days to master.

However, today the conditions are still perfect, so in the late afternoon the surfers once again begin to congregate on the beach in their wetsuits before making their way into the water for an evening of surfing.

The neoprene suits are necessary because the Gulf Stream isn't as prevalent here as it is, for example, further north along the French coastline.

Out on the water, meanwhile, the surfers begin the ritual of paddling toward shore in an attempt to match the speed of the incoming waves.