crossing things off my bucket list

I recently spent 5 beautiful days in the Algarve region of Portugal with three of my best friends and one thing we did was surfing! This has been an activity I’ve wanted to try, and it had been on my bucket list for a long time. I love the sea, always have, so it was a lot of fun to try something new while on this summer holiday.

Maya, Julia and I took advantage of the fact that we were in Portugal to spend one of the mornings taking a beginner lesson in surfing. We were picked up at 7.30am and first took a short drive to the surfing school to collect our wetsuits, tether and vests before a further 30-40 minute drive to Praia da Cordoama to begin the lesson! The day began with a quick warm-up before a briefing on how the lesson would work. Then, we were divided into smaller groups and given small tasks each time we went into the water. For instance, first, we needed to learn to glide the board over a wave; next, to turn the board; get on the board and finally learn to stand up! Which my friends and I did manage to do (and then immediately fall over, but nevertheless we can say we rode at least one wave). I will say it was very frustrating in the beginning. Despite surfing being a lot of fun, it took a lot of energy and patience which I didn’t have a whole lot of to start with. But the longer the lesson went on, it was very rewarding to see the progress.

I always love trying new activities, especially abroad as they tend to be ones you can’t necessarily do back home (technically surfing is entirely possible in the UK but if I thought the Portuguese waters were cold, I can’t imagine what they would be like back home). Also, trying new things with friends can be more fun as we all start somewhere, but it feels a little easier and comforting having a familiar face close by.