Then I hurt my ankle, and after this the road got a little more bumpy….

Not speaking much Spanish, it was difficult to know how long I wouldn’t be able to windsurf for. But with heads full of optimism, we guessed maybe a week would do it. The wind was disappearing in Spain and North Portugal for a while. So we decided to do a big drive down to Guincho, just outside of Lisbon. We had heard stories about super strong winds there all summer, so felt it was somewhere we needed to try.

After choosing one of the hottest days of the summer to drive through Portugal (about 34’c), are hopes were high. But despite waiting around Guincho for several days, all we got was marginal 5m weather, next to no wind and a beach full to the inch with sunbathers. Mind you, perhaps this was just as well for me as my ankle was still not ready for windsurfing.

Slowly we headed back up North, exploring Portugal on the way. We visited Nazare big wave spot, and found a quiet beach to stop at.

However during this time we also managed to get the van stuck on several occasions. Twice when we ran out of battery, once in a Carrefour carpark with a height restriction on the way out but not in, and once in the sand. On this occasion, we spent 4 hours spot digging ourselves out before at last truck came past and gave us a tow.

We then spent 4 days back up in Viana de Castello. After a couple of days surfing, my ankle felt strong enough for a fun, down the line 4-ft session before the swell disappeared.

Finally, we continued up North for a few more days back around Ferrol in Galicia.

Some more surfing, walking and a couple of windsurf session, in much less epic, but still good waves compared to last time we were here.

Finally the time came when we had to drive back up to France. A short stop and surf at another nice beach called oyambre, near Santander, and then back to Brittany.

Tomorrow we catch the ferry. Time to go back to normal life, but full of the memories of such beautiful places.