Riding waves and scaling rocks around Ericeira and Sintra in Portugal

18.08.2023 - 17:15 / nationalgeographic.com

I have never until now taken time to consider the creation of a wave. To fathom the climatic and gravitational forces propelling salt water across sunken topographies so that it swells, rises, arcs and finally dissipates in powerful fits of foam. And this lack of prior attention feels like a critical failure now I’m standing — wetsuit plastered on, awkwardly gripping a sturdy beginners’ softboard — on one of Europe’s most famous surfing beaches.

Instructor Francisco Romeiras from Ericeira Surf Clube points at the waves raking across the mouth of Ribeira d’Ilhas, a sensational amphitheatre of a beach with sheer, golden cliffs cupping the Atlantic. “It’s a long point break, breaking on the right,” he says, drawing on a lexicon unique to boardriders. “This wave, its consistency, the way it delivers in all tides, it’s what drew the first surfers to Ericeira back in the early 1970s. Ready to give it a try?”

I’m relieved I’m not directed towards the distant figures carving shapes out in the deep water. Instead, I spend an hour with Francisco finding my feet nearer the shore. “Don’t overthink it,” he reminds me as a small wave catches my board and I discover I’m travelling with the ocean at what feels like break-neck speed. “Knees bent! Eyes on the beach!” he shouts as, for the first time, I successfully launch from belly to feet, before eventually toppling, starfish-limbed, into the shallows. 

When we pad out of the surf an hour later, Francisco draws my attention to a promontory marked by a silver statue of a surfer. ‘The Guardian’ was created by José Queiroz in 2017, as a clarion call for environmental protection and preservation. It’s become the unofficial symbol of Ericeira as the town continues to settle into its status as a World Surfing Reserve. The designation, awarded in 2011 by Save the Waves Coalition, celebrates the culture, economy and environment of outstanding surf locations and Ericeira was the second place in the world after Malibu, California, to be recognised. “It really put us on the map,” Francisco says. In May 2023, a 12th location was enshrined that delighted British surfers: North Devon.

As we store away our boards, I’m introduced to Ulisses Reis, a veteran of the scene. “I was one of the first people teaching here. There was just a basic surf camp on the beach, a place for hippies to hang out,” he tells me, momentarily lost in his memories. “But it was demolished.” Today, there’s a sleek boardwalk with wood-slatted surf shacks, showers and a cafe. The complex is home to Ulisses’ surf school, Blue Ocean, from where his sons now give lessons. It’s also one of over 50 in Ericeira. “I worry about the commercialisation of surfing here, how fast things are changing. This is all great,” he