I go to the supermarket, which is open on Sundays, and then to the town beach and try a surf. The innocent looking waves turn nasty and I get battered around. I am definitely struggling in the big surf. I am very tempted to get a mini-mal as this will allow much more flexible surfing, especially in the white water.
Whilst I am sitting on the beach a Portuguese old guy comes over and sits down. He starts to chat, but I say (in Spanish) that I don’t understand as I am English. He nods and smiles, but is a friendly chap. I have found most Portuguese people to be friendly, much more so than Spaniards. He gestures about the sea, and mentions Peniche. I smile and respond saying it is very big. He smiles back. He says something about 8 days, but I cannot work out what. He shakes me hand and returns to the dunes.
I decide to take a drive to the town of Viana do Castelo which is about 10kms away. In the town I find the railway station, which Florian mentioned had a shopping centre. The shopping centre is big, and everything is open, to my surprise, as it’s a Sunday. I walk around. I buy a cafeterie for €1, a new very small sleeping bag for €30, which I am delighted with, and a car 12v adapter, to try and fix my laptop charger.
I find the ‘Stress Off’ surf shop but it is closed. I decide to return tomorrow to take a look in the surf shops to see what mini-mals they have. Florian says he saw some nice ones for €300. I have measured the ceiling area of my van and a 7’ 6” mini-mal will fit, and not affect my headroom.
I return to the campsite. I have a good sort out, and then fix my laptop charger. To my delight one of the plugs fit. It is great to have it working again. Another old Portuguese guy starts to chat to me. He gestures to my wetsuit but I think he is saying something about fish. I don’t quite understand him, but he also is very friendly. I try and fix the rear door of the van. When I lock the door with the key it is very mushy, and when driving unlocks itself. I have had a large strap across the top of the doors preventing it from being opened. I cannot fix the lock, I need another to compare it against. The side door has a different mechanism and I cannot get the door skin of the front doors off without a tool, which I may be able to get at the supermarket or from one of the various shops in town tomorrow. I use another cable tie to prevent the door from being unlocked, which is a great improvement for now.
It rains a little, as it has been overcast all day. It is very warm though.
