Beach Yoga at Praia de Monte Clérigo

On Friday evening the four of us met with Eve, our yoga teacher and the owner of Prana Casa for a last session of yoga. In the beginning we did a "normal" practice, then we did partner excercises and tried out some acro yoga. Then Eve took over my camera and made us pose in different assanas. We had a lot of fun and it was the most beautiful feeling to be on the beach with really nice people and feel your body do all the things we had been practising all week.

I am so very glad that I went on this yoga adventure in Portugal. It was my first time in a yoga retreat and also the first time I did more than one lesson with the same teacher. I loved all the different practices on the deck, the chanting in the morning, the medidation walk but this beach yoga session was probably the one I will never forget. 

 

During the last few days back in Zürich I tried really hard to stay connected to my holidays. Each morning I did a bit of yoga, I made myself some oatmeal and I've already been to my first hatha yoga lesson in Zürich and payed for 11 more. I'll give my best to continue...

Namaste.

Praia de Vale Figueira

On Thursday Corine and I set out to discover another beach. We drove past Aljezur and turned south. We left the road a few kilometers before we got to Carrapateira and followed the sign to Vale Figueira.

In the beginning, this new road was slightly bumpy but still ok to drive, but after a while it got really intense. There were a lot of holes in the dirt road and it was also quite steep. We didn't want to risk scraching the floor of Corine's rental car so we left it next to the road and walked the last bit down to the beach. Right before we got there, we were very surprised to see a perfect stretch of well maintained tarmac road. We didn't quite get the logic of only doing the last bit, who's going to enjoy it, if the bit in between is in really bad condition?

The beach was almost deserted and soo beautiful. The waves were really high that day and we had a lot of fun watching two experienced surfers fight their way out and try not to get lost in all that white water. All of a sudden we realised that the tide was coming in. Before the beach disappeared we went for a walk in both directions and I just loved being almost in the middle of the water and the noise of the waves.

We walked back up to our car and drove back towards the main road. Before we got there we had a break at restaurant Sha Bouco and had a lovely galão with two amazing cakes.

In the evening we didn't have a yoga lesson so we went out. We drove back to Praia de Arrifana and had fish and sweet potatoes for dinner. There was also live music and together with all the different colours of the sunset it was quite magical.

Rota Vicentina

Along the southern coast of western Portugal you can hike the Rota Vicentina, a 400km trail mostly along the coast. From where we stayed in Vale da Tehna it's only about 20 minutes on foot to get to the sandy part of the Fisherman's Trail.

We got our first impression on Monday evening when we did a silent meditation walk to the edge of the cliffs. It was a beautiful walk through low trees and bushes and on really soft sand. The light was amazing and it was hard not to regret that I'd left my camera back home even though I can see the benefit of only watching and feeling it. I brought my iPhone along so I took a few photos just to remember it.

The next day we decided to go for a bigger hike, starting in Praia de Monte Clérigo. The sky was a bit cloudy which made for beautiful moody colours and the temperature was just perfect for a long hike (in the end we did 17.6km which isn't bad on sandy ground).

On the way out we were very slow because we took so many pictures. I think we must have repeated "this is soo beautiful" about a million times and it was true every single time. We made it to the point of the meditation walk and then we turned around and hiked back.

On this second half of our way the sun came out which changed the mood of the scenery. I liked the warmth and the brightness, but I think I almost prefer the more subtle light of the morning.

I was really impressed by this wonderful hike and I would really like to walk much more of it. Maybe one of these days I can do the whole length of it.

Carrapateira / Praia da Bordeira

On Monday my yoga buddies decided to learn to surf so I had the day all to myself because I knew that trying to get on a surfing board would probably kill me. I asked Anke (my Navigon voice ;-) and my travel guide where to go and together we decided to check out Carrapateira and the Praia da Bordeira. Just driving there was beautiful. After a short while on the fast main road I took a slower, bumpier road towards the coast with many curves and beautiful trees.

I drove through Carrapateira and ended up on my favourite beach in Portugal. The car park is on top of a little hill which gives you an amazing view all over Praia da Bordeira. Two wooden paths lead down from there. The first one ended on the top of the beach, in the middle of the crashing waves. Here I also saw my first cliff fisherman. They stand so close to the edge of the cliffs that it's rather scary to watch them but I can totally get the fascination of fishing there.

The second path ended at the bank of a small river that I had to wade through to get on the actual beach. There weren't a lot of people on the beach anymore even though the weather was stunning without being too hot. Perfect for a Galão and a bit of knitting in the sand.

We came back to the same beach two days later when the weather was quite different. This time there was no sun but mist and wind. The sea was much wilder and louder and I liked it just as much as the first time.

I don't know why I felt so connected to this beach but I am pretty sure that I will go there again sometimes soon.

Praia da Arrifana

 

Praia da Arrifana is closest to Prana Casa where I did my yoga retreat. It only takes a few minutes to drive there (and it is possible to walk back home from there at night ;-). The last bit to get down to the beach is quite steep and the beach itself is protected on both sides with high cliffs. All the other students of the yoga retreat took some surfing lessons, but I knew it would be too much for me so I just enjoyed walking along the beach, taking photos, knitting and reading. It was almost too hot for me on the first day but then it cooled down. I really loved the restaurant right at the edge of Arrifana beach, such a stunning view all over the sea and the food was yummie too.

Pacific Rim NP - Schooner Cove - Long Beach - Tofino - Chesterman Beach

Friday and Saturday 24th and 25th we stayed on in Tofino and explored the Pacific Rim NP and the beaches in and around Tofino.

We started with the rainforest, there are a few hiking trails that lead through the woods on planks. At first we walked the 1 kilometer to Schooner Cove. Lots of trees growing on top of each other and covered with moss, in all shades of green.

Then we came to Schooner Cove which I really liked because it was quite deserted when we got there. There was even a little bit of fog which made for a great mood.

 

In the evening we met friends from Switzerland who happened to stay in Tofino at the same time. Sometimes the world is such a small place. We had a lot of fun taking silly photos on the beach and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset together.

On Saturday we went to Tofino again. There were so many cute little details to see, like these sharks on the zebra crossing.

We spent the afternoon on Long Beach where I continued with my Bradway Shawl and Yannick and Antonia tried their luck at body surfing. They were among the only ones who went into the water without a wet suit and it was not really a very hot day either...

In the evening we went back to "our" beach, the Chesterman Beach right next to our B&B. We had coffee and hot chocolate, tried to let fly our new kite and saw another sunset. It makes me all nostalgic to see these photos and I wished I could go back right now ;-)

Long Beach - Ucluelet - Broken Islands

Thursday 23rd of July - We left the B&B too early for breakfast, which was the best thing that could have happened. Not because the breakfast was bad the following mornings, it was indeed excellent, but because we got to eat breakfast at the beach and not any beach but the wonderful Long Beach of my dreams. I almost can't look at this photo, it makes me want to go there again sooo badly.

We didn't actually spend a lot of time on the beach that day because we were supposed to be in Ucluelet for a whale and bear watching tour with Alan and Toddy Landry of Archipelago Cruises on the Raincoast Maiden. After we'd heard the safety instructions and been introduced to everyone, we left Ucluelet and went exploring. After only 5 minutes we saw our first black bear, cozily walking along the beach, looking for food. It was actually our only bear but we didn't know that at that moment and it didn't matter because there was so much more to see. Eagles, seals, sealions, seaotters and humpback whales with a calf. I would have needed a better camera (with a longer zoom lense) to really capture them, but right there it was were impressive.

I was also very fascinated by the beautiful scenery of the Pacific and its islands, especially the Broken Islands where we had a very fancy and tasty lunch on board. After more than 5 hours on board we went back onshore, what an amazing day!

We went for a coffee and hot chocolates in Ucluelet because it had been quite cool during the way back and we had a little walk around town before we headed back to Tofino.