Paddle South Portugal: Fun for the Entire Family, October 2018

For years I have been trying to combine family vacation with paddling, though sadly with little success. My most recent suggestion for a multi-day canoe trip on the Connecticut River did not resonate either, despite my efforts of emphasizing the joy of lazy paddles in idyllic nature while down-playing the inconveniences of portages and primitive campsites. ͞Too many mosquitoes͟, my wife said, ͞not relaxing͟ my oldest commented, ͞no internet – are you crazy?͟ My second son shouted, and ͞I don’t like paddling͟ said my youngest daughter who is not very comfortable in tippy boats. That much objection was a little disheartening and made me go over the books in hope of finding a more acceptable vacation idea. An interesting opportunity presented itself in spring this year when I was checking on the various training camp offerings on Nelo’s website. I happened to click on a short video featuring Oscar Chapulsky with footage of a beautiful Portuguese vacation village, sandy beaches, and surfskis riding waves in a river delta leading to the Atlantic. That all looked very attractive. After some more research online I felt the place would offer some fun activities for everybody in the family. This time my proposal got the thumbs up and we went ahead booking a week in Vila Nova de Milfontes through the local Nelo contacts Sara Rafael and Gonçalo Tomás (https://www.facebook.com/paddlesouthportugal/ ).

Sara arranged for a stay package including accommodation and a meal plan for the entire family at a very reasonable cost. Now, we only had to show up.

Our destination: Vila Nova De Milfontes on the Mira River

Growing up in a land-locked country (Switzerland) my paddle experience was mostly on fast flowing rivers and whitewater. It was only after I settled in the Boston area that I started paddling with local groups on flat water in fast but not very stable marathon kayaks. As a freshwater paddler, I eyed the recent paddle trend venturing into the ocean in tippy self-draining sit-on-top kayaks with some bewilderment, but nevertheless felt attracted to this new and action-loaded paddle sport. Three years ago I purchased a used Nelo Ocean ski and paddled it mostly on lakes. More recently I upgraded to a Nelo 550 and felt so good in that boat that in spring this year I wanted to get out on the ocean. If only the waters in Boston harbor would warm up a little faster. The trip to Portugal came around before I made it to the harbor and so it happened that my first ocean paddle took place in Southern Europe.

Map and surroundings of Vila Nova De Milfontes (https://www.guiadeviaje.net/portugal/vilanovademilfontes.htm

The Mira River beach with the center of Milfontes in the background.

After my family and I arrived in Lisbon, we rented a car and drove South reaching Vila Nova de Milfontes in about two hours. The first day we did not paddle and took it easy to get used to the time change and new environment. Next day we met with Gonçalo and Sara at the beach. Gonçalo took me out for my first ocean paddle; we put in on the Mira River and paddled through the river delta out onto the Atlantic. It was a calm day and we did about 10 km along the coast. For most of the paddle, Gonçalo kept 1-2 boat lengths behind which puzzled me at first until I realized that he kept back so that he could better see how I was managing ocean conditions. Back on shore, he said something about ͞good speed͟ and that we will go for a ͞downwind run͟ next day. Seemed like I had passed the test. I was glad to see how carefully he approached the training. Even though I felt a bit anxious about next day’s downwind run I was confident I had a responsible and safety-minded instructor by my side.

Eric and I are getting ready for a training session with Gonçalo


Paddling down the Mira River towards the Atlantic.

Next day the wind was blowing from the northwest, the right direction for a downwind run from Sines, a port city 20 miles north of Milfontes. In the late afternoon, Gonçalo met us with his Toyota land cruiser and a trailer full of surfskis in front of the hotel. Our group included Eric, an experienced surfski paddler from Sweden and a couple of local paddlers from Milfontes. Eric had done the downwind run from Sines during a previous stay and was looking forward to a repeat. It was late afternoon when we launched our skis in the inner harbor at the foot of the medieval walls surrounding the old city of Sines. I followed the group with some trepidation into the outer harbor and onto the ocean. I knew this first downwind run will be challenging and was glad I was paddling a stable Nelo 520. We passed some major ocean liners as we ventured out into the ocean, an experience which didn’t exactly help me to relax, and soon the shore was only a thin line of white cliffs on the horizon. I was managing the conditions ok and started to relax a bit and join the rest of group having fun while surfing the waves towards Porto Covo. After about 10 miles crossing the bay, we came close to shore and followed the foot of the cliff southwards. I started wondering how we would exit until suddenly a narrow passage opened up leading into the naturally protected harbor of Porto Covo. I was exhausted and ecstatic at the same time – glad to be back on solid ground and relieved that I had mastered this run without capsizing. Sara had been waiting for us with the truck and took us back to Milfontes. I was tired and looking forward to the dinner buffet at the hotel.

Me in a Nelo 520 arriving at Porto Covo after a 10 mi downwind run from Sines.

In the late afternoon Gonçalo met us with his Toyota land cruiser and a trailer full of surfskis in front of the hotel. Our group included Eric, an experienced surfski paddler from Sweden and a couple of local paddlers from Milfontes. Eric had done the downwind run from Sines during a previous stay and was looking forward to a repeat. It was late afternoon when we launched our skis in the inner harbor at the foot of the medieval walls surrounding the old city of Sines. I followed the group with some trepidation into the outer harbor and onto the ocean. I knew this first downwind run will be challenging and was glad I was paddling a stable Nelo 520. We passed some major ocean liners as we ventured out into the ocean, an experience which didn’t exactly help me to relax, and soon the shore was only a thin line of white cliffs on the horizon. I was managing the conditions ok and started to relax a bit and join the rest of the group having fun while surfing the waves towards Porto Covo. After about 10 miles crossing the bay, we came close to shore and followed the foot of the cliff southwards. I started wondering how we would exit until suddenly a narrow passage opened up leading into the naturally protected harbor of Porto Covo. I was exhausted and ecstatic at the same time – glad to be back on solid ground and relieved that I had mastered this run without capsizing. Sara had been waiting for us with the truck and took us back to Milfontes. I was tired and looking forward to the dinner buffet at the hotel.

The next few days Gonçalo took us out for some technique training in the Mira River delta where incoming waves built up and created a perfect training ground for developing skills and experiencing stability in waves. A nice feature of this delta was that it was easily possible to enter and exit the surf zone, paddle back out into the ocean, turn into the waves and surf back to the beach. Surfing the waves in this beautiful spot really was great fun and a safe environment to push the limits of stability. At one point I capsized in a breaking wave and was worried that I will get hammered by subsequent waves only to find out that the water was so shallow that I could simply stand up, hop back into the ski and paddle out of the surf zone.

The Mira River Delta offers a diversity of training conditions for the beginning surfski paddlers

The beautiful Atlantic coastline invites for long walks (or runs) along the cliffs.

The beautiful coastline around Milfontes is part of the Nature Park of the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast. The water in both river and ocean is very clear and clean (supposedly the Mira river is one of Europe’s cleanest river). Water temperatures were cool in June (low 60 Fahrenheit) and definitely lower than what I remembered from the waters along Mediterranean coastlines for that time of the year. Still, all of us, including our youngest, went swimming daily. We did all paddling without any cold protection. i.e. in swimming trunks and a quick-drying top. There was no surf on the beaches along the river, but there was some surf on beaches facing the ocean, still you could safely be in the water with small kids during the week we were there (June).

Paddle fun for the entire family

The old fort of Milfontes. The garage type structure on the lower right of the fort is housing the coast guard which is patrolling the area on jet skis.

Vila Nova de Milfontes is a quaint beach village, with a fort marking the center of the old town with small street cafes, restaurants and shops. The townhouse we rented was at the outskirts of the town. That had its pros and cons. Every morning we got free wake-up calls from a rooster living on neighboring farmland. The bird was always on time, making sure we won’t miss breakfast, which was a 15 min walk through the town to the hotel main building which was situated right above the river. Supposedly smaller parties are accommodated directly in the rooms at the main building. Food was excellent, and the hotel restaurant provided a rich choice of different cuisines so that we were little compelled to eat out. The hotel terrace provided a great view of the Mira River and the ocean on the horizon. We saw youngsters paddling in sprint kayaks and canoes at almost any time of the day. Extensive boat storage along the river is housing hundreds of kayaks and canoes. Sara and Gonçalo had an entire line-up of Nelo surfskis. All equipment was well maintained and in excellent shape. Above all, Gonçalo and Sara
had been fantastic hosts, were quick and helpful whenever we had questions or needed assistance. They were key to making this a fun and relaxing vacation for the entire family.

My hosts Sara Rafael and Gonçalo Tomás