The region is surrounded by gently undulating hills, with the Mira, cleanest of all European rivers, running close by. The town of Milfontes is popular with Lisbon’s residents who travel there in summer to escape the oppressive city heat and to enjoy the delicious local cuisine. We operate a flexible activity scheme which lets you choose as many or as few as you wish. It’s a timeless and unspoilt place, with perfect waves for surfing. Here, the Atlantic waters have sculpted a dramatic coastline where sheer cliff-faces contrast with sweeping beaches of white sand. It remains one of Western Europe’s most unpopulated regions, ensuring plenty of space for the perfect family getaway. That’s the beauty of Pig Dog.Portugal’s Alentejo Coast remains a well-kept secret here in the UK but remains the spot where the Portuguese choose to spend their holidays, as opposed to the Algarve’s more crowded shoreline. It sounds like an elite enterprise – but not even an Olympic medal could change the open-hearted ethos of this family business. She’s super confident.”Įveryone who books surf lessons here is taught by either John or Yolanda, “so lessons are with the champ, or the person who taught the champ!” he roars. But she is good enough to win it, there’s no doubt. “There’s a big luck factor in surfing, it only takes for Mother Nature not to give you the wave. Training in such epic waters has been key to Yolanda’s road to the Olympics. When I’m training Yolanda, any wave she’s going to get I can say ‘it’s a bit like… one of our spots here’.”
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Every type of wave that there is, we’ve got one in this area, and that’s the best secret of this place. Whenever the wind’s good, the big waves roll in. Half a kilometre down the beach, the swell is a playground for more advanced surfers, including point breaks and reef breaks. I used to advertise a ‘money back guarantee’ and we’ve had people up to 82 years old.” A variety of breaks Everyone will be standing up first session. “Our beach is fantastic, it’s so easy it’s almost like cheating.
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Sao Torpes is like a nursery for beginners, with its neat and unintimidating A-frame waves (breaking left and right). You don’t need to be riding barrels to get involved. “People who want to be adventurous and go somewhere where no one else does, people who look off the beaten track, they’re the ones who end up being our clients,” says John. Accessibility is part of what has kept this place for those in the know – but the rewards are access to parts of Portugal that are hidden in plain sight.ĥ new Olympic sports and where to experience them: from skateboarding in Barcelona to baseball in Manchester Pig Dog, 1.5km inland from the Blue Flag beach of Sao Torpes, is a two-hour drive from Faro or 90 minutes from Lisbon. The Alentejo is Portugal’s largest region, but it’s also off the tourist trail. We knew we’d offer something different, more rustic,” says John. Opening a camp raised eyebrows, when the Algarve and Peniche, north of Lisbon, were the popular places. They found their dream waves on the Alentejo’s wild coast, deserted back then. He was 18 months old when the couple moved to the Algarve from Cornwall, where John was working as a marine engineer, in pursuit of a better “surf-life balance.” “We sold everything, packed up, brought just a few bags and a baby, and left,” says Monica. Yolanda considers herself a sister to the couple’s son, 15-year-old Reef. “She doesn’t look it, but she’s got iron muscles. Her routine hasn’t changed for Tokyo – she was already training 14 hours a day: up at 4.30am for a 12km run before a dawn surf, kickstarting a rotation of at least three workouts and surf sessions. Surfers limber up before hitting the waves at Pig Dog Surf Camp, Sao Torpes, Portugal (Image via Monica Tranter) Within a few months she went from being a regional surfer, to coming second in a national competition. “I pretty much re-taught her to surf,” says John. “She’s stubborn, but he’s more,” laughs Monica.
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Their headstrong personalities have been a winning match. Yolanda first started training at Pig Dog as a junior, taking the bus up from the Algarve at the weekends, after her British mother Bethan met John on a beach.
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This vibrant lounge is the 23-year-old’s home, these people her surrogate family. Alas, at the finals on Tuesday, they did not win any medals, with Yolanda taking fifth place and Teresa ranking ninth.