After a welcome break in the UK visiting Phil’s family, we started heading south once again. I had just had a small carpal tunnel surgery on my hand so was sworn off sport for a month – a good time to hunker down for holidays and spend a couple of weeks driving to warmer temperatures. We left the UK early on the 28th, and while the weather had been really nice in the UK it had gone typical English weather – grey and threatening to rain, so we were excited to be heading south.
How far do we have to drive to wear shorts?
We’d been heading south for a week and while the scenery was decidedly more exotic and beachy, the temperatures refused to climb. It was cold and cloudy for days and days until the weather finally broke in Hossegor. Finally some sun rays. What a difference that makes! It was still just above freezing but it felt so much warmer in the day. We would have loved to stay in Hossegor longer as it reminded us of Maui but it was just so cold (below freezing at night) so we decided to make a run for it after celebrating New Years Eve there.
Once the sun came out, every day got better.
I don’t know if it was that our wild camping got better or that it was just Vitamin D coursing through my veins but every day further south just got better. Each spot was more suitable, warmer, more scenic, gorgeous, rugged, amazing. Another massive landmark was that we were able to take out our camping chairs for the first time (at Nazaré, the famous surf spot, on a cliff, during sunset with a cool beer in hand – heaven!).
We’ve been driving every day trying to find a spot where we can at least wear shorts in the day and we’ve found a spot to stop for the first time for more than a day – Cascais. My hand has healed enough to try to test it on a bike or some light golf training, so we’re cooking with gas now. Stay tuned golfers…