Drift Away: Surf and Yoga Retreat in Portugal
Surfing and Yoga in Ericeira
It all started with the surf movie Undercurrents that Charlie had watched and written about a few years earlier. The filming took place on the island of Jersey and featured the retreat organiser of Drift amongst others. Since then, Charlie wanted to join a Drift Retreat to the island of Jersey. Unfortunately, the dates for the retreats in Jersey didn’t fit into Charlie’s travel calendar. Becs who runs Drift offered alternative dates for Drift Away in October in Portugal instead. Charlie had already been to this country, but she hadn’t seen Ericeira yet. It was the perfect opportunity to tick that surf destination off her bucket list.
The Location: Casa Paço D’Ilhas
Drift Away in Portugal 2023 took place at a beautiful retreat venue on a hill near Ericeira: Casa Paço D’Ilhas. Its origins go back to the Romans and Moors. In the 16th century, it became a holiday home for the Portuguese royal family. In 2015, two Belgian brothers bought the place and turned it into a retreat venue with a large garden, two pools, and a Yoga shala.
The whole venue consists of multiple buildings that remind of a rural house with an artistic touch. There is a bar and communal area in the main building and there are smaller buildings with additional bedrooms. Charlie had chosen the “Cabana”, a tiny house that she was meant to share with another retreat guest, but had to herself for the entire stay.
Next to Paço D’Ilhas is another venue called Alma do Paço. It is mostly ruins of a Moorish palace and is used for special events.
Exploring Ericeira
One afternoon during the retreat with Drift, the group took a cab to the old town of Ericeira. It used to be a small fishing village before it became one of the top surf destinations in Europe. The town still has its village charm with the traditional Portuguese roads and tiles, some surf shops and boutiques, and restaurants. There are some beaches right by the town. There is a path along the coast that allows visitors to walk all the way to Ribeira D’Ilhas passing by the Boardriders shop with its iconic skate ramp and park and the picturesque beach Praia do Matadouro.
In town, on the first floor of the tourist information centre is an exhibition about Ericeira as one of the 12 World Surfing Reserves. There are 7 beaches near Ericeira that make part of the World Surfing Reserve: São Lourenço in the North, Coxos, Crazy Left, Cave, Ribeira D’Ilhas, Reef and Pedra Branca. In the exhibition, you can learn more about each of them.
Surf Retreat
Retreats with Drift are about surfing and this Retreat in Ericeira was not different. For the first day, there was an organized surf lesson with Progress Surf School. The whole group was picked up by the van and they drove for 5 minutes down the road to Ribeira D’Ilhas. The group was then split into beginners and intermediate surfers before they got in the water. The waves were big that day and there was a strong current. They had a hard time to even get out back.
On the second day, the beginners had another surf lesson and were again picked up by the surf school. Charlie and the other intermediate surfers drove together with Natalie, one of the retreat facilitators, towards Lisbon to find a longboard wave. They ended up at Estoril in Cascais and had a chilled longboard session and the opportunity to practice their cross-steps.
Surfing was optional for the other days of the retreat. Some took another surf lesson, others decided to chill on the beach or went surfing on their own again. Charlie went for another surf at Ribeira D’Ilhas. The current was a bit gentler than the days before, but the waves were still big.
For the next day, the intermediate surfers went for another little road trip with Natalie, this time towards North. The ended up surfing Baleal near Peniche where they found the perfect longboarding waves. It was the best session of the week.
Yoga Retreat
Retreats with Drift are about Yoga too. The days at Casa Paço D’Ilhas started with a meditation session guided by Becs before breakfast every morning. In the afternoons or early evenings, Natalie taught a Yoga class in the shala. On sunny afternoons, it took place at the roof of the Yoga shala. On some evenings, there was a Yoga Nidra session just before everybody went to bed.
It was a well-rounded Yoga package that focused on relaxation and post-surf recovery. Natalie usually asked the group before the session if there was anything to focus on and tailored the Yoga class to the input she was given. Some sessions were a bit more energetic, others more restorative and all classes were suitable for all levels: Beginner Yogis and advanced practitioners got something out of it.
Food
Retreats with Drift are about food too. That was no hard task at a retreat venue like Casa Paço D’Ilhas. The whole team did an amazing job preparing yummy meals that were inspired by Indian cuisine. It was mostly vegetarian with some fish options.
For breakfast there was a selection of cereals, yogurt and fresh bread, plus juices and fruits. Some days, there was banana bread too.
Lunch was usually a light meal, and when the group was on a trip, they got lunch boxes to take it with them. Dinner was always a three-course meal with a starter, a main (almost unlimited refills) and a sweet dessert.
Drinks were included for breakfast, anything else worked as an honesty bar. You pour yourself a glass, make a note in the list and pay your bill at the end of your stay. There was no shortage of anything in the bar.
Evenings during a surf retreat in Ericeira
The first evening was about relaxation and recovery from the stressful travel to Ericeira which for some of the retreat guests had been rather turbulent. Yoga Nidra resonated very well with everybody that night.
For the second night, there was the option to go to a party with a DJ at Boardriders in Ericeira, however, the group preferred to stay in and relax a little more.
The Saturday, they went to the beach Ribeira D’Ilhas in the afternoon. Some of the group went surfing, some chilled on the beach and Charlie went on a little coastal walk to capture the surroundings and the surfers with her camera. They stayed on the beach for the evening and had dinner at the restaurant at Ribeira D’Ilhas.
The Sunday night had a little surprise in store: a live music evening at the venue next door. It was quite the event seeing a band play in the ruins of a historic palace; not to mention the bar in the chapel.
For the final evening of the retreat, they met Joana Andrade, the big wave surfer, in person after watching the documentary about her story: Big vs. Small. Charlie enjoyed listening to Joana’s story and her journey towards surfing the big waves in Nazaré. One day, hopefully, she’ll see it in action.
Other activities with Drift Retreats
Anything was optional during the retreat and so was the plan for each afternoon. There was also an option to book a massage for those who wanted it.
Natalie offered some workshops, for example, beginner surfers could learn about surf etiquette and how to read a surf forecast. She also presented some of the sustainability projects she was involved in, for example, with the ECOP programme.
That’s how the group learned about The Ocean Decade, a project by the UN to protect the oceans and they had a call with ocean activist Belinda Baggs in Australia who talked about her project Surfers for Climate.
