Hobbits in Peniche
The next morning I wake up and the air smells of salt water, somehow slightly musty. Our rental cottage is located on the small connected island of Baleal. It’s more like a Hobbit’s lair with its low ceilings and few windows and it´s also a bit damp. But, it is located on the front row of the Atlantic Ocean with absolutely nothing to block the view between our terrace and the wide horizon. The best bit is that it takes just two minutes from wriggling into your wetsuit to reach the lineup so we accept the Hobbit cave with good grace. We start the day with a healthy breakfast: oatmeal, bananas, avocados and quite a lot of natas. Pastel de natas are the most delicious dessert in Portugal, puff pastry cakes filled with vanilla pudding, simply heavenly and definitely the most important food after a good surf session at one of the local beaches. And there are quite a few of them: to the east of Baleal Island you’ll find Lagide, a left hand reef; or is it a sea urchin breeding ground?
We checked it out at low tide the treacherous beasts are growing in every nook in the reef.
