Being once one of Europe's most conquering seafarer nations, Portugal has got beautiful beaches, excellent surf and great food to offer. Before flying to Brazil I visited the region around Lisbon with my friend Marc from Hamburg, having a fantastic time, exploring tiny streets in Estubal, Baixa and Bairro Alto in Lisbon and the beautiful beaches around of course. Almost every sort of fish available in Portuguese waters has been eaten by us, whether grilled or fried.

Yes the seafood was delicious, we ate it everyday in local non-tourist restaurants were you could feel peoples friendliness and curiosity towards tourists. One thing is mandatory if you want to get around in Portugal. Pick-up the language. Not a lot of people speak english and if you make an effort, even with the basics, a smile is guaranteed. I have been to Spain many times and like it but Lisbon and Portugal in general is just mindblowing. It feels so good to be in this country. We arrived last week in September and the weather was sunny and warm, around 25 to 30 degrees. First we drove to the famous Guincho beach were the swell from Hurricane Rita was expecting us. Waves up to 5 metres and a very high shorebrake made it a bit difficult in the beginning but after a short while I had a great time kiting. Marc did his first tries on a 2m trainer kite and enjoyed the whole beach atmosphere. Using the Lonely Planet as a guide-book we found a good restaurant and enjoyed our first portuguese fish with a glass of nice port and water for Marc :-)

Heading to Guincho via Cascais was on the agenda for our next day. We left our pousada (hostel) in Lisbon around noon to explore a bit of the coast. Cascais is a very luxurious town between Lisbon and Guincho and we did not spent too much time there. Driving along the coastal highway to Guincho beach is great and stopping at the lighthouses watching massive swells throwing themselves against the coast a remarkable experience.

Portugal is one of Europe's cheapest places to travel to. In the south of France or Mallorca I paid 3 Euros for a cappuchino, here it was only half. For Kiteboarders Lisbon has a lot to offer. The city can be easily explored because of the good public transport and especially the fast, reliable and affordable Metro. The local thermal conditions in Guincho generate a lot of wind that usually starts around 3 p.m. This is a good place to learn how to fly a kite as the beach is very wide. Another couple of spots and wide sand beaches are south of Lisbon on the Estubal Peninsula. We had two days here with good waves and sideshore wind but big big kites. Maybe its better in summer. The wind is from the north and perfect for waveriding. Almost 50 kiteboarders gathered here at the weekend. The spots are within a national park and impressive limestone-cliffs are in the back.

What was very cool in Lisbon is that we could log into lots of unsecured networks to check our emails and call friends and family via skype . Lisbon was definetly worth the visit and a nice stop-over before going to Brazil.