Spent a little over a week visiting my friend Jake up in Seward, AK with the intention of getting some surfing in together as well. I was staying just south of town right on the water and was fortunate enough to have some sunny, mild weather. I went for a some runs/hikes on a fantastic trail that followed a ridgeline then spit you out ...

First catch! SUPing on Beaver Creek A rare cloudless sunset At it again This one swallowed the hook Dinner! Tacos

Decided to get into a bit of fishing here at the Oregon coast. It's something else to do when the surf isn't great (which is a lot of the time), and it turns out I'm within walking distance of a popular spot for surf perch. Having no fishing knowledge whatsoever, I had to go down the YouTube rabbit hole for pretty much everything. On m...

Checking the surf at Pollacheeny Harbor where the east wind was offshore. It wasn't quite working though, I think it needed more swell and possibly a different angle. Locals not impressed Drove to the town of Bundoran in Donegal afterwards (about an hour NE) and ended up catching it really good. Probably the best surf day of the trip! ...

Old poster for a fiddling event in Sligo Session at McLynn's, Sligo town (I think my phone had too much to drink?): A misty run near Benbulben. I could almost see it...I want to go back on a clearer day. Rouse's, Ballina, co. Mayo. Lots of crusty locals. Deirdre on the box was hammering out the tunes. It was really loud and I could onl...

I was last in Ireland in 2019, mostly hanging out in Sligo. I had a fun trip on both the music and surf fronts so I decided to head back for round two. I didn't have a scale at home, so I rolled the dice on my luggage weight. Due to bringing extra clothes and such for the winter, It was a close one! I was also concerned about my surfbo...

Had a good last week back in the Algarve. Small day at Amoreira Spotted in town. Not sure what these are, storks maybe? There were a few nests in the area. With bigger swell hitting yesterday and Amoreira being pretty exposed, I figured that spot would be maxed out so I thought I'd give the more sheltered Arrifana a shot. The session e...

With some bad weather moving in, I decided to spend a few days up in Lisbon. Did some sightseeing, met up with my coworker Tom, and by sheer chance was able to hit two Irish sessions. An afternoon at the botanical gardens Hilly terrain A popular food hall that was always packed Obligatory pastéis de nata, which is all this place sells....

Since some big storms just came through Portugal, I've been inside mostly the last few days. Things kind of cleared up somewhat this morning, so I decided to go for a run. As I was leaving, I saw traffic was backed up on the main road through town. It looked like there was an accident. It turned out that someone was getting towed and t...

Not much activity in the ocean on Saturday, so I opted to just hang out at the beach, which wasn't terrible. The VW California, which ironically is not sold in CA or anywhere in the US. Not big enough for Americans I guess? Cafe time Some bigger swell moved in Sunday. The right point at Arrifana still wasn't firing but it looked like i...

Another basically flat day, so I opted for a run this morning before it got too hot (it gets hot quick). I started near Monte Clérigo on the cliffs above the beach and followed the cliff line south until Ponta da Atalaia. The Algarve gave up the goods - absolutely epic views! About a third of it was pretty sandy going but it was still ...

Pretty quiet day today. Spotted this Agave americana on a walk. I bet it looks pretty creepy at night.

Went for a surf at Amoreira again today. I didn't get there until 1:00pm or so, and it was pretty blown out and jumbled so I didn't stay out too long. Another beautiful day though! Not too much activity in the Atlantic through Saturday, but then it looks like some fun sized long period swell will hit Sunday / Monday:

The swell was smaller on Monday and today and not much seemed to be getting through at Arrifana due to how sheltered it is. I decided to give Amoreira a shot which picks up smaller swell a bit better. I did check it a few days ago and it was a giant mess. It doesn't handle anything big. There was a nice right peak breaking off a rock r...

Had a fun session at Arrifana. It was way less crowded than Saturday and I managed to get a few nice ones. I'm getting used to surfing in busy lineups again. Later on I did some walking around the neighborhood, including exploring the town castle which is just a 5 minute walk up the hill.

On Saturday I blasted down to the town of Aljezur, where I'll be posted up for the rest of the trip. The drive was pretty mellow, and there wasn't much traffic on the A2. It took a bit over 3 hours. I'm staying about halfway up this street, which is steeper than looks here! I bombed up it in the Peugeot, then kind of panicked thinking ...

Made it to Lisbon today! A bit worn down post-flights. I had a surprisingly pleasant experience with the rental car agency. They didn't even try to upsell me on any nonsense! I've got a small manual Peugeot but surprisingly I can fit my board bag inside, so no having to deal with the portable roof rack. Downside - can't drive it in san...

Spent about 10 days surfing in Chicama, Peru. Not much there except a fishing village, the hotel, desert, and a world-class left. A local kid/entrepreneur was selling photos to guests and I managed to get a few good ones. Watching yourself surf is always pretty cringeworthy. "El Point" - this is one of 4 main sections of this wave, whi...

Spent some time lurking around at Cascadia Irish Music Week up at The Evergreen State College in Olympia. I had a pretty great view from my campsite across the sound, which was on someone's property at the top of a hill. You can see Mt. Rainier in the background. A bit of a sketchy gravel road to get up to it, and managed to crack a ta...

Ok, I said I'd keep up with this which I am clearly not doing. Catching up on some past trips. I spent the 2nd half of July camping at Orman Ranch in Crescent City CA. It was about a mile from the beach so very convenient for surfing. 1) This right peak was working for about 3 days, though small. Lots of locals out who knew exactly whe...

Volunteer event with Warm Current at Hobuck Beach in the northwest corner of Washington state. There was a nice long-period south swell, offshore wind all weekend, and great weather to boot. A rare combination in the PNW! The kids had a blast. Pics: 1. Post-surf, early Sunday afternoon 2. Saturday sunset 3. Summer quiver 4. Max's sweet...