Sandblasting in the sun...

Well the weekend has now arrived (for me anyway it began on Thursday afternoon when our office began being dismantled for the big move to Cais de Sodré) and so the only great decision to make is which beach to head to. The choices for us, having access to a car and not minding a bit of travel, come down to three:

• The Estoril Coast
• Costa de Caparica
• Guincho

Before I came to Portugal I was not a beach person at all, not that I have anything against the sun or the outdoors but my objections came down to two fundamental issues: I hate shorts, I hate wearing them and I hate seeing them, any man over the age of 12 in shorts looks a fool unless playing some form of sport, and in that case you'd better be a profession or you still look like a fool but now a sweaty fool; and, sand, I hate sand, I hate the fact that it gets everywhere, it sticks to you and you can feel it on you and in your clothes hours after you are no longer near any sand. That combined with the fact that at the beach not only are you supposed to expose your lower legs to the sand but first you must cover yourself with a sticky substance that attracts sand. Senseless!

Anyway, after a few sulks and strops, threats of physical violence and threats to embargo sex (all from both sides) S got her way and got me onto the beach. After all the fuss it wasn't as bad as I feared and there are indeed many plus points: I discovered that swimming in the sea is actually one of my favourite activities, a fact that S discovered to her embarrassment when she tried to get me out of the sea and I turned into a 5 year old.

So this weekend, as most, the choice comes down to 3. The current favourite is Estoril, not my first choice I have to admit, the main reason being is that the beaches there are so small that the people are packed in like sardines (another reason that I wouldn't admit to S is that Estoril is also lacking in the...ahem....young crowd that go to Caparica, the view is much better there from what I have seen). But for us the deciding factor for us today is, sadly, wind. Being located, as it is, on the edge of Europe, Portugual gets its fair share of wind which turn the beaches into a sandblasting experience. Guincho is famous for this and is in fact a bit of a surfing hotspot because of it. Usually Caparica is ok but last time I lost a layer of skin and today it seems pretty windy in town so it must be quite bad there. Estoril is relatively sheltered and plus there are so many people acting as windblocks that I think we'll be ok.

Off we go to Estoril and I will try and find a space for my towel and try and not to step on anyone.