06/11/2024
As we store away our boards, I’m introduced to Ulisses Reis, a veteran of the scene. “I was one of the first people teaching here. There was just a basic surf camp on the beach, a place for hippies to hang out,” he tells me, momentarily lost in his memories. “But it was demolished.” Today, there’s a sleek boardwalk with wood-slatted surf shacks, showers and a cafe. The complex is home to Ulisses’ surf school, Blue Ocean, from where his sons now give lessons. It’s also one of over 50 in Ericeira. “I worry about the commercialisation of surfing here, how fast things are changing. This is all great,” he says, gesturing around, “it’s my whole life now. But personally I preferred it before.”
