I´ve tried surfing before (NZ and Portugal) and experienced different teachers with different teaching methods or better to say no methods at all. I was about to quit surfing, cause I made no progress at all, was frustrated and dissapointed, although I tried hard. Then I came to Filipes Surfcamp and everything changed.
Filipe had his own way of teaching: starting with theory and safety instructions, he taught me about the ocean and the physics that make surfing possible. He did not push me into white water, giving me this quick and easy feeling of sucess riding a silly whitewater wafe. Instead we went out into green water, practicing what I learnt in theory before. He made me feel comfortable and safe, even when I was facing massive wafes. Cause I learnt how to deal with these. He changed the way my mind worked, while beeing on the board. And every single tip he had was more than usefull. Besides his great teaching methods he´s an incredible chef and host. We felt very welcome and homely, staying at his camp. Breakfast and Dinner were divine and the company of him and yogateacher Wieske was very enjoyable. There´s no better way to start a day than with a yoga session, a nutricius breakfast and a great surflesson.
I´m very grateful for the short time we spent in figueira do foz and highly recommend the camp to everyone who truly likes to learn how to surf.
I´ll hopefully be back next year.