What has changed in the past two years?
We have asked the question to #PauloBarbosa, CEO of #sharkstraining and #sharkslodge in Ferrel.
All images are original photographs of Peniche, April 2023. Courtesy of Dandy Vagabonds
"The demographic. Today 80% of the people enrolling in surf courses are women. Men seem to prefer staying in their rooms and playing games. The majority of surfers are independent women in their 30s, 40s, and beyond who are active, independent, and affluent. Most of them stay with us, and return, while also looking for a place to buy. The majority are Americans."
Ferrel has beaches and breaks facing three distinctly different directions, making it a very variable and consistent destination for surfers. It is home to many surf camps or schools and recently hosted a world championship.
Surfer Mathias from Belgium lives in Atouguia da Baleia. On this early morning in April 2023, he drove his dusty car to Ferrel’s supermarket. His parents bought him an apartment on the Silver Coast five years ago when he became a professional surfer. He has since bought his own apartment, which he rents out, he said.
There is an anxiety building among millennials that they won't be able to access housing. It might be true in the US or in the UK, but not in Portugal. Even with an increasing number of Americans moving to the country, opportunities to invest in places less than two hours from Lisbon are affordable, and millennials might consider buying as friends and flat share.
Let's rewind for a second…
In the summer of 1936, workers in France took their first paid holidays. Two years later, the UK followed suit. This social movement forever changed the architecture of Southern Europe to accommodate what became a mass movement.
Today, the surfers in their campervans have replaced the caravans in which kids piled up on the top of camping equipment, headed for the Mediterranean Sea.
The new frontier is the Atlantic Ocean. The destination is surf.
In France, take the locality Ghétary leaning against Biarritz. Very few had heard of this small town. Until summer 2021 when French couldn't leave the country due to lockdown. Ghétary became an overnight "Saint-Tropez.”
'Retro summer' in France in 1936 –year of paid holidays. All rights reserved.
"Sea, surf & sun" is the new mantra.
A unique social movement rewrites the rules of housing and redistributes some cards. What if remote working proves instrumental to the real estate boom in Southern countries like Portugal? Along the Silver Coast and everywhere in between, the changes are already visible.
Steve, an American remote worker in gaming, told us, "The Algarve is cool, but it's mostly for seniors and it's far from Lisbon or Porto." Oops! "The Silver Coast is more attractive."
By bus, it's only one hour and fifteen minutes from Lisbon, and costs less than 10 euros. More importantly, most of the mythical beaches and surfing spots are on the Silver Coast.
Ferrel Village is a seaside parish in Peniche, its population in 2011 was 2,649 in an area of 13.79 km2. The Parish faces north with the Atlantic Ocean, south with the parish of Atouguia da Baleia, east with the municipality of Óbidos, and west with the parish of Peniche. Nothing less.
But Ferrel has come a long way.
At the end of the 1950s, it was the poorest village in the municipality of Peniche. The means of subsistence at that time were sparse, and agriculture in sandy soils was not very productive. The exodus started in the 60s for countries like France, Canada, Luxembourg, or the United Kingdom...
The Ferralejos [Portuguese who left the country] had to go underground because the fascist government of António de Oliveira Salazar, did not allow Portuguese to leave if not the head of the family. The obtention of visas was made extremely difficult. So, people did what ‘migrants’ rely on today. They hired ‘smugglers’ at the border with Spain, and soon it was an exodus.
Today, Ferrel village on the Silver Coast is a bustling community.
Parents are dropping their kids at school, locals are enjoying breakfast, chatting or biking, and surfers are carrying their surf to the beach or relaxing in a square. There seems to be an invisible line of demarcation between locals, visitors and resident-surfers. Portuguese middle-aged ladies frequent the shade of Pastelaria Ferreleja. Visitors idle on the sunny terrace across the street.
The landscape of housing has changed dramatically in the last years, remarked Paulo who runs his surf shack on Baleal Beach, brushing the landscape of Ferrel housing with his hand, “Five years ago, whatever you see here, didn’t exist”.
“There’s so many parallels that can be drawn between how you interact with the ocean and how you interact with life, they’re both constantly shifting beasts.”
– Writer and surfer Caitlin Creeper
All images are original photographs of Peniche, April 2023. Courtesy of Dandy Vagabonds
Less than 1 hour and a half from Lisbon
This series of blogs focuses on Portugal destinations less than 1:30 from Lisbon.
The Peninsula of Peniche is the highest point of our series.
Peniche is located at 94 km from Lisbon, at 1 hour 20 via the motorway by car. It can also be reached in comfortable coaches, either Flixbus or Rede Expressos, for around €9.
Peniche is at: 25 km from Obidos [on our list]
1 h 15 from Lisbon airport by car
4 h 2 min. by car to Sagres via the A2
49 minutes from Nazaré
1 h 4 min. from Ericeira
Cities near Lisbon within less 1 hour 30
1 hr 20 min Peniche | Ferrel | Baleal
1 hr 6 min Obidos
57 minutes Foz do Arelho
55 minutes Alentejo
54 minutes Sesimbra
54 minutes Torres Vedras
45 minutes Ericeira 45 minutes Mafra
40 minutes Cascais
38 minutes Estoril
37 minutes Sintra
29 minutes Cacilhas
29 minutes Almada
27 minutes Costa da Caparica
18 minutes Carcavelos
If you wish to invest in Portugal and particularly in and around Lisbon or in the Alentenjo Region, reach out with your questions. We hand-pick properties that are the best investment for you. Also, check out our properties for sale.