When I first came to Ericeira in 2017 I had no idea what to expect. I had been in India for 3 months and was looking forward to spending the summer in Europe where I could surf and enjoy the sunshine. Since my mother tongue is Portuguese I decided to apply for yoga teaching jobs in Portugal. From many CV’s sent I got one job offer, guess where? In a yoga retreat center in Ericeira! And so I got a ticket to fly out a few days later without even bothering to look up what the place was like..
As soon as I arrived in this amazing place I realized where my angels had guided me to. I was in LOVE with ERICEIRA, its beautiful beach lines with perfect waves, cool people from all over Europe (and the world) and a huge yoga tribe… like wow what is this place!
Besides, Portugal is number four country on the list of safest countries in the world, they have an amazing local culture and a growing number of foreigners moving there to enjoy the slow paced and laid back lifestyle. And so I kept coming back over and over again, every summer to teach yoga until I finally moved to Ericeira.
When I decided to start hosting my own retreats, I thought to myself I am right where I should be. What better place in the world to host my yoga & personal development retreats? Yeap, Ericeira is the best spot!
And I would Like to share with you 10 curiosities and things I love about Ericeira:
1. Ribeira D’Ilhas, a beach within Ericeira, is the first European World Surf Reserve. Besides this beach Ericeira has over ten other surf spots, some being considered world class waves!
2. The weather in Ericeira is considered a microclimate. Warm sunny days, chilly and fresh nights. The temperatures sometimes drop over 10 degrees at night time, just perfect for a good night of sleep and an early rise!
3. Ericeira’s main activity and source of income used to be fishing, nowadays it’s tourism. You can still see the characteristics of a small fisherman village on every street corner of Ericeira center, it’s super cute!
4. Ericeira is considered a village, its population is just over 12,000 people.
5. Ericeira is 30 minutes away from Lisbon airport and just 45 minutes away from Lisbon center.
6. Ericeira has become a hub for Surf and Yoga retreats, Nowadays the yoga scene is growing
besides the surfing, it is comparable to Ubud in Bali or Byron Bay in Australia.
7. The weather is sunny most of the time and the temperatures are mild. You are, more often than not, able to wear a t-shirt from April to December, but sometimes if you get lucky in January and February too!
8. Besides surfing and doing yoga you can go stand up paddling, mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, fruit picking, wine tasting and more!
9. The sun sets over the ocean, this is my favorite thing about Ericeira. It’s hands down the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen.
10. Nature is so present everywhere you look! Green landscaped and the blue Atlantic Ocean is part of every scenery!
That pretty much sums up why I am so in love with this place and why I chose to host THE CONSCIOUS LIVING RETREAT in Ericeira. The calmness of the surrounding nature, the wilderness of the Atlantic Ocean, the people who call this place home… it is certainly a sanctuary in the midst of a crazy fast paced world!
Join me for our next retreats? Check out our retreat dates!