Some spots keep calling you back, not loud, just steady, like wind against glass. This is the story of how we fell in love with an off-the-beaten-path corner of Portugal, and the adventure of sharing it with my closest friends.
A little backstory first. Chris Bobryk and I go way back. We met in 2010. I was still in a punk rock band, and he was my kite instructor. Kristen, my girlfriend, also took her first lesson that same season and from there, the three of us were hooked. A few months later, I’d quit my job, hit the road, and Chris and I were living out of an RV, touring the U.S. with Best Kiteboarding. Those years were wild – beers, broken boards, and way too many crazy stories and situations to recap here. Eventually, we ended up in Brazil back when it was still quiet, before the crowds, before the hashtags.
Over a decade later, we’ve built entire lives around the sport, from shooting and editing media to competing on the KPL tour, where park riding evolved into something raw and creative again. It felt like finding the pulse of kiteboarding all over. Kristen’s also a fellow Airush rider and GKA KPL tour competitor, carrying that same creative spark into her own riding.
Every chapter in kiting has its backdrop; our latest just happened to be written in Portugal. In 2018, Kristen and I took a chance on Portugal. It was love at first sight, and almost love at first fender bender. I remember landing in Lisbon, driving a stick shift through streets so tight the doors nearly scraped the walls. I was driving up a hill that was beyond tight and more vertical than I thought possible. If you ever rent a car here, stay on the main roads – GPS loses its mind in the old city.
We came to explore, and almost immediately found our perfect flow between two lagoons: Lagoa de Óbidos and Lagoa de Albufeira. They work on different wind directions, which makes them the perfect duo for a weeklong trip. All you need is a forecast and a flexible Airbnb booking.
Lagoa de Albufeira, south of Lisbon, feels like a secret that’s barely keeping itself. You can park right next to the lagoon, grab breakfast at the beachfront restaurant, and rig within minutes. Weekdays are calm, just a handful of local riders and a few schools like Waves4Portugal. By Saturday, the scene fills with lessons and locals coming out to ride. Over the years it’s gotten more crowded but it’s generally manageable. I do sometimes avoid weekends here and let the locals play.
The lagoon changes with the season. In spring, it’s wide and shallow with three perfect slicks. The shape changes year to year but it’s generally about waist deep. As summer approaches, the sandbar shifts and the main section closes to protect swimmers. That’s when you move inland; the deeper water here is great for foiling and winging. You’ll need a full suit in spring, but summer brings boardshort sessions (as long as you respect the seasonal riding zones).
If you stay nearby, Alfarim is close and quiet, but my personal favorite is Setúbal’s Baixa district. It’s a short drive to the lagoon, and the streets come alive at night with restaurants, live music, and espresso bars. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to rinse the salt off and head straight out for another round.
Lagoa de Óbidos, north of Lisbon, is what I would make up if I were creating my dream kite location. The first time I rode here, it was just me, Kristen, and one other rider throwing mobes in boots on an empty lagoon framed by cliffs, homes, and the largest kiting slick I’ve ever seen. It felt like Hatteras and Brazil had a baby – a similar climate to Hatteras, the same lagoon vibes as Brazil, but with culture, castles, and European infrastructure. Somehow it still moves at the same pace as both places. Like down south, weekdays are slower but it gets busy on weekends now. It’s not as much of a secret as it used to be. Fortunately, locations that are not all boardshorts and sunshine deter large crowds from visiting.
Parking is easy on the Foz do Arelho side, with cafés overlooking the lagoon. We usually grab a coffee, wait for the wind to fill in, and launch right from the beach near the road. When Chris finally arrived this year, I could tell he wasn’t sure what to expect. He’d always said it looked cold from the photos.
We met in Peniche, worked out on the beach pull-up bars, grabbed beers at the Surf Lodge, and toasted some Super Bocks to new adventures. The next day we took him to Óbidos. The conditions were all-time: clean wind, turquoise water, and that familiar sense that this is exactly where you’re supposed to be. We rode until sunset and filmed a few clips for @kiteboarding_trick_trips, where we post a tip a day. Kristen, Chris and I traded hits in the slick, laughing and talking through tricks like the old days. We’ve made videos together for years, and watching the crew light up here felt like a full-circle moment.
Afterward, we grabbed burgers and a couple of whiskeys at Restaurante Europa, sitting barefoot on the beach watching the sun burn out behind the cliffs. Then we headed back for a campfire at Christophe Tack and Helena Brochocka’s place, both longtime friends and legends in the freestyle world. Christophe had moved here a while back, and I randomly ran into him in 2019. We’ve been riding together ever since, and when I first talked about moving, he and Helena were the ones who encouraged me to make it happen.
Peniche is pure surf town – think yoga mats, burritos, board bags, and lots of energy. It’s kind of like the southern California of Europe, full of younger Europeans traveling here for waves and good vibes. If there is no wind, you’ll almost always be able to get a surf session here.
This trip was about a new beginning. After years of exploring, Kristen and I decided to plant roots here. We found a villa just a short drive from Óbidos, and Chris tagged along for the house hunt. The plan? To turn it into a home base for us and other kiters, a place where friends and riders can come, stay and shred. This marks a full shift for me. After years on the road as a rep for Airush, traveling full-time, I’m stepping into a new role, back to being a rider and fully focused on running my marketing agency, Rygo Labs. Someone recently called me a digital nomad. As a kiter, I’ve never really used the label, but I guess it fits now, splitting life between wind and work, coastlines and clients. It feels like the next chapter, one that lets me build something lasting while still staying close to the sport that started it all.
After closing on the villa, we drove into Lisbon to celebrate. One of my favorite things about this country is how close everything feels by American standards. Lisbon has a different kind of energy. People seem lighter, more present. There’s a mystery to it, an old-world depth mixed with the buzz of something alive and modern. The city feels vast and layered, like you could explore it for years and still only scratch the surface. We wandered between bars and live music until the early hours, full of good food, good wine, and the feeling that we were exactly where we were meant to be.
The next morning, we took Chris to Castelo de Óbidos, a medieval fortress built in the 12th century that looks straight out of a fantasy film. The cobblestone streets are lined with whitewashed houses and blue trim, and if you walk the outer walls, you can see the countryside and rolling hills on the horizon. It’s one of those places that reminds you why you travel.
Later, the wind shifted south, so we packed up and headed to Albufeira for one last session. We grabbed lunch at the beach restaurant, the sun on our backs, and cameras rolling. The wind started to build, that warm, steady kind that feels made for freestyle. Chris was frothing, throwing his kite in the air before his plate was even cleared. You could see it on his face: that mix of disbelief and stoke, realizing a place this good had somehow stayed off his radar all these years.
We hit the water and everything clicked – empty lagoon, smooth takeoffs, laughter between crashes. Kristen filmed from the beach, calling shots and framing angles while Chris and I traded hits in the slick. The whole session was vibes. Three friends, no pressure, no noise, just riding for the fun of it like back in the day in Michigan. The kind of day you don’t plan but always remember.
When the wind finally eased, we packed up slow, salt still on our faces, watching the light drop behind the dunes, taking in the fact that this is where we live in the spring now, part of our yearly circuit, part of our story. Seeing Chris discover it with the same spark we felt years ago made it all feel new again. Portugal has a way of doing that. It pulls you back to what first drew you in… the wind, the friendship, the feeling that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. ■
Fly into Lisbon (LIS). Óbidos is about an hour north; Albufeira is roughly the same south. Both are easy day trips from the capital.
In Óbidos, stay near Foz do Arelho for quick lagoon access, or Setúbal’s Baixa district for food and nightlife in the south.
Full suit in spring/fall, boardshorts are usually enough in summer.
9m to 14m kites. Boots for the lagoons. A surfboard is highly recommended for ocean sessions and surfing on windless days.
Super Bock, Sagres, or the sangrias if you’re not into beer. Add a pastel de nata and it’s a national religion.
“É vento, não é?” (It’s windy, isn’t it?)
“This place sucks, let’s never come back.”
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