At the invitation of my friend David, a Family Office manager, I decided to attend the “On the Edge” event, held from 24-26 February. Family Office managers and their friends from various European locations gathered at a magnificent hotel in Ericeira, Portugal, approximately 50 km from Lisbon.
The mission of this event is to create a platform that facilitates the exchange of ideas between athletes and businesspeople. The goal is to continuously improve participants’ perspectives, approaches, and strategies for achieving success.
Christian, Alex, and Benjamin, the organizers, established a fund called “Limestone Capital” and maintain collaborations and partnerships with approximately 50 family offices. Through this fund, they acquire distressed properties and transform them into income-generating properties with great concepts.
Located in a remote location overlooking the Atlantic Ocean outside Lisbon, in the westernmost part of Europe, Limestone Capital hosted a conference that brought together high-performing individuals from both the business and sports worlds.
The event’s eye-opening benefits
A weekend of informative panel discussions, high-performance surfing, and incredible culinary experiences was organized. It was a great step forward in facilitating the exchange of ideas between high-performance athletes and business leaders, creating a platform that would thrive on the fruit of these encounters.
Over the years, we’ve seen the benefits of this transformation by working closely with high-performance athletes. We’ve learned to see the world through their eyes: how to inspire desire, how to approach challenges, and how to manifest success. Lessons we don’t see taught elsewhere, yet which are, in a way, the key to our personal success and happiness.
As you know, I’ve been training regularly at ENKA for the past few months to improve my running performance. These workouts alone have helped me tremendously over the past few months. So, after two months of connecting with professional sports myself, attending such an event was a wonderful experience for me.
At this event, to which I was invited, they wanted to share some of their real estate concepts with us. Designed to promote long and healthy lives and the joy of life, the Aethos Hotels chain, distinguished by its simplicity, is a fine example of these concepts. The Aethos Hotel in Ericeira brought me joy in every way, allowing me to take a breather from my stressful schedule and remember who I am. For this, I’d like to thank David for inviting me, and all the organizers (Christian, Alex, and Benjamin). If you’d like to take a closer look at the Aethos Hotel in Ericeira, with its positive and relaxing energy, I recommend checking out their website: https://www.aethos.com/ericeira/
Here are some photos of the hotel to give you an idea:
On Friday evening, we enjoyed some delicious Portuguese cuisine at a long table. We chatted enthusiastically, getting to know each other, and savored some delicious Portuguese dishes.
After a wonderful dinner, I fell into a deep sleep, a dream I’d longed for. The next day, after breakfast, we attended a conversational conference with Joana Andrades, Portugal’s renowned professional female surfer. She explained how they prepare for and what happens after surfing Portugal’s giant waves. We also asked her questions.
Having said all that, let’s talk a little about Ericeria, where our hotel is located. I’d like to share some information from Wikipedia to give you an idea (you can read the full text at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ericeira).
General Information about Ericeira
Ericeira is located on Portugal’s west coast (in the municipality of Mafra, approximately 45 km northwest of Lisbon). It is a civil service, and coastal community considered the surfing capital of Europe due to its inclusion in the World Surfing Reserves and exceptional coastline conditions. Ericeira had a population of 10,260 in 2011.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Ericeira was a popular summer vacation destination for many families in Lisbon. Today, it is a popular destination for surfers from around the world, as well as tourists from both Turkey and abroad, thanks to the area’s forty beaches with excellent conditions.
Economy
Ericeira is a coastal town surrounded by numerous world-class beaches and surfing spots recognized throughout Europe and the world. The town’s main activities, from catering and accommodation to trade and fishing, revolve around tourism. Ericeira is home to the Ericeira Surf Club, Portugal’s first and largest surf club. Founded in 1993, the club evolved from the surfing unit of the Ericeira Naval Club, which has organized local, regional, and national competitions in surfing, bodyboarding, knee boarding, and longboarding over the years. The Ericeira Surf Club also operates a surfing school to train local athletes and tourists who want to learn to surf.
Surfing
Ribeira d’Ilhas beach, routinely hosting a round of the ASP World Tour Surfing Championship and considered one of Europe’s best beaches in this field, is located 2 kilometers north of the town. In 2011, Ericeira was named a World Surfing Reserve by the WSR, along with Malibu and Santa Cruz in California, Manly Beach in Australia, and Huanchaco in Peru. The local council redeveloped the Ribeira d’Ilhas coast to highlight the importance of surfing to the local culture and economy, and to show their support for it.
On Saturday, after a talk show with renowned Portuguese surfer Joana Andrades, we boarded buses and headed to Nazaré, one of the world’s biggest waves. After about a 1.5-hour bus ride, we arrived in Nazaré. We immediately donned our surfing gear and headed straight to the headland with the strongest waves. I’d like to share some photos we took along the way to help you visualize this:
We took jet skis one by one as part of the event. It was an incredible experience. My jet ski was being ridden by a Brazilian jet ski champion. You could tell by the way he rode it. He was riding it like he was playing with the waves. First, we rode on a jet ski, then we entered the sea and rode the waves with the board behind us. We fought fiercely on the backboard, our legs in the water, as if we were riding a bull at a rodeo and holding on to the ropes to avoid falling. The Brazilian man riding my jet ski sometimes rode harder than the others. Mine was relatively calm and I completed it without a fall. But he did wreck the German man who rode after me. The guy held up well, and I have to give him credit.
After this amazing event, we enjoyed delicious food at the surf center and returned to our hotel in Ericeira. To help you better understand Nazaré, where we held our event, I’d like to share some summary information from Wikipedia.
General Information about Nazaré
Nazaré is a Portuguese town and municipality located in the Oeste region, the historical province of Estremadura, and the Leiria Region. The municipality has 14,889 inhabitants in an area of 82.43 km², while the town itself has approximately 10,000. It is one of the most popular seaside resorts on the Silver Coast (Costa de Prata).
The town of Nazaré consists of three neighborhoods: Praia (along the coast), Sítio (an old village on a clifftop), and Pederneira (another old village on a hilltop). Praia and Sítio are connected by the Nazaré Funicular, a funicular railway.
The current mayor is Walter Chicharro, a member of the Socialist Party. In early September, the town hosts the ten-day Festival of the Virgin of Nazaré, a festival filled with various events, including processions, bullfights, fireworks, and folk dances.
Economy and Tourism
Nazaré’s coastline, with its high waves, is among the most dangerous in the world, and local fishermen have braved them for centuries. The town’s dependence on the sea for food production and economic vitality is a result of its unique climate, which differs from the surrounding Mediterranean ecoregion, where land farming is more prevalent. Fishing in Nazaré is an activity carried out entirely by the village men, leaving daily life and management in the town to the women. These distinctly gendered roles and adherence to primitive fishing practices are believed to be the primary reason the town has not yet become a modern industrial society.
In the 20th century, Nazaré transformed from a fishing village into a magnet for Portuguese and international tourists, promoting itself worldwide as a picturesque coastal town.
Located on the Atlantic coast, with long sandy beaches (some considered among the best in Portugal), it attracts large crowds of tourists during the summer months. The town was once known for the traditional clothing worn by fishermen. Women traditionally wear headscarves and embroidered aprons over seven flannel skirts of different colors. Costumes are still occasionally worn.
Most tourists and Catholic pilgrims who flock to central Portugal, especially the internationally renowned Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary (located in the nearby Cova da Iria), go to Nazaré to visit or watch surfing championships.
Museums and Cultural Centers
Dr. Joaquim Manso Folk and Archaeological Museum
Reitor Luís Nesi Sacred Art Museum
Fisherman’s House Museum
Nazaré Arena
Nazaré Cultural Center
Surfing
Nazaré is a very popular surfing destination thanks to the very high breaking waves created by the underwater location of Nazaré Canyon. The canyon, where local currents meet large ocean waves, results in significantly increased wave heights.
The high waves have led to numerous surfing records being broken in Nazaré. In November 2011, surfer Garrett McNamara, then a resident of Hawaii, surfed a then-record-breaking giant wave in Praia do Norte, Nazaré: 23.8 m (78 ft) from trough to crest. On 8 November 2017, Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa broke the previous record by surfing a massive wave of 24.4 m (80 ft); With this achievement, he won the Quiksilver XXL Biggest Wave award and entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the “biggest wave ever surfed.” In October 2020, German surfer Sebastian Steudtner updated this record by riding a giant wave measuring 26.2 m (86 ft), becoming the most successful surfer in this category.
Visitors to viewing spots for surfing competitions have increased significantly at attractions like the lighthouse at São Miguel Arcanjo Castle, which saw a surge from 80,000 visitors in 2015 to 174,000 in 2017.
Of course, surfing giant waves carries serious risks. You could be suddenly engulfed and drown. For example, Brazilian professional surfer Márcio Freire recently lost his life while surfing on 5 January 2023.
Adrenaline followed by calm
After returning to the hotel from the Nazaré event on Saturday, we got ready and went down to dinner. While enjoying a delicious dinner, we enjoyed the music played by a professional DJ in the hotel lobby.
The next day, Sunday morning, after a delicious breakfast, we completed the session with a Meditative Sound Healing session to find our inner peace. The group meditation was beneficial for me. I’m sharing some photos from the Sound Healing Meditation session below for you to visualize:
After the meditation, as I went back to my room, feeling completely relaxed, I said to myself, “I’m ready for the stressful Turkey days.” In high spirits, I completed my preparations, said goodbye to my friends, and then checked out of the hotel.
I hope we can create similar environments in Turkey for our own mental and physical well-being. There’s a huge difference. What nonsense are we dealing with in this country, while in many parts of the world, especially in Europe, people find ways to live beautiful and happy lives.
Tag: ecology
