Warnings over the turning tides now that the summer is over could not be more relevant on the Algarve’s west coast where ‘agueiros’ (dangerous currents) are ‘back in season’, despite the prolonging high temperatures.
A young German couple discovered how scary agueiros can be over the weekend.
On Monte Clérigo beach – now bereft of summertime lifeguard cover – they both yelled for help, raised their arms, but were for all intents and purposes being swept to their deaths.
Fortunately, bodyboarder Bruno Assis realised what was happening and raced to the rescue.
He told tabloid Correio da Manhã afterwards that “without help, they would never have got out of the sea. The woman particularly was exhausted. She couldn’t even get on to my board, she just held on to it”.
Bruno and other bodyboarders then tried to update holidaymakers who had flocked to the popular beach about the dangers of swimming on the west coast where waves and currents are always prevalent now that no lifeguard cover is in place.
Elsewhere, certain beaches up and down the country (Viana do Castelo, Cascais, Nazaré) are re-employing lifeguards until temperatures finally drop.
