What happens when two adults who are afraid of heights take ten kids to jump off cliffs? Well, I found out last September and, surprisingly, the answer is … the most fun and adrenaline I have experienced in years! And that is all thanks to Jim and his team at Sagres Coasteering Tours. For the uninitiated, coasteering is an incredible sport that combines elements of cliff jumping, rock climbing and wild swimming.
Last year, I decided it would be a fun end-of-the-summer-holidays activity for my kids and their friends. I was, however, feeling distinctly nervous as I turned up at their base in Raposeira. From the outset, Jim and his team were fun and friendly, and we got kitted out with wetsuits, life jackets and helmets. We were advised to take some old trainers and shorts, if we had them, to protect our feet and bottoms from the rocks! As a nervous participant, it was also highly reassuring to know that their operation is fully licensed and insured, putting safety first.
Inevitably, there was a good deal of bravado from the children, but not so much from me and my friend Fraser, as we discovered we were both terrified of heights! I never used to be, but I am told it comes with age! We set off in the trucks to Sagres to our starting point near the fort. Jim has a number of different routes which he chooses based on the day’s sea conditions. Access to our coasteering route was via a narrow path and steep steps down the cliff. I would certainly never have ventured down had it not been for the watchful eyes of our guides.
What followed was definitely a walk on the wild side; we edged around rocky ledges and outcrops, all the while with the mighty Atlantic glistening blue beneath us without another soul in sight. If it wasn’t for the prospect of shortly throwing myself into it from a height, I would have certainly been admiring the glorious coastal landscape.
The jumps were expertly set up by the three guides, showcasing their policy of using multiple instructors for small groups. One guide was in the sea, one supervised above, and another swam ahead to our next location. The guides at all times exuded confidence, calm and professionalism, and I never once felt any real jeopardy, while the sense of adventure and being off the beaten track was thrilling.
As we paused on one rocky outcrop to watch the kids jump, I asked Jim how this had all begun for him. “So I started coasteering in Cornwall and Devon in 2013 when I was working in an outdoor centre for schools,” he explained. “We did coasteering as a staff team-building day, and the guy running it saw how much I enjoyed it and offered a friend and me a job freelancing with him on weekends, so it all started there. Then I moved to the Algarve in 2017 and started working for Algarve SUP Tours as a guide, saw the coastline, and decided to start running coasteering tours in 2019. We had a few tricky years with COVID but persevered, and now it’s grown to what it is, and every year we’re trying to find new routes and ways to improve.”
We were taught how to jump into the sea to avoid hurting ourselves, and on many of the jumps, there were choices of height so you could challenge yourself at different levels. This flexibility is exactly why their tours are suitable for all levels and abilities. I have to say, I found walking along the cliffs scarier than jumping, and soon I was throwing myself into the ocean like a pro, feeding off the adrenaline. We only saw one other person, a lone fisherman who I think muttered ‘louco’ (crazy) under his breath!
We would then wild-swim to the next location, where we would climb out, sometimes with the help of ropes and sometimes using the ocean swell to push us up onto a ledge. There was one point where I was swimming across a bay with huge cliffs soaring above me, thinking that there would be no way I would ever have this opportunity to swim in the open sea like this in such a remote spot were it not for this tour. It was completely magical. Jim agrees: “Our tours are designed to challenge you and take you to places you’d never dare to go alone, and our team of expert guides know exactly how to lead you through the climbs, caves, waves and jumps of the coast.”
Jim was endlessly patient and especially good with my younger daughter, who was okay with the jumping but found getting back onto the rocks challenging. Under Jim’s watchful care, she got the hang of it. Jim told me, “Our ethos as an activity provider is inclusivity. We take a lot of pride in being flexible, and respecting the pace and abilities of every group and individual.”
We finally arrived at a huge ledge with numerous jump options at different levels, and Jim captured some great videos with his GoPro, which is a fantastic bonus since the company includes free photography of your tour. Our most intrepid jumper, Ted, tackled the ultimate ten-metre high jump, but the rest of us chickened out!
Our journey ended by scaling a cliff along a narrow path I am sure was created by animals, and certainly something that would have previously inhabited my worst nightmares, but I did it. We congregated at the top for a triumphant photo and a lot of hand-slapping as we basked in our adrenaline high and sense of achievement.
So this month, I challenge you to step out from under your beach umbrella or pool lounger and do what I did. Challenge yourself to an adrenaline-fuelled adventure that will give you a sense of bonding with your fellow adventurers, the thrill of having achieved something really special, and the chance to witness the out-of-bounds part of the coastline that will leave you breathless.
