Swell time, regardless, in the Algarve

TODAY I did something I never do on holidays.

I did nothing but relax.

Those who know me know that I'm always on the go, trying to make the most of every stop and getting my money's worth of things to see and do.

Of course, today it helped that I was in one of the most beautiful and laid-back parts of the world in southern Portugal's Algarve region.

For the best part of five hours, I succumbed to doing nothing but people-watching in the cool breeze and glorious summer sunshine.

My white sunlounge with green mattress was positioned for shade under a yellow umbrella at the top of the sand for the best view of the emerald clear waters and unusual weathered rocks of one of the western Algarve's finest beaches, Praia Da Rocha, in bustling Portimao.

The long, wide stretch of sand is actually made up of several beaches and coves separated by cloisters of sandstone rock formations and backed by red-ochre cliffs.

Look away from the Atlantic Ocean and it's the Gold Coast on steroids but with a smaller building height.

Otherwise, the rugged coastline is reminiscent of Victoria's Great Ocean Road drive.

We decided on Portimao as the closest possible surf beach from our Hotel Carvoeiro Sol in nearby Carvoeiro.

The online surf report gave us little joy, though.

Our initial search for waves in summer in Portugal was always going to be a big ask, especially away from the west coast.

When they work, the breaks can produce waves of the magnitude of 2m or more and that's why the Algarve has numerous surf schools and surf shops.

But the best waves in southern Portugal generally arrive in winter from November to March.

So today was a typical summer's day: flat as a pancake.

As a non-surfer, they were my kind of waves but my three companions were unimpressed.

So instead, we took the picturesque clifftop walk to find the prettiest, least-crowded beach (praia), bought a blow-up tyre tube and beachball and made the most of the swimming conditions.

The trio even found a nifty cave and wedge between the rocks to hurl themselves against on the tube.

We can only hope for more curvaceous waves as we heard further north to Ericeira, Peniche and Baleal.

Maybe like our anticipation, something will be building at Supertubos beach - a stop on the ASP World Tour- in time for our arrival.

In any case, I can see myself relaxing under beach umbrellas a lot more in coming days, and having to make do with fun on our inflatable "super-tube-os".