from the sea. They even have a golf hole on a miniature island in the middle of the lake and kids can take out a canoe, pedalo or windsurf while you watch from the comfort of your terrace table.
The afternoon was devoted to padel, Portugal’s latest new fad, now more popular in Spain than tennis, which is somewhere between tennis and squash. The court is smaller than in tennis with glass sides so you can bounce the ball off the walls. The bat is like a beach bat, a short handle with a hard plastic frame and large regularly spaced holes. Padel is an intense, fast and energetic game, without the pauses you get in tennis and a great cardio vascular workout. It’s also a brain teaser as you really have to keep your head in the game, playing the bounces off the walls and responding speedily to a wide variety of tactics. The instructors Paulo (they call me George Michael) and Manel (I hate your backhand) were very encouraging, instilling the basics until it became an absorbing, exciting game.
We took a late lunch at Casa Do Lago overlooking the lake, between two small beaches, poised on a slip of land between sea and lake. We sat on the steel and glass balcony that juts out over the water, by the pool, and started wth tapas and some magnificent olives. I enjoyed the tuna sashimi and soft giant prawns, followed by a superb lobster in garlic sauce, then a chocolate tort in mint ice cream, all safe in the knowledge that I’d burnt off at least as many calories playing padel and cycling. This modern and attractive white adobe restaurant is an ideal place for a long lunch or drinks in the evening and the service is fast and attentive.
The Campus also run an outreach program for local schools as well as teaching schools from all over the world, such as Harrow School in the UK. They are aiming at providing wellness and training for high performance athletes plus a relaxed atmosphere for families
Even John Terry plays golf here. It’s sports fan heaven, and a chance to brush up on your tennis, football, padel or cycling next to your sporting heroes.
The Campus aims to be at the forefront of this new trend as padel’s popularity is growing fast and new teams are emerging everywhere in Europe, including the UK, enticing
professionals and newcomers
alike to their excellence facilities. This sporting paradise in the Algarve is the place to train, get fit and have a great time doing it, all whilst enjoying a relaxing holiday in gorgeous surroundings.
www.themagnoliahotelqdl.com www.quintadolago.com www.mantis-sport.com
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