PORTUGAL – NAZARE

DEC 7-10, 2022

From Sintra, I took a bus to Nazare. It is a small city of 15,000 on the seaside. Its claim to fame is its HUGE waves, which occur due to a 5000 metre (16,404 ft) underwater canyon that funnels the water to create giant waves. It is a surfers paradise and many surfing records have been set at Nazare. In 2011 a Hawaiian surfer rode a 23.8 meter (78 ft) wave. That record was broken in 2017 by a Brazilian riding a 24.4 m (80 ft) wave. That was broken in 2020 by a German on a 26.2 m (86 ft) wave. This record still stands. However, the cab driver told me that in August of this year, a 100 ft wave was recorded. No one surfed it.

I stayed at the beautiful Argentina’s Place AirBnB. It was a bit difficult to find, but well worth it. The hostess was so friendly and helpful that she felt like family. It was new and modern, and best of all, it had a heater in the bedroom! The weather was still cool and damp (I was on the ocean). All the moisture condensed on the cooler bathroom walls and literally ran down the tiles.

The next day I walked into town, a short distance away. The walk took me along a beautifully tiled seawall with an incredible view of the beach.

I looked into the tiny Chapel of the Miracles Memory. It is a simple four-walled chapel decorated with blue and white tiles. A statue of the Virgin Mary was brought to this location in 714 by the king of the Visgoths and a monk. When the monk died the king placed the statue on an altar in the grotto where the monk was buried. The statue survived, untouched, even during Muslim rule. It was rediscovered in 1179. The chapel was built over the grotto in 1182 after the Virgin saved a knight, who was chasing a deer, from falling off a cliff nearby. In 1616 a historian attempted to find the cave with the statue, but legend has it that whoever goes too far into the cave disappears. Today a wall, with grids, prevents anyone from going too far. I could only see the niche with the statue of the Virgin.

Across the street stood the Santuario de Nossa Senhora da Nazare, a 14th-century church. The interior had the typical vaulted ceilings and elaborate alter. This church also had entire walls tiled in blue and white depicting biblical scenes.

It was a cool day so I stopped for a huge bowl of yummy pumpkin soup in a nearby restaurant.

The whole point of stopping in Nazare was to see the big waves. I googled the North Beach and headed out. Google took me on a long, round-about tour of Nazare. It took me through a small park/forest and finally to the beach. Way up on a hill, in the direction from which I just came, stood the lighthouse, which I recognized from pictures, as the place to see the big waves. Google took me on a 3 km hike when the place I wanted to go was a mere 500 metres from the restaurant. Oh, well! I got some exercise.

I got a bit more exercise than I had hoped for. I had to walk about a kilometre along the soft sandy beach. I finally got to a huge outcrop where I saw people standing. There were more people going up and down a trail between the lighthouse and the outcrop. I was in the right spot, but how do I get up there without having to backtrack? I studied the outcrop and realized I could climb up – very carefully. I suddenly became very grateful that I had a knowledge and brief experience of rock climbing.

The waves were not huge, but the tide was coming in. Shortly after I reached the top a few waves started to splash up onto the plateau of the outcrop.

I went up the trail to the lighthouse and surf museum. It was initially built in 1577 as a primitive fort – Fort of São Miguel Arcanjo – for defence from the Algerian, Moroccan and Normand pirates.  It rises abruptly 100 metres from the beach. It is surrounded by the sea to the north, west and south. It was converted to a lighthouse in 1903. The red lantern stands 8 metres high and has a range of 14 nautical miles. The museum portion opened in 2014 and features the surfboards and stories of the crazy surfers who braved the waves in search of fame and glory.

I had seen pictures and videos of the giant waves, but standing on the roof of the old fort really gave me a feel for just how big those waves actually get. Remember, this lighthouse stands 100 metres up. Check out this wiki photo I downloaded. I can only imagine the terror of feeling the earth shake when that beast hits land, let alone the crazy bugger trying to surf it!

The walk back to the square was shorter than the walk there. I walked past a strange 6-metre-high elk-man statue. It is a nod to the deer that the King was chasing when he got saved by the Virgin and the surfers who also get saved from dying.

The next day I walked down to a huge farmers market. When I say I walked “down” that is exactly what it was – downhill for about 3 km. I began to worry about the walk back UP! The market had lots and lots of veggies and fish.

I bought a nice slab of fresh salmon, some veggies and fresh bread in preparation for a nice dinner.

When I left the market I walked toward the beach.

From the beach, I could look up to the seawall that I had looked down from the day before. It really gave a different perspective on just how high the seawall is.

Thankfully, there was a funicular that I could take back up, instead of walking. The station at the top of the hill had a huge and elaborate nativity scene set up.

There was yet a different view of the seawall. The path I was on just hung out into nothingness.

That night I had my delicious salmon dinner. I could hear the wind howling all night. The next morning was still very windy, which could only mean bigger waves. I headed back to the lighthouse. The waves were not massive, but definitely bigger than the previous day. The outcrop that I had scampered up was now being engulfed with waves.

I had a bus booked to Porto the next day. The host refused to let me call a taxi. He drove me to the station. While waiting for the bus I was talking with some women from the United States. We had all come in hopes of seeing the big waves. I commented that with my luck the big waves would come the day after I left. One girl said “No. The weather forecast predicts in three days. I am a surfer, and I inquired.” We all sighed and got on the bus.