19/07/18 – 20/07/18 Nazaré
We both remember watching the video on BBC Breakfast earlier in the year of some crazy surfer being towed on a jet-ski titled ‘The Worlds Largest Surfed Wave, Nazaré’ at over 30 Metres. See below (Obviously not our video..)
Well, that amazing achievement was surfed in January 2018 and it’s now sunny July. I’m saddened to say that there were no giant waves to see…otherwise I would have hailed me a jet-ski and been out there like a shot! Seriously though, the sea was relatively calm compared to other places a just a few miles away. I guess it’s just not the giant waves season.
As we arrived into the town (Coming from the South) we were greeted by a very busy carpark on the edge of the town that had no spaces big enough for us. We were both surprised by how scruffy the place looked, given what we had read. Lets stay in the Moho and drive through I said.
It was very busy, we followed the line of traffic along the seafront and swiftly took the next turn out of town. We parked up at the first available place and got our phones out again to check if that was it. Lorraine soon spotted that the old part of town was the bit on top of the cliff overlooking where we had just drove through. Armed with the new co-ordinates (The lighthouse from the above video) we made our way up the hill.
We were both much happier as we pulled into the new place, a more relaxed atmosphere, better views and a general better feeling about the place. Our night-stop was a small car park out of the way overlooking one of the beaches to the North.
The old town was centred around quite a large square with the obligatory rather large place of worship taking centre stage. Behind the square was a road down to the now famous lighthouse through a rather large archway stating ‘The Worlds Largest Surfed Wave, Nazaré’
There were loads of people making the trek down to the lighthouse to hopefully catch some of the action, just not today as the waves were small.
On the coastal side square, were a few bars, stalls and a funicular down to the town below. As we arrived, many places were closing for the day – In this respect Portugal is nothing like Spain with shops in tourist areas staying open until late. Not here. As soon as 19:00 comes around they are closed for the day (That’s if they opened in the first place) They definitely have a good work/life balance here!
We had time to walk around the now pretty much closed square, take in the views and enjoyed a relaxing stroll before bedding down for the day.
We both enjoyed the laid back vibe here and it might make a good stop to spend a few days if you are passing through. I’m sure the main town below has an excellent nightlife too 😉
Earlier that day – Praia Salgado
Lorraine had previously mentioned about nao concessions beaches in Portugal. Basically they mean that they are not subject to the usual restrictions that the regular beaches have throughout the summer – therefore this was a rare opportunity to take Marley onto the beach in the middle of the day.
As usual, the drive was filled with narrow streets, steep inclines and a sense of apprehension about getting stuck. I wonder how long this feeling will last I thought to myself, still feeling the scars from Nerja.
According to the Sat Nav, we were 300m away from the beach. The streets were starting to get narrow and the road down looked steep. Better park it here we both thought.
As we arrived on the beach there were no dog signs right at the entrance but we decided to press on regardless. Sure enough, our perseverance was rewarded after a few minutes with a nao concessions sign pointing to the left. We could also see other doggies in the distance. We had arrived. (GPS, 39.5460424,-9.1122437,17)
Salgado beach was great, a large expanse of sand that was relatively empty. Just don’t expect to go for a swim as the waves were relentlessly breaking about a metre out from the shoreline. Fortunately for Marley, it was quite an overcast day so he had a good opportunity to run himself ragged with another similar sized dog not too far away.
When the sun did come out, we dug him a big hole to cool down – he loved it and dived right in. We were both surprised as he can be a bit of a wuss sometimes!
When it started to get too hot, it was time to take refuse in the Moho.
