The next day saw a return of the fog that has haunted us down this coast. we breakfasted, drank coffee and gave Dark Tarn a much needed rinse off, by which time the fog had lifted and moved offshore a little. We walked along the front to the open air, dried fish museum. I kid you not, for ever (well hundreds of years anyway) the women of Nazare have sun dried fish on the beach and it is now an attraction and also a means of maintaining the tradition. The fog can be seen lurking over Lynnes head.
Our aim for the day was to visit the small village of Sitio which is perched on top of the cliff above Nazare, in the photo below the miradors or viewing places can be seen jutting out on top of the overhangs. A very airy spot!
But before we ventured up we had a picnic on the beach and then found a small cafe for a drink. by this time the sun was getting seriously hot . The fog however continued to hang around offshore.
The funicular railway took us swiftly up the precipitous slope. The red tiled roofs of Nazare were spread out below
Normally Lynne doesn't do heights, but she seemed to be fairly composed about the viewpoints.
The fog was starting to drift in to the clifftop which was adding a bit more atmosphere to an already stunning position.
Behind the cliff top cafes and restaurants was the village square. Very touristy There were a great many souvenir shops and a lot of coach parties being shepherded from one thing to another.
The church is the outstanding building on the square, For some reason the entrance was garlanded with flowers.
Properly the Church is known as the Sanctuary of Our Lady Of Nazare.
When we went inside strangely there was a mass in progress, the strange thing being that the service was in English. As is usual in Portugal the inside of the church is richly decorated in acres of gilt.
There was a painting that caught my eye just at the back of the nave, I was puzzled as I am getting quite good at recognising various saints now but this image had me puzzled.
It seemed to depict a deer falling off a cliff, followed by a hunter who was being saved by an ethereal figure. This turns out to be a local commander of the Castle of Porto de Mos who one foggy morning ( I can believe that!) in 1182 was saved by appealing to the Virgin of Nazare as he nearly followed the Roe deer over a cliff, only being saved by his horse digging in its hind hoofs. In thanks, Fuas Ruarpino ordered a small chapel built that is known as the memory Chapel. It sits across the square from the church almost at the top of the cliff.
Its quite a squeeze if you are unlucky enough to be in there just as a coach party arrive!
Its interior is a fabulously tiled ( 17th and 18th century) and there is a cramped stairway that descends to a small crypt or shrine to our Lady of Nazare. Off to the right in the above picture.
As the fog was still swirling around we were in two minds whether to walk out to the Fort of San Miguel Arcanjo this is also a lighthouse and famously overlooks the break at Praia do Norte where the biggest wave ever surfed was ridden in October 2013. (The St Jude's day storm )
We decided it was worth the walk and we would gamble on the fog.
Luckily the waves were a lot quieter when we were there!
The fort is also a museum dedicated to big wave surfing as Nazare is a regular venue for big wave events. surfers need to be towed onto the wave using jet skis so it has become known as tow surfing.
It is a long downhill walk to the fort but there are a few things to see on the way, a sculpture symbolising the melding of modern surfing and ancient history, remember Fuas Ruarpino and the deer? I don't really get it but as I turned a corner I did get what I could see in front of me.
The legendary Praia do Norte beachbreak, even on a day like today it had the power to impress, you can get an idea of scale by finding the person on the beach.
For the princely sum of a euro you can look around the ancient fort, see videos of huge waves, have the complicated hydrology and geology of the underwater trench explained and see legendary surfers boards in an atmospheric dungeon. Each board has a biography and every board has ridden the waves just outside.
Even Lynne was impressed, normally her interest in surfing extends no further than the fashions...
The views from the fort roof are wonderful, we are seriously thinking of coming back during the winter whenever the big swells appear. From a viewpoint like this the experience should be spectacular.
The cold fog and mist by now had moved well out to sea and we were able to take off our jumpers and enjoy the sun. we took a last look at the view from the Miradors. Dark Tarn is tucked at the back left of the harbour at the top centre of the beach.
We descended the Funicular and enjoyed a coffee and pastel de nata (flaky pastry custard tart) before taking a last look at the lighthouse before the long walk back along the beach.
Nazare, home to the biggest waves on the planet............but luckily not every day!
Here is a little video of our day.
No comments:
Post a Comment