Nazaré is known for giant breaking waves. It is there several world surfing records were broken.
Just how big the waves can get? Here’s a “historic” one on Ocotober 29th, 2020:
Nazaré canyon, situated under water in front of the North Beach, plays an important role to this pheonomenon. The largest submarine canyon in Europe serves as a ripple polarizer, redirects waves and amplifies the swell by as much as three folds the forecasted height.
We arrived at Praia do Norte on a calm afternoon.
There were no surfers out there, nor big crowd of spectators.
After spending sometime strolling down the beach, collecting seashells glistening under the sun, we decided that it was time to head into town in search of a dinner spot.
There were racks of fish drying on the Nazaré beach
As well as colourfil fishing vessels on display.
For dinner, we picked Rosa dos Ventos.
We selected a large seabass for grill and poured house white from a frozen jar.
The amêijoas à bulhão pato, named after the Portuguese poet Raimundo António de Bulhão Pato, was the best clams-cooked-in-olive-oil-and-garlic I’ve had so far. The clams were big and flavourful.
The seabass was fresh, meaty and oily.
We finish the meal with a complimentary shot of Portuguese Liqueur wine, which was a little too sweet to my taste.
After the sun went down the temperature dropped sharply. It’s time to return to the car for our 1.5 hour drive back to Lisbon.
Note:
Big waves in Nazaré usually happen during winter months, from October to March. The Nazaré Waves website is a good place to check big wave forecasts as well as live webcams of Praia do Norte.
A little incident:
At the Nazaré Beach, there was a group of local women selling preserved fish. In passing, one woman in particular looked at me in somewhat of a menacing manner and murmured in Portuguese: “You come from China with Coronavirus, you should go back to your country.”
My immediate reaction to this was sadness. The Portuguese people, as I remembered, had always been kind and welcoming. I had heard of the rising violence against Asians back in the States, this was the first time I experienced something like this in Portugal. The impact of Covid-19 goes far comprehensive beyond the number of cases. I can only hope that the Asian community would stand strong and dignified in the aftermath.
Finally, I would like to share the quote posted by my fellow blogger Anne Leueen:
“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic.” — Jack Layton former leader of the New Democratic Party in Canada
Summer is coming. Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic!
Coming up next: A Taberna do Mar, Lisbon
Travel-Gourmand.com 
Wonderful sea and its fruit and its waves, and so sorry about the last part.
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Thanks Manja! I didn’t want to highlight that part. But it is what it is 😦
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After reading this post and looking at the pictures, I want to go to Portugal, eat seafood and drink ice cold wine. (NOT surf! 🙂 ) About the last part: that is sad, but please, don’t let it bring you down.
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Thanks Peter. You won’t regret it 🙂 Regarding the last part, I thought about whether to bring this up or not. I did not want to make this a political blog. I could present this as everything is dandy and all that. However, since this had become part of the travel, as a matter of fact, no point avoiding it.
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I remember hearing about those surfing waves long ago. They are something. Your lunch looked wonderful. Beautiful photos of the beach. I was sad to hear about the ignorance and meanness of some people toward you. The quote you posted is PERFECT for this situation and life in general. We must remember to be loving, hopeful and optimistic every day!! Thank you!
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Thank you Brilliantviewpoint! Here’s to a good summer of health and happiness!
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Yes… and some NEW adventures with the vaccine opening the doors a bit.
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WOW! The waves in the video are insanely huge. I am sorry you experienced the anti Asian comment. I find it shocking and I do put a lot of blame on Trump. But even he could not have influenced this woman in Portugal. Courage my friend! This too shall pass. And the Jack Layton quote is a favorite of mine.
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Thanks Anne. Great inspiration from your post!
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Amazing waves! And the food looks fabulous.
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Thanks Nico!
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🙂
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Holy crap! I would certainly not be near the shore when those MASSIVE waves come anytime soon! Looks to be the surfer’s dream, though…your meal looks to be seafood galore, and I can imagine that it was incredibly fresh and sweet to the palate. Thanks for sharing this gem of a place, especially not too far from Lisbon!
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I also saw the last part of your post, and I am absolutely disgusted with the racism you experienced. It’s not easy being Asian during these tough times, and unfortunately, the best thing to do is just ignore and continue to enjoy yourself, ideally away from racist people. Stay strong!
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Great suggestion Rebecca. You take care over there as well.
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Some great images here. It’s a difficult time for all of us at present. Unfortunately some people understand a lot less than others.
Good post.
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Thanks Amorina!
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You took me on holiday!
Thank you 🙂
Pat
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Enjoy!!
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This made me wonder if we should visit Tofino in storm season. Our guide suggested April so we can see the whales migrating. Who the heck know, the border with Canada isn’t opening anytime soon (rather we’ve kind of give up). Looks like a great beach!
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