When we had to change our Spain plans at the last minute, we decided to spend a week based in the town of Nazaré because it is pretty centrally located for exploring the middle of Portugal by car. We had also watched the HBO series "100 Foot Wave" and hoped that if the weather was just right, we *might* actually see some big waves being surfed on Nazaré's Praia do Norte.
Quick geography orientation: the Nazaré area is separated by a headland jutting into the sea where there is a lighthouse. The calmer beach (Praia da Nazaré) is on the southern side of that headland, and is where the actual town of Nazaré is located. On the cliffs above the headland is the upper town, called Sítio de Nazaré. From the cliffs by the lighthouse you can see the northern beach (Praia do Norte) which, when the weather is right, sees some of the biggest waves in the world. This photo was taken from Praia da Nazaré on the southern side of the headland -- you can just make out the lighthouse on the left cliff in the distance, and you can see bits of the town of Sítio on the upper right where the flags are on the cliff. Praia do Norte is on the other side of this spit of land.
On Wednesday, we drove up to Sítio thinking that we would easily find parking, stroll down to the lighthouse, and watch the waves. Ooops! Wednesday was a religious holiday in Portugal (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) so the narrow streets of Sítio were clogged with cars and all of the parking lots were jammed full. So instead we drove over to the Praia do Norte to try to get a sea level view of the waves. Parking was still pretty limited there -- we had to park about a mile away and walk to the beach. When we got to the beach we could just barely see the jetskis cresting some distant waves but the big waves closer to shore really blocked the view. Binoculars would have come in handy. We were a bit disappointed that we couldn't actually see any surfers catch the waves. We did see the beach patrol on four-wheelers and tractors, making sure spectators didn't get too close to the ocean because the waves and undertow here can be very dangerous.
After a while we gave up and went back to our apartment for a nice lunch with a view. We planned to try to watch the surfing on another day when it might be less crowded.
Over the weekend, we learned that surf and weather conditions were good enough that they **just might** be holding the Tudor Nazaré Tow Surf Challenge on Sunday. They don't actually know very far in advance when the conditions will be right for the competition -- they have a six-week window when they might hold the event. Teams are on standby and given about a day's notice to quickly fly to Portugal to participate. Our hopes of seeing it were dashed on Sunday when we woke up to a thick layer of fog that covered both the north and south beaches. You couldn't even see the lighthouse or the top of the cliffs until late in the afternoon. The surf contest was called off. So instead we took the opportunity to walk around the lower town of Nazaré. Before the surfers came along, Nazaré was (and still is) a fishing town. Fish are butterflied and set out on racks to dry in the sun on the beach.
There is a row of beautifully painted fishing boats on the beach that serves as a monument to the town's fishermen who risk their lives in the North Atlantic to bring in the catch. The boats are built with a tall pointed bow in order to cut through the waves as they go out to sea. (Also notice the fog in the background clinging to the cliffs -- still no visibility in the late afternoon!)
Traditionally women here wear shawls, kerchiefs, and seven layers of brightly colored flannel skirts. We did see several women dressed this way, selling dried fruits and nuts from carts on the boardwalk. This tradition is depicted in a beautiful tiled mural by the funicular.
Monday -- today is our last day in Nazaré. We woke up to shining sun and no fog. Checked the internet and the surf competition was on! What luck! This time we were smart -- we left the car at the apartment, took the funicular up to Sítio and walked to the lighthouse area. Because it was a Monday, the crowd was not too huge. There was a checkpoint to enter the viewing area where they verified everyone's Covid vaccine pass (or CDC cards in our case) before entry. Kevin and I still wore masks, as did quite a few other spectators, because it was tough to keep six feet away from everyone. We could see the waves crashing just beyond the lighthouse.
The waves here get so big because as the ocean swells head into shore they hit the underwater Nazaré Canyon, which funnels the force of the waves. With the right weather and current conditions, the result is enormous waves of 80 feet or more. Today's conditions had the waves closer to 40 or 50 feet, which is still pretty darn big.
Many of the biggest names in surfing were out there today including Kai Lenny, Pedro Scooby, Maya Gabeira, Justine Dupont, and Rodrigo Koxa. If you've watched "100 Foot Wave" those names will be familiar.
Ultimately Lucas Chianca was the Men's Champion, and his team won Best Team Performance. Justine Dupont was the Champion in the Women's category.
The surfers are in teams so that one drives a jetski towing the one surfing to the exact spot to catch the wave as it begins to crest. It's very much a team effort, because it would be impossible for a surfer to paddle quickly enough to get to a wave. It can get dangerous with all the jetskis zipping around, so the competition was divided into heats of three teams at a time.
There are additional safety jetskis that wait on the periphery and will rescue downed surfers or jetski drivers if they get into trouble. We did actually see a couple of jetskis get sideswiped by an unexpected wave -- luckily everyone was okay. There are also rescue vehicles, emergency crews, and ambulances parked down near the beach in case of any accidents. From the overlook, the 4x4's and people on the beach look like ants.
We definitely appreciated hearing the commentary from the announcers on the PA system so we could find out who was surfing and where to look for them. If we'd been on our own we just would've seen tiny specks in the ocean. (Again, binoculars or a zoom lens would have come in handy!) In this photo you can actually see two surfers -- one going down the face of a wave way on the left and one just coming out of a collapsing tube in the center.
We enjoyed watching the action and felt really fortunate to have just happened to be in Nazaré for this event. Now, on to Lisbon!
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