by Kate Dernocoeur, guest blogger
We went to Nazaré at the suggestion of my longtime friend and master trip organizer, Linda. Our group of six had just completed our main objective (see Generally Write, May 19) and rode the bus two hours north of Lisbon to Nazaré for a couple of days of relaxation before leaving this delightful nation. I was wowed.
We wandered the streets and got the lay of the land. We visited the top of the bluff with its impressive square and cathedral, still draped with Easter flowers. Then we made our way to the Big-Wave Surf Museum in the 16th century Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo, the old Navy lighthouse on the cliffside point that separates the town of Nazaré on the South Beach from the wilder North Beach. The wind was enough to make you wonder if you’d be blown off the edge—and this was the off-season!
Later, I walked alone along the South Beach. Even in (very) mild conditions, I was impressed by the relentless cadence of the Atlantic swells arriving, arriving, arriving. From my journal: “I took off my shoes and went down to the water, irresistibly drawn by its insistent pounding and thunder and spray. It was marvelous… My feet were treated to barefoot walking in kind sand.” I was entranced. When some surf froth covered my foot, I was happy to be tickled by the ocean. Then a small wave grabbed me by one ankle and pulled. I could sense the immense power of the water, and that was plenty enough for me! “The raw power of it intimidates me but I also could not look away. So majestic, and aloof,” I wrote.
Nazaré gained international attention after Garrett McNamara was lured there in 2010 by a local man who knew the big-wave surfer would be unable to resist it. Since then, McNamara and his team, including his wife, Nicole, have been on a mission to show the world the truth about Nazaré: nowhere else is quite like it. One quote put it succinctly: “Mountaineers have Everest. Surfers have Nazaré.”
As reported in Surfer Today, “On November 1, 2011, [McNamara] broke the Guinness World Record for the biggest wave ever surfed [done off North Beach], a beach break located in the Portuguese fishing village of Nazaré. The surf spot is powered by an underwater canyon that funnels the swell’s energy and increases the size of the wave when the water hits shallow waters. McNamara, who is able to stay underwater for more than four minutes, took off on a historic 78-foot giant wave and rode it flawlessly until the end.” What would that be like? McNamara once famously said, “Riding one of these waves is like being chased down by a moving avalanche.” Indeed.
Full disclosure: I do not much enjoy being wet or cold. I am not a surfer. Nonetheless, in the wake of my two-day stay in Nazaré I am smitten by that mysterious world. Tow-in surfing, introduced in 1992, is regarded as a separate discipline from traditional paddle-in surfing and uses a jet-ski to enable surfers to achieve the speed needed to ride massive waves. If your curiosity is piqued, go to HBO-Max and watch the 5-episode series, “100 Foot Wave.” I found it binge-watch-worthy. [Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_wave_surfing, accessed May 21, 2022]
And then there is the very real charm of Nazaré itself. For centuries, residents (now around 10,000) based their economy on fishing despite the unusually dangerous coastline. Recently, tourism has boomed. In summer, people flock to Nazaré for its gorgeous long, sandy beaches, and now the season has extended into winter, when the waves attract the likes of McNamara.
April constituted the in-between season. Our group started from our two Air B&Bs on the bluff, then walked down the hill beside the funicular tram. We wandered the beautifully-patterned cobblestone streets. Gelato was on the agenda, of course, as was browsing the shops and visiting the modest fishermen’s museum with its collection of fishing craft—wooden boats with serious prows meant to cut through the waves handily.
The lovely day drew me from the boardwalk to the edge of the sea. No one else was around. Dozens of photos later, I realized the impossibility of truly capturing the scene, although it was compelling to try. Then I sat and pondered the history of the place, the huge courage of old-time fishermen, and the faith of the families praying for their safe return. Soon after, I stumbled across an old, wee chapel beside the beach bearing no name or sign explaining it. I suspect it had been therefor the fishing community for centuries. I was happy to have a chance to experience, even briefly, this special place.
[For more about Garrett McNamara, see https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/garrett-mcnamara-facts-about-the-hawaiian-big-wave-rider]
