My journey to Galicia (Second Post – Nazare, Portugal)
- Written by MetroStaff
My first night in Europe was spent in Nazare, on my way up the northern Portuguese coast. I rented a car at Lisbon airport and took about 2 hours to wind my way north toward Galicia. Nazare is famous for having the best surfing in all of Europe. It is nestled between two cliffs which provide a deep underwater chasm that churns out the energy to create the mammoth waves. While I was there the ocean was more placid (in season for surfers is in the winter), but I could tell by the way the waves broke on shore that this was indeed a special place for surfing.
The southern beach is shaped in a perfect bell curve where the waves start at one end and break in an even swell all the way across the 2 kilometers of beach. On the northern edge of the beach up above on a cliff there is a lighthouse which separates the beaches. There are actually two beaches -one fairly safe to swim in year-round and the other where the waves make it difficult to bathe without caution. In the winter, waves at Nazare can reach 50-75 feet.
Whereas there were many Portuguese families on a summer vacation, the international fame of the site dates back over a generation when surfing became more popular. There are still magnets and tee shirts with the classic VW bus with a hippie leaning on it, surfboard at his side. Surfing is Nazare’s obsession.
My first meal was a grilled bream (Dorado is Spanish). It is a savory freshwater fish very popular in Portugal. I ate in a seafood restaurant right off the beach. Whereas I was tempted to try a ‘mariscada’, a combination seafood dish or even better a ‘caldeirada’, a soupy fish and seafood stew. It was late, I had been on a very long journey and was excited that the next day I would be joining my family in a celebration for one of my cousins who was celebrating her 35th wedding anniversary.
Excited, exhausted and looking forward to arriving in Galicia, I had a deep sleep and woke up refreshed and ready to arrive at my designated hotel in La Lanzada, Pontevedra.
