Shot no.16

Shot no. 16 (Canon EOS M10, Fujifilm Finepix Sp8200, Huawei Mate 9)

Photos taken at Nazaré, Leiria District, Portugal in July 2017.

After a day in Sítio (Shot no. 15) went back to Nazaré in the Funicular rail way/cable car. It's a great option to travel between Nazaré and Sítio and has been in use since 1889 of course with modernization of the service.

Nazaré is very well known for its fishing traditions, for its sandy beach and more recently as a big wave surf spot. My main interest was of course the beach and to get back my normal colour and wash away my pale Irish colour. It was impossible to not get amazed by its tiny little streets full of life, the handcraft shops, the old ladies with the traditional skirts offering apartments or rooms to rent, the pathway by the shore, the view of that imponent cliff over the beach and listening to so many different languages!

Like the streets, the beach was crowded but still big enough for everybody. The issue was mine because I wanted to be as close as possible to the water and like me, everybody else! The water was quite cold but I can't really complain seeing as I had swam in the Irish Sea!

Nazaré is a good spot for someone that is looking to just rest and for a beach. Small town with a huge beach, close enough to historic towns like Alcobaça, Batalha and Tomar and close to the Mountains of Mira de Aire e Candeeiros where you can visit it's underground caves. I will have to visit those places in the future.

For this mini holiday I was only looking for beach and that is what I got, I'm back to my normal colour also! Although couldn't resist to hit the road and visit the monastery of Alcobaça, will do another post about that.

So, when I wasn't on the beach, I was eating. That place is like heaven for those who like fish and seafood but I'm not that person so, the challenge was to find somewhere with good food other than fish. I found some places with nice pork but nothing really impressive until one day walking on the little roads around the hotel, I found this little restaurant called Mooo Hamburgueria. Damn! Sorry for my language but I have no words to describe how delicious those hamburguers were! For sure they have the best hamburguers I ever tasted and they are not small! Strongly recommend a visit, well worth it! I visited them twice and only because I found them at the end of my holiday! For desert my suggestion is an ice cream at Gelatomania, they are big, they are huge, they are delicious and they are expensive but who cares? I was on holidays and one a day is allowed!

Info:

• About Nazaré: https://www.visitportugal.com/en/node/73770
• Nazaré's Cable Car:
• http://www.travelsignposts.com/Portugal/sightseeing/nazare-funicular-railway
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazar%C3%A9_Funicular
• Hamburgueria Mooo:
• https://www.facebook.com/hamburgueriamooo
• https://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurant_Review-g315902-d10313014-Reviews-Hamburgueria_Mooo-Nazare_Leiria_District_Central_Portugal.html
• Gelatomania:
• https://www.facebook.com/Gelatomania/
• https://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurant_Review-g315902-d6851888-Reviews-Gelatomania-Nazare_Leiria_District_Central_Portugal.html

Shot no.15

Shot no.15 (Fujifilm Finepix SP8200, Canon EOS M10, Huawei Mate 9)


EN

Photos taken at Sítio da Nazaré, Nazaré, Leiria District, Portugal in July 2017.

Summer time in Portugal, I went  to Nazaré for 4 days. First day went to visit Sítio, a little town located in the top of a promontory that ends over the Atlantic Ocean. This place has very strong religious traditions because the history of this town goes back nearly a thousand years and started with a miracle that saved  D. Fuas Roupinho from falling into the abyss and now a days there is a little chapel called Ermida da Memória (Chapel of Memory) to remind you about it. The town has a beautiful sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Nazaré, located in one of the sides of a square which is surrounded by restaurants and little craftwork shops.

Sítio is very famous for it's fortress called Forte de S. Miguel Arcanjo and was very important through Portuguese history as a strategical army point. In our days the fortress is still very important as a lighthouse but also for site seeing for the biggest surfed waves in the world caused by the Nazaré Canyon. On November 1st 2011, the 44 year old Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara surfed a 23,77 metre wave in Praia do Norte beach, just on the north side of the promontory. Three years later the French surfer Benjamin Sachis broke the record surfing a 33 metre wave. Now every year surfers from all over the world come over looking to surf the biggest wave ever and at the fortress there is a little museum dedicated to those surfing events and to Nazaré Canyon.

After a whole morning of hiking and taking photos, went for lunch in a very nice tapas restaurant made of portuguese food called Sitiados. If you go to visit Sítio in Nazaré, you must go for food in Sitiados!

PT (este texto não está escrito segundo o novo acordo ortográfico)

Fotos tiradas no Sítio da Nazaré, Nazaré, Distrito de Leiria, Portugal em Julho de 2017.

Verão em Portugal, fui para Nazaré por 4 dias. No primeiro dia fui visitar o Sítio, uma pequena localidade no topo de um promontório que termina no Oceano Atlântico. Este lugar tem tradições religiosas muito fortes pois a história deste local remonta à quase mil anos e começou com um milagre que salvou D. Fuas Roupinho de cair no abismo. Hoje em dia há uma pequena capela chamada Ermida da Memória (Capela de Memória) para que se recorde esse acontecimento. A cidade tem também um belo santuário dedicado a Nossa Senhora da Nazaré, localizado em um dos lados de uma praça que está rodeada por restaurantes e pequenas lojas de artesanato.

O Sítio é muito famoso pela sua fortaleza chamada Forte de S. Miguel Arcanjo e foi muito importante ao longo da história portuguesa como ponto estratégico militar. Nos dias de hoje, a fortaleza ainda é muito importante como farol, mas também para ver as maiores ondas de surf do mundo causadas pelo Canhão da Nazaré. Em 1 de novembro de 2011, o surfista havaiano de 44 anos, Garret McNamara, surfou uma onda de 23,77 metros na Praia do Norte, no lado norte do promontório. Três anos depois, o surfista francês Benjamin Sachis quebrou o recorde ao surfar uma onda de 33 metros. Agora, todos os anos, surfistas de todo o mundo vêm para navegar na maior onda de sempre e na fortaleza há um pequeno museu dedicado aos feitos do surf na Nazaréo e ao Canhão da Nazaré.

Depois de uma manhã cheia de caminhadas e a tirar fotos, fui almoçar a um restaurante de tapas muito agradável, feito de comida portuguesa chamada Sitiados. Se você for visitar o Sítio na Nazaré, você tem de ir provar as iguarias do Sitiado!

Info:

• Legend of Our Lady of Nazaré: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_Nazar%C3%A9
• Santuary of Our Lady of Nazaré: http://www.portugaltravel.org/nossa-senhora-da-nazare-sanctuary
• S. Miguel Arcanjo Fortress: http://www.portugaltravel.org/sao-miguel-arcanjo-fort-nazare
• S. Miguel Arcanjo Fortress 360º: http://www.cm-nazare.pt/pt/forte-sao-miguel-arcanjo-360
• About the Nazaré Canyon and Nazaré's big waves: http://www.centerofportugal.com/the-wave-of-nazare/
• Sitiado restaurant
• https://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurant_Review-g315902-d4298653-Reviews-Sitiado-Nazare_Leiria_District_Central_Portugal.html
• https://www.facebook.com/tabernasitiado