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Nazaré recently came up on my radar because of a video that I watched a few weeks ago of a surfer from Hawaii riding a wild and monsterous wave. It was a VERY AMAZING video which I’m sure a lot of you have already seen. So I had to get on the computer and learn more about the place that was host to this kind of natural spectacle.
Here’s a very quick look at what I learned about Nazaré, Portugal…..

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Nazaré, named after the Biblical “Nazareth” in the 4th century, is Portugal’s most famous fishing village.

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Being able to enjoy a meal of freshly caught fish would be one of my top things to do here….I love food 🙂

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

In the 60’s it was discovered as an ideal vacation getaway because of it’s beautiful long stretches of beach…..you can now find colourful beach huts and sunbathers occupying it…..and because of it being a tourist hotspot….crowds during the summer months!

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Artful tiles decorating the alleys leading to quaint shops:

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Take the funicular up to the top of the hill where Sítio, the old part of town sits on the cliff-top:

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

You can find the baroque style church called the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Nazaré at the top. It’s original foundation was built in 1377

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Besides being a well known fishing village, it’s also famous for huge waves. The reason for the waves is an undersea canyon just off the coast of the town of Nazaré, called the Nazaré Canyon. It has a maximum depth of 5,000 metres and is about 230 kilometres long and has been likened to an underwater Grand Canyon.
This Canyon runs from the ocean right up to the cliffs and causes very high breaking waves –making it an amazing spot for people such as American professional big wave surfer Garrett McNamara, who on January 2013 is said to have rode a wave estimated to be 100ft high- breaking his old record (2011) at this same location.

This is the video of McNamara’s crazy ride:

Tow-in session of January 28th in Nazare, Portugal. / 28.01.2013 from Band-Originale on Vimeo.

How amazing was that??! The best time to go to catch these waves is in the winter months of November-January.

I found a diverse range of accomodations ranging from modern hotels, character hotels, vacation rentals….whatever tickles your fancy. Me, I liked the looks of these:

This photo of Hotel Magic is courtesy of TripAdvisor

and

This photo of Quinta do Campo is courtesy of TripAdvisor

But maybe it was really because of the wine barrels 😛

This photo of Nazare is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The more I read on the different websites, the more intrigued I became. I can feel my Bucket List growing!

Care to share your thoughts?