Week 7: Nazare, Portugal

 Nazare - idyllic beach town (on the verge of being taken over by foreign investors)

Nazare is a historic fishing village in Portugal's central coast. I had read a lot about the town and how beautiful it was but knew it was quickly becoming a main tourist destination. I was a bit hesitant to visit Nazare during the peak summer season as I worried about crowds, so I decided to stay on the cliffs of Sitio da Nazare, which overlooks Nazare beach. This was a good call as my surroundings were more laid back, but I had very easy access to Nazare through the Ascensor (a vertical tram that runs all day every day from Nazare to Sitio). 

There are three nearby beaches in Nazare - Praia do Norte, Praia do Nazare and Praia da Sul. Norte is north of the cliffs and is the site of the largest recorded "surf-able" waves in the world. I learned that visitors from all over descend on this beach during April when the surf is at its highest. It was mostly deserted during the week I stayed here and offered beautiful landscapes and rugged terrain. 
Praia do Nazare is a truly beautiful, expansive sandy beach just south of the cliffs and protected from the wind -- making it a calm place for sunbathing, learning to surf and enjoying gentler waves. As I worked further towards Praia da Sul, I noticed how much the wind picked up. There are two lighthouses on this end which opens into the harbor and the marina. 

As beautiful as Nazare is, however, it is quickly becoming overrun with tourism. There are shops and restaurants on the crowded boardwalk and vacation rentals and hotels on every corner. I was fascinated to see old, crumbling, historic buildings right beside modern, newly remodeled ones. It seems developers are all trying to cash in on this beautiful coastal spot. There were several real estate companies attracting ex-pats and foreign investors with 2 bedroom / 1 bath condos in town running about $170-250K to purchase. I felt this was pretty high given the minimal infrastructure that is in place. I really hope that Nazare and other coastal cities in Portugal don't go the way of Hawaii, where affluent mainlanders and foreigners have bought up most of the coastal property and the native Hawaiians have been squeezed out of their own lands.

Sitio da Nazare
The views from the Miradouro do Suberco which is located in Sitio da Nazare on top of the cliffs are spectacular! The first few days I was here it was sunny and clear skies, and the last few days the weather dropped to about 65F and the clouds and fog rolled in.

In Sitio you can feel a stronger sense of the traditional lifestyle. There are older women here wearing their traditional 7 skirts and scarfts, and weathered fisherman. They also have a bull-fighting ring still in operation, Praca de Touros and some picturesque churches in the town square.