Chasing Giants in Nazaré
We did catch a few medium-sized ones
Hi friends!
Normally this newsletter is partially about the adulting side of international expat living, however this week we got to enjoy the fruits of our adulting labor. Well, okay… there was adulting too, but that’s for another newsletter.
What did we get up to this week?
Chasing giants in Nazaré
Getting back to fostering
Let’s paddle out to it…
Finding the big waves…
A visit to Nazaré to see the legendary big waves has been on our list for a long time.
I’ve been fascinated with it since seeing photos on the internet of these freakishly big waves in some unknown spot in Portugal. More recently, we watched the 100 Foot Wave documentary on HBO and it officially made our short list of Portugal destinations.
Timing is everything with Nazaré. There’s a unique deep-water canyon that runs right up close to shore. A perfect combination of a big storm in the Atlantic paired with waves coming in from just the right direction can result in surfable waves up to 100’ and taller. But you only know a few days in advance when it will blow up.
At other times the swells are much smaller or come in cross-wise with waves hitting the beach from another direction, making it totally un-surfable (read: deadly).
Last week, Hilary got wind that some big waves were on the horizon. Our surf-report apps indicated they’d hit from Tuesday to Wednesday afternoon. So we rolled into town on Tuesday about an hour before sunset and drove straight to the lighthouse to catch the show.
The landscape here is stunning. There’s a rocky point topped by a lighthouse, and the big waves come in from slightly southwest across the point to the northeast, releasing their fury on Praia do Norte.
This week’s swells were only about 30-35 feet tall. However, there were also 20-25 foot waves coming from NW, so it was a complete mess, surfing-wise. Nobody was out.
Also, the wind was howling out of the NW strong enough to almost blow us off the ridge road leading down to the lighthouse. Along with this wind came intermittent rain and hail squalls that snuck up and drenched us every time we walked out to the point over the course of the next day and a half.
That said, we were completely awestruck to be in the presence of such power. The huge waves crashing into each other. The wind blowing so hard it was whistling through the walls of the fort. The sneaky squalls… It was simply inhospitable, and we were on the safety of land.
We viewed the big waves from just about every vantage point we could find, from the lighthouse to various points along the hillside to the beach itself. It’s impossible to capture the scale of these huge hills of water unless a surfer is actually on the wave. You can get perspective when watching live, but photos don’t do them justice.
The lighthouse has a great exhibition explaining why the waves get so big and showcasing surfboards from many of the legendary big wave riders who have championed Nazaré. This includes the Guinness-record-holding boards from Maya Gabeira and Sebastian Studtner.
The town itself is very quiet in winter (when there isn’t a major surf competition), however, we can tell it gets packed in the summer. There aren’t big waves in the summer, so the main beach in town is totally accessible to everyone for sun and fun.
We will make the trip back if/when we hear that a surf comp is actually on, and likely will visit in summer when we can enjoy the water ourselves.
Hilary’s back in the fostering game
From 2019-2022, Hilary worked with the Pixie Project in Portland actively fostering kittens, mostly those who needed extra care (mom and new kittens, ringworm kittens, etc).
Since moving here, she has been searching for opportunities to volunteer and found a shelter out in Maia (about 40 mins on the Metro) where she helps out every Monday, cleaning cages and playing with the littles. She also brought her camera down to do some glamour shots to support the adoption site.
One kitten in particular is almost feral and was having a tough time in the shelter. Hilary stepped up and volunteered to bring her to our place and try to socialize her, so she’d have a better chance of adoption.
Banguela is currently living in our guest bathroom and Hilary is working tirelessly to try and habituate her… It’s a labor of love and I know she’s so happy to be back making a difference in the lives of local kittens again. There’s plenty of hissing, but there are daily breakthroughs as well.
Also, it’s great to have someone else for her to manage in this household.
How is January treating you? What big plans do you have for this year? Would love to hear from you.
This week’s music is Otis McDonald (h/t to Won for cluing me into this producer)- he’s been incredibly prolific these past few years and just dropped a new funk album.
Until next time…
—Don
Were there any Bonzers is the surfboard hall? I think there are quite a few of them in Portugal.