April 30, 2022
April 30, 2022 - Leiria to Nazaré
Hills to beach views
Hotel: Nazaré Sweet Dreams
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WHEN I went downstairs for breakfast I chatted with the woman for a few moments. She said they have been running their hotel for thirty years and it is their life - and they love it. However, sadly, at this point, their kids do not want to take over. Not sure who will as it is fairly large so would cost quite a bit.
Another delicious breakfast with fresh breads plus she zipped into the back and pulled out some mini nata tarts for me! Enough people kept showing up in the room and I could hear mostly french so I was wondering if they were a French tour group.
Most of my things were ready to go, so once I went up to the room, I was down in no time to pack up the bike right there in the lobby. The woman wished me well and I was away, back across the little bridge past the park and climbing right away.
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I did not want a direct route to Nazare since it was only about 30 km away, so I kind of meandered a bit with the idea of getting back to the coast. I meandered so much that I ended up heading back along the same highway on which I had come to Leiria, but as luck would have it, when I saw that this was the case, when I looked on my GPS, there was my plotted out route which would bring me back to EV1.
I was along the N242-2 which wound its way through towns and villages then eventually back to the dunes until I reached the actual EV1 route which followed the coastal highway. This time, though, rather than through treeless dunes, there were stands of pines and eucalyptus and apparently numerous invasive acacias.
I think because it was the weekend, there were many more people (locals) out jogging and cycling along the dedicated bike/hike route. There were more towns along the route now, too, so that made for better accessibility for people. I came to a spot where there was a 'miradouro' or lookout point, and wow, what a view. Down below in the distance was a huge beach with great big cliffs and rocks along the shore with the waves crashing up onto the sand. Absolutely beautiful.
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As I approached Nazare, I could see a few buildings as well as a water tower. Signposts indicated I had arrived to town so I kind of followed them and my GPS which led me to the big church on top of the cliff that looked down to the main Nazare beach with a drop that was hundreds of feet down. I actually laughed out loud when I saw the view because it was so spectacular. It was so high above the beach thet people below looked like dots on the sand.
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Because my GPS had led me to this area I was afraid that my guesthouse would be up here. As I kept moving along, my route turned suddenly to the right then curved down, turn after turn, until I was way below the cliff-top and now into the lower town. This was good, becaue with such a huge beach I wanted to go exploring it at least a wee bit.
The streets here were really narrow and mostly pedestrian only, so my route really twisted itself to get to my guesthouse. At one point it said that I was arriving to it on the right but did not see it and kept going. A few metres later I realized the GPS meant my 'other' right... that is, my left.
This place is nicely done up with a little wine store attached to it at the side. They invited me in and to put my bike right in by the breakfast tables, and that they would move it into the locked wine store at night. Whew! They asked if I wanted anything from the bowl of fruit so I happily took a nice bright orange that I will have as a snack later.
My room is fairly small but quite nice, though oddly, it has twin-sized bunk beds, which I find a bit odd. Again, it is so nicely done that this is not a problem... but just odd.
I wasn't sure if I was hungry or not, but when I started looking up restaurants and found that Restuarante Gil Vicente was only a few metres away and that people had raved about their salmon, I zipped over fearing it might get busy around 2 pm. It was almost empty but quickly got busy once I was there. The place was simple but very cozy and the owner was really nice and really wanted to please. I ended up having the salmon with potatoes and a mixed salad, along with a Sumol, and must say it was the best meal I have yet had on this trip. Those were the type of comments I read online about the place, too. When I told the guy how much I loved the meal, he just beamed.
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I knew the beach was close but hadn't realized I would be there in about one minute but sure enough, there it was. There were people milling about at the junk shops, tour buses slowly easing past, people driving by on scooters, motorcyles and cars. All of these people along the walkway and the restaurants overlooking the monstrous beach, but very few people actually on the beach. There were a number but with such a huge expanse of sand, it looked empty.
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I walked out onto the sand and headed toward the water but stopped short of the actual wet sand edge in case the waves came up to me. I didn't think there was much of an issue but kept back to keep my shoes from getting wet. Then I noticed a Civil Protection vehicle on the beach. Ok.
As I stood and watched the almost calm water, suddenly a wave of two to three metres came crashing up the beach such that I had to bolt away from it to prevent getting soaked. A British couple who were standing with their feet in the water got soaked, and really they are lucky they didn't stumble and get pulled in. There was a couple on towels well up from the water and as it turns out, he is from here, though he lived in Vancouver for thirty years and has come back home in retirement. I started chatting with him and he said that this is how this cove is. All is quiet and calm, then suddenly a great big wave stands up and tried to get you. That's why the Civil Protection guys were there. Any time people were wading too close to the water, they would get out to whistle them back in and away from the water. It is dangerous. Of course the beach adjacent to this one is where I remember seeing photographs of the 32 m wave that some crazy person surfed a few years ago.
It seemed to be roughly, roughly, nap time. I walked back across the sand, then would my way back to the guesthouse. I'll head out a little later to explore further down the beach.
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1 year ago
Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 308 km (191 miles)
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1 year ago