Nazare and Alcobaca

After returning to Nazare we had a hard time finding a restaurant that was open.
Practically all restaurants and other businesses were closed because of it being 8
September, the feast day of Our Lady of Nazare. The open restaurant we finally found
was the only one during our Portugal visit with which we were not completely pleased,
mainly because of flies. We had not noticed flies anywhere else.

Nazare and Alcobaca
7 and 8 September 2009

After an early breakfast at "Residencia Coimbra" we checked out of the hotel, walked a
block or two to hail a taxi to take us and our bags to the "Rodoviario" (inter-city bus
terminal) for our 8:30am bus to Nazare. (pronounced with an accent on the "e")

We arrived in Nazare about 10:30am. Nazare is a former fishing village which evolved into
a beach resort popular mainly with Portuguese tourists; in other words, Nazare is to central
Portugal what the Long Island beaches and the Jersey Shore are to the New York
metropolitan area. Below are photos of Nazare's beach.

From the Nazare bus station we walked about 200 yards (180 mtrs.) to Avenida de la
Republica. We turned right and walked along the restaurants and small shops; on the other
side of the street is the beach.

Walking down the street, every minute or two we passed one or two elderly women sitting in
their chair at the curb with a multi-lingual sign reading "Rooms for rent." While Virginia
waited with our bags at a restaurant I approached one of these women who led me to her
home about half a block from the beach. I followed her up three flights of stairs and she
showed me a room with private balcony overlooking the pedestrian street. Attached was a
clean private bath; the balcony offered a view of the beach and sea. We quickly agreed on a
price of 30 Euros (US$45) per night. I went back to the restaurant to retrieve Virginia
and our luggage and we walked back to Rua da Graca 15, where our hostess (Maria Ivone
Maranhao Estrelinha) and her husband met us at the door and helped us get settled. A
wonderful experience!

We strolled around the town and beach, had lunch, visited the government tourist office,
and were ready for a siesta.

Our visit to Nazare coincided with the feast of Our Lady of Nazarene, the town's patron
saint, celebrating a legendary miracle. The story is that the local lord was hunting on
horseback chasing a stag which accidentally ran over the edge of a high cliff; the lord and
his horse came at full speed to the edge of the cliff. The Virgin of Nazarene suddenly
appeared and saved the lord from going over the edge Thus every 8 September became the
day to celebrate Our Lady of Nazare's miracle.

Nazare is the beach town. On a high plateau next to Nazare, surrounded by cliffs, is the
older community of Sitio, That evening there was a special service in Our Lady of Nazare
Church (Nossa Senhora da Nazare) in Sitio, followed by a candlelight procession We took
the funicular up to Sitio, enjoyed great views during the sunset, bought candles, attended
the church service, and participated in the candlelight procession. As in Fatima, we were
impressed by the earnest religious faith and devotion of the people around us.

The following morning we went by bus to Alcobaca, (pronounced "Alcobasa" with an
accented third silable) about ten miles (15km) inland from Nazare. In Alcobaca the huge
Monastery of Santa Maria was built about the year 1200 and still in very good condition.
This large architectural complex includes Portugal's largest church as well as cloisters,
royal tombs, an enormous kitchen, dining halls, dormitories, etc.,

In the afternoon we took the funicular up to Sitio and walked to the Parque Atlantico,
where the feast day was being celebrated by a good-sized crowd. A large temporary
stage had been set up in the park for highly amplified live music shows. There also were
typical carnival booths offering games of chance, souvenirs, etc.

Up the street a couple of blocks to the right of this picture is the bus station. At the corner are three
seated women with rooms for rent. Along the left side of the avenue is the beach. Along the right side of
the avenue are restaurants and small shops.

Never before had we seen anything like Nazare's garbage system. Household and street garbage is tossed into a large
well-like hole lined with an enormous plastic bag. The garbage pickup truck has a crane to haul up the large garbage-laden
bag and loads it onto the truck. Then the crane is used to place an empty bag as a liner into the big hole. Amazing!

When traveling we love to visit supermarkets and public markets. Below are some views of
Nazare's public market.