We made a quick trip to Nazaré, Portugal. If you have not heard of it, Nazaré holds the record for the largest wave surfed. The best part of Nazaré is the vantage point for viewing the surf. At the lighthouse you can feel the spray from the waves!
The day we went, there was a decent size swell on. It was a bit over 4 meters at 13 seconds. Nazaré canyon brings the deep water swell right up to shore, amplifying the wave size. The waves were predicted to be ~25 feet high. (The record wave surfed is over 100 feet!).
No one was in in the water so there is no size reference for the waves we saw. They were big in my book. I would love to see it in the 100 foot range. If you have the opportunity to see one of these days it should top your list! (If you are thinking about it, there is a website focused on the wave and has a sign up for big wave notifications: nazarewaves.com).
I’m not sure they do it justice, but here are some pictures from the day we were there:
On the bluff leading to the lighthouse there is a small square with some cafés, touristy things to buy, and an impressive church.
The town of Nazaré is at the base of the hill to the south. There is a nice beach with volley ball nets, lots of cafés, tourist shops, etc. We drove down, but noticed that there is a tram that runs up the hill. When return we plan to take the tram (on the left in the panorama image).
This last picture is from town and puts the size of the waves in perspective (the lighthouse on top of the bluff looks small). There is a little over 1 km between the wave (lighthouse) and the beach.
