Sitio and the Waves , March 12, 2023

 Woke up to a sunny morning so we decided to go for a bit of a hike after breakfast.  Nazare stretches all along the beach until it meets the 110 meter high cliffs on its north side.  At the top of these cliffs sits the old town of Sitio (See-tee-oo).   It used to be a separate village and its people did not fish they farmed but in 1912 it became part of Nazare.  You can get to the top of the cliffs by taking the funicular but we chose to take the trail that zig-zags its way up to the top.  On the way up the views of Nazare and its beach are spectacular.  Once at the top there are even more amazing views from several viewpoints at the edge of the cliffs.  From the cliff viewpoints its about a 10 minute walk to the end of the road and the Farol Lighthouse where you can see panoramic views of Nazare beach as well as North beach.  North beach is where surfers are towed by seadoos to surf the largest waves in the world.  The current record is surfing a 30 meter (100ft) wave and it happened here.  Today, the waves were nowhere near that size but there were surfers being towed out to the waves that look quite impressive to us. After spending several hours watching the surfers and the waves we headed back down to Nazare and spent a quiet evening at home watching Netflix.     

            Stopped to have our picture taken a a viewpoint that is not quite at the top of the cliffs

We headed into the main square of Sitio where the imposing Church of Our Lady of Nazare built in the 16th century dominates.  
The unbelievable view of Nazare and its the golden beach from one of the edge of the cliff lookouts

The Lighthouse jutting out at the end of the road still protects sailors from the treacherous rocks but is also a surfing museum and viewing platform to watch the surfers and the waves.

 The breathtaking North Beach where all the surfing action takes place.  The noise of the crashing waves overwhelms your senses.   

For 2 Euros you can visit the Lighthouse museum and walk around to take in the views.  Well worth the cost of admission.
                                    Looking at the Cliffs and Nazare beach from the Lighthouse.   






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