Rock, Surf and Sintra

Normally the drive to Nazare from Porto would take about two hours. But Terri decided that she wanted to see the town of Monsanto located inland from Porto. Monsanto is unique in that the town buildings, castle and homes are all built in and around huge boulders. It is off of the usual tourist paths and in a rural setting. We travelled through thousands of acres of grapes, corn and olive groves to get there. Terri has really taken to the notion that in retirement: We don’t know where we are or where we are going but we have all day to get there, so we’re good!

Some of my best ideas turn out to be my worst! In deciding on places to stop and stay, I had zeroed in on Nazare for two nights as it has some of the biggest surfable waves in the world. And as long as we are staying in Nazare, let’s stay close to the waves! I found an Airbnb with great reviews and pictures and it’s managed by a professional big wave surfer, David. We always review our upcoming accommodations before heading to them – just to verify that we have all of the logistics figured out, but “poof” David’s listing was no longer on the website….hmmm-Clue 1. We arrived in Nazare after our 6 hour drive from Porto, via Monsanto, and messaged David that we were in town. He wanted to meet us at a local park since the surf accommodations were a “little tough” to find the first time, Clue 2. After bottoming out the rental car a couple of times on the dirt road to our accommodations, we arrived to find a largely overgrown and not yet ready-to-occupy surf shack. Clue 3. One of the things that Terri and I have figured out when traveling is: the best thing to bring with you is a positive attitude. To give David time to finish the preparations of the our home, (for the next two nights), we decided to go and check out the beach of Nazare. The first night was rough; no hot water, no stove, no kettle or coffee maker and a lousy bed. By the time we got up the next morning, (the morning of our 35th wedding anniversary), Terri had already decided that one night was enough., she hadn’t slept much and fortunately the Internet was working. I told the apologetic David that we were moving on. He was gracious and understood and refunded our money for both nights even without asking.

I needed to redeem myself for my somewhat poor decision and find a nice place to stay for our 35th wedding anniversary. It was time to crack open the IPad and pull-out the credit card!

Terri found the town of Sintra and I found the Palace Marmoris: Mission accomplished. The town is mountainous and heavily forested; it has castles, palaces and taverns aplenty. Truly a beautiful place that we would likely have not found if it were not for my excellent choice in surf accommodations.

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The iconic Nazare light and fresnel often seen in big wave videos