Exploring the beach on the northern side

 We had been up to Sitio several times whilst living on the boat but we had generally only walked around the main square , down to the lighthouse and down to the north beach.  The marked routes in this part of Portugal, unlike those in the Algarve, are often neglected and sometimes the markings have completely worn away leaving the walker at an interchange with no idea which direction to take so it always advisable to have google maps or a walking ap with you. Ordinance survey maps are hard to find and often out of date. 

We had on one occasion attempted to follow the route marked track up from north beach to the town. The track appeared to run out at the foot of the steep cliff, However, after some searching we found what appeared to be the track. It was one of the scariest climbs I have ever attempted. It involved scrambling up a steep muddy cliffside and by the time it became it apparent that the cliff had suffered a landslide and the track had gone, it would have been more dangerous to go back than it was to continue. We continued slowly, at times through dense bamboo, and eventually, to my immense relief, we arrived at the top. This time we knew better than to follow that route home.

To the north of Sitio there are miles of beach, much of it virtually empty apart from the beach casting fishermen. 

There are also pine forests stretching hundreds of miles to the north. These have been called "the lungs of Europe" so extensive are they. We often walk through the forest and return along the beach, returning the forest tracks at times if walking on sand becomes too tiring after a particularly long trek.

On one of our walks we found a clutch of gooseneck barnacles attached to a beached plastic buoy.

Apparently, cooked in water with a little white wine, they are regarded as a great delicacy by the Portuguese and are quite expensive. I can't say the hold much appeal for me. Apparently they are found on the coasts of Spain and Portugal where the surf pounds the beach so this area would certainly be considered a good location.

Further along this stretch of beach there is a valley, which, unfortunately has no paths for access but which is bordered by interesting rock formations.

This must have been a day for beach finds as when we were returning along the beach we came across what can only have only been the skull of a dolphin.

On both north and south sides of the beach we often see wigwam like constructions made from tree branches. We have yet to discover what they are.

Towards the south end of north beach, close to the spot where we completed our hairy cliff climb, the beach changes character giving us beautiful rock formations. We often see other walkers here along with surfers and wet bikers as it is here that we get the big waves when the swell rolls in..

From here it is a relatively short walk back to the apartment through dunes and scrubland where the aloe vera is now in full bloom.

Up the hill in comfort

 So here we are in Sitio. The photo shows  the area on the left on top of the hill looking from the port. The track of the furnicular railway is just visible on the left,

This is an old area which still has remains of the original city wall. There are lots of cobbled streets, little squares and narrow roads, The main square has some attractive old buildings, including a convent, and it gets crowded with tourists in the summer and with surfers in the winter apparently but covid has put paid to the crowds and surfing is not allowed under current restrictions.

There are great views over the town, the harbour and the beaches to the south.

Our apartment is in a modern building just under one of the remaining arches in the old wall behind the bullring. The bullring is still used in covid free times and is fairly popular, though the Portuguese never kill the bulls. 

The apartment itself is also modern. It has two bedrooms but in these times we will clearly not be hosting any visitors. We are enjoying being here in the warm as the weather gets colder (falling to 1 or 2 degrees at night now, though often clear and sunny by day). Bathing and showering without having a 10 minute walk to the shower block is a great bonus as is excellent WiFi and Scruffbag is enjoying watching Netflix and cooking in a proper kitchen. We have two small balconies with a view of the Atlantic too. There is a small  fish market and a small vegetable market nearby and the bakery and the butchers are minutes away as is the launderette, which, though we have a washing machine, can be useful for drying sheets etc. if  we have a few wet days. Our Portuguese is likely to improve since English is not spoken anywhere near as much as it is in the lower part of town.

 We look forward to getting out and about and exploring the northern side of Nazare on our walks and cycle rides,

Odds and ends before we leave for the apartment

   Because of poor internet connection in the boatyard I delayed writing this blog until some time after the events. There are a few things I thought were worth recording before they disappeared into the mists of my memory and before I go back to keeping an up to date blog from the apartment (which has great WiFi). So, in no particular order ....

Strange footwear:

On one of our walks on the ridge directly above the town we passed an area where there were a few large houses clearly set here to enjoy the amazing views of the town and the coastline, as well as some upmarket apartments, some holiday complexes and a couple of hotels. There was also a fair bit of building work going on and the roads and infrastructure being created. We spotted some men working on the electricity supply system and were intrigued by their method of ascending the poles. Never seen anything like this before.

 Missing prints:

Over the ridge and down into the next valley behind the port is one of our favourite walks. We  had heard that there was a cliff which had dinosaur footprints at its base. This was listed in old guidebooks and we had seen some rather run down signs to a "geological site"  on earlier walks so we decided to explore. 

As usual, the walk was very enjoyable and we duly arrived at the cliff, which was well signposted albeit with somewhat faded wooden signs. The cliff was sheer and fairly dramatic and we searched high and low without seeing anything we would call a footprint. Ah well.

When we got back we did what, with hindsight, we should have done at the site ......... google imaged the said footprints, The answer was, they look like cracks in the rock. Perhaps with these images to hand we might have found them. Perhaps we will go back in the future better prepared.

One thing we do know is that future will not be until spring. Our last walk in that valley was a few weeks ago, Mud, Mud and even more mud was the order of the day. There had been lots of rain in the previous weeks and our ascent of the first ridge was muddy in a few places but the descent into the next valley and the subsequent climb back were churned up by vehicles, slippery, slow, dirty and would probably have ended in a mud bath had we not had our sticks with us

The short walk:

When the weather looks dodgy or if we want to while away an hour or so, we often walk arund the port and the dunes and beach beyond. We call it the short walk,

Along the harbour, past the (now) regrettably named yacht

Past the houses that were built as holiday homes for workers from other ports to use, sadly now abandoned and shabby but which once must have provided an excellent resource.

Along the breakwater and back watching the fishermen

Checking out the distant waves

Along the beach and up the river to check out the sea birds.

And back to the boatyard

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And finally to pack our belongings ready to move up the hill to the apartment in Sitio.

A trip to San Marinho by car and a bit of cycling

We bought our bikes from OLX, which is a website in Portugal where second hand goods are sold. The buyer was advertising one bike but on exchange of e mails he said that he could sell us two.  We  bought them both, once again something we achieved more easily  with Dody's help. Once bought, we needed to find a cycle shop for a pump and a puncture repair kit as well as something to cover them with to protect them from the rain. Dody to the rescue again.

She drove us to Familicao, a nearby small town and we soon had all we needed. Then she had a treat in store for us. We have not been travelling far afield due to Covid and our reluctance to use public transport so when she suggested a drive to Sao Marinho we were really pleased. This was a lovely little town surrounding a sheltered bay, very picturesque. Firstly we went to a viewpoint where, despite the lack of bright sunshine, we saw the amazing coloured cliffs and fantastic views of the coastline

After this we drove into town and up to the lighthouse for even better views,

Back in town again we went through a tunnel (something we would never have found on our own) to look out on the other side of the bay.

Even if we had stumbled across it by chance we  now know that we would have been drenched had Dody not told us to run when a wave crashed in and ran down the tunnel. When the swell really gets up one could have a great game of beat the wave.

After a light lunch overlooking the bay it was time to return on the coat road with stops every now and again to appreciate the views.

So now, having bought he bikes, it was time to try them out We had a few short rides into town and then took them for free up the furnacular railway from whence we rode along some woodland tracks above north beach,

We had explored these tracks on a couple of walks and had discovered a strange stone structure which appeared to go down like a well deep into the ground.

 

 We had no idea what this was and , despite showing the photos to various Portuguese friends we are still none the wiser.

Later in the ride we left the tracks and discovered the cycle path that runs right alongside the coast road. 

As it was getting late by then we decided to revisit this cycle path after our move to our winter quarters in Sitio at the end of December. This was to be our last cycling adventure for a few weeks, although we did go for a spin along the farm roads in the nearby valley. Apparently the only cars that are allowed to use them are farm vehicles so they are very quiet and very safe for cyclists, which really suits us. We were surprised at the numbers and varieties of apples grown locally and as for cabbages ,,,,,,,,,,,

I think we may need to wrap up more warmly by the time we take the bikes for their next spin.