Wednesday 27 September

 Another lovely sunny start to the morning as we breakfast outside under the pine trees. We are soon peddling off to Stintio with its stunning views of Nazaré and the beach. There are ladies dressed in traditional Portuguese costumes selling trinkets in the square. The local church contains a statue of Mary apparently made by Joseph himself in Nazareth (hence the name of the main town). 

We visit the lighthouse which is above the spot where 30m waves can occur and which are surfed in the winter by big wave riders. There is an exhibition of surf boards with photographs of the surfers. The Nazaré canyon is responsible for these giant waves. 

We cycle down and into the main town and book a place for lunch in the backstreets. It turns out to be a great choice. A big queue forms which we can circumvent. Authentic Portuguese fish restaurant. I have prawns, calamari and sausage on a dangling skewer whilst C  has shellfish risotto though it’s more like a stew. Both delicious with a bottle of rosé. Melon to finish with. 

Then back to the beach. At low tide we are even allowed by the lifeguards to get thigh deep in the water. Must be the first beach we’ve even to where most of the time you are not even allowed to walk close to the sea!