Big Waves in Nazaré - 17. November

The morning greets us sunny and unexpectedly mild, wonderful! We have a leisurely breakfast and then pack everything up again. It's Sunday and surprisingly the weather forecast predicts rain for the rest of the day! So we could go to the museum again. I had read about Coimbra, a historic university city. Here is the Joanina Library, one of the most spectacular libraries in the world. We reach the historic university district around noon, and this is also the origin of many student traditions, including the black robes! The district is really beautiful, everything very old and with great historical architecture. We buy tickets and have to wait twenty more minutes before we can go in. This always happens in groups and at specific times. There are also rules about how long one can stay in the rooms. The university itself dates back to the 16th century, and the library was built in the 18th century. Quite old...! Punctually at 12:15 pm, we are allowed in with a small group and enter a first room, which is also part of the library. Here we are allowed to take a few photos, but unfortunately it is forbidden in the main hall... too bad! After 10 minutes, as I said, everything here is timed, we are allowed into the actual library and we are speechless. What ceiling paintings, what bookshelves, what plaster elements, what grand architecture... amazing! I can't get enough and what a dream it would be to sit here all alone and take a book from the shelf and flip through it! Most of the books are over 400 years old! As I said, taking photos is unfortunately forbidden, but it's worth looking at a few pictures on the internet, even though it's not the same as seeing it live and in color.

At night, certain helpers come to protect the books from moth infestation, bats! They have been living in the old walls for years and dutifully go about their work every night, amazing!

I briefly consider whether we could surreptitiously be locked in, but... no chance, they are watching here!

After about twenty minutes, we have to go out again... in the rain...!!!

We stroll around the campus for a bit and would like to visit the technical university museum, it's included in the ticket price. However, it only opens again at 2 pm! Plenty of time for the botanical garden. Just as we enter, the rain gets stronger and we two clever ones don't have a rain jacket, no rain cape, and no umbrella... not good...! We take a short walk around and head back to the bus for now. We are completely soaked, our pants are wet, I can wring out the hood of my sweater, our jackets are dripping... we've never been so wet on the entire tour. We take refuge in the bus, which immediately fogs up since the humidity has increased from 0 to 500 within seconds.

So here we are, sitting on our seats like idiots and waiting for better weather and the opening of the museum. Since we are both hungry and don't want to sit dumb in the bus, we decide to grab something to eat. I change my sweater and jacket, Jörni stays in his wetsuit and this time we go with an umbrella.

Just around the corner there is a fantastic brunch place and we indulge! Afterwards, off to the museum!

The way back to the bus is dry and since the dog needs to go in front of the bus again, we decide to take another walk through the botanical garden, now that it's dry! Just as we enter, it starts pouring so much that we manage to get completely soaked again, despite the umbrella. Soaking wet twice in 3 hours, good average! Back in the bus, the fans are turned on to the max to be able to see anything through the windows! Who claimed that Portugal urgently needed water again...? They have plenty of it...! They have so much moisture here that the plaster is falling off the ceilings in every sanitation building on the campsites!!!

We continue on our way, our next destination is Nazaré! The conditions here are supposed to be very good in three days to see the big fat waves. We've been waiting for that for a long time! It can rain too, I don't care! In the semi-darkness, we reach a nice spot about 3 km outside Nazaré. In summer, the pine forest here is certainly packed, but now there are about 5 campers on average!

Before we make ourselves comfortable in front of the bus, we change socks and shoes, they are also wet...! Then we chat a bit and off to bed!

After a relaxing night, something unusual greets us in the morning, it's called sun! Wonderful! However, it doesn't reach our pitch due to the surrounding pine trees. But when the neighbors of the corner pitch start getting their motorhome ready and drive their Lotus onto the trailer and connect it, we take the opportunity and move to the sunny spot... without Lotus...! We take advantage of the afternoon sun to read a bit before we set off with the dog. The sun is still shining and we walk through kilometers of pine forests to Praia de Norte, Nazaré's famous beach... the one with the giant waves, but they're not here yet!

After a good three hours of walking, we're back at the base, tired but absolutely content. It would be great if the weather would continue like this, even though it gets quite cold in the evenings. We cook some pasta, have dinner, and go to bed early!

The sunny weather didn't last so long, the next morning it's cloudy and quite chilly. It's so cold that I can't feel my toes properly anymore, despite my mom's woolen socks. We take out the heater from the trunk and have a sauna, nice! The feet come back to life and the wet bus finally has the chance to dry. Jörni takes a nap while I use the time to fill in the blog. Afterwards, Jörni takes a walk with the dog through the forest while I'm still typing, sorting photos, and uploading all the stuff!

At around 3:30 pm, we set off again. We want to go to the lighthouse at Praia de Norte. On the one hand to check the location for the next day, where can we park and where are the best spots for the best photos, on the other hand we want to go into the lighthouse, there is a small museum about big waves and big wave surfing. So we're ready for the big wendsday and the giant waves!

Back at the pitch it's already dark and we decide to go to a restaurant for dinner. They have an excellent three-course menu including a drink (either cola or a glass of wine) for an incredible 9.50€ per person! Perfect!

We chat a bit with the chef and tell him that we are really excited about the huge waves. He says that 15 years ago, no one was interested in Nazaré, even though the waves were always there. But since the big wave surfers discovered the waves, there's a lot going on here. They are happy about the tourism. In the past, 20 surfing hours here cost 50 euros, now it's 250 euros. However, we still get some great city tips for our further journey for free and also thank them for the great food! Then it's early to bed, the alarm is set for 6:30 am, because the biggest waves are supposed to be in the early morning until noon! Rain is actually forecasted, and I really hope that it will be dry at least in the morning so I can take some really good photos.

The next morning it's dry and after a quick coffee, we set off right away. We find a free parking space just around the corner, even though it's already quite crowded, as we are not the only ones who know that it's going to be big today. And then... it starts! But so much...! If you haven't seen it with your own eyes, you can't really believe it! Amazing! What a natural spectacle! What a roar in the ears when the tons of water collapse in on each other! And suddenly the sun comes out and I'm so excited that I almost wet my pants... perfect photo conditions! The big wave surfers are already in the water and are being towed by jet skis from right to left until they find a suitable wave.

And then they race down the wall at a speed of about 80 km/h... Respect!!! ...or crazy! Today some waves are about 15m high! The spray is so strong that at times everything is in fog and masses of salt are washed ashore, I've never seen anything like it. We spend the whole morning watching this spectacle live, it gets more and more crowded, masses of visitors pass by us, and we are very glad that we came here so early! I got some great photos, which makes me very happy, but seeing it live is priceless! I am very grateful to see this and to be able to make this journey at all!

Completely stoked, we go shopping and then head back! We make a coffee, have a sandwich, and take a break after all the excitement. Then I have to look at the photos on the computer and see if I got any good shots...! Meanwhile, Jörni takes a walk with the dog...!

In the evening, we review everything again and go to bed early after all the excitement!

Nazaré, it was a blast! We would love to come back again, especially in autumn/winter, because that's when the big waves come!

PS: I hope I was able to convince you with the photos, Frau Battenstein, and thank you very much for your greetings! It made me very happy! ...even though none of this is officially approved for the "executive floor" ;)