The weather seems to be the biggest catalyst for getting us out and exploring the surrounding area at the moment. We were going to head off to the river beach again, but at the last minute fancied a trip to the seaside instead. Seize the day!
There are several resorts near to us, the closest and quickest (30 min by car) is Nazerè, which is a bit of a surfers paradise, but not what we had in mind. A further ten minutes to the south is São Martinho do Porto, which used to be a sheltered fishing village, but is fast becoming a real tourist destination. It is slowly becoming more commercialized and can quickly become busy and difficult to find parking if the weather is nice and it is the holiday season, as it is at the moment, but… risk it for a biscuit!
We set off fairly early though, and on the way there had an idea to go round the bay to Salir do Porto. We had been there before for a nice lunch, but I had recently read about the ruin of the chapel (capela de Santa Ana), which overlooks the entrance to the sheltered bay of São Martinho do Porto. It had recently been renovated and restored using traditional materials and techniques thanks to EU funding. So one of the goals was going to be to check that out.
Às stated we arrived fairly early (before 10am is early for us now), and so parking was easy and free. We parked right opposite the public pool and cafe, which was perfect. Once out of the car, we had a quick look around at the beach and surroundings. the river Tornada enters the bay here and is shallow and great for kids and families, with a bridge provided for access over to the main beach area. We then had a torrada and coffee at the cafe and decided to do the walk to the chapel first before lunch.
We set off and took the turning in Salir do Porto signposted to the miradouro (viewpoint). At the top of the road we took the track headed for the chapel instead of the steep path to the viewpoint. That was way too much “Up” for that time of the day! We also veered off the track to the chapel to walk along the coast path for the amazing views of the deep blue Atlantic Ocean. They seemed to be trails for mountain bikers more than walkers, but pretty easy going until we got to the headland parallel to the chapel which was a steep climb up sand dunes, a real lung buster!
We made our way down to the small cove nonetheless and Netty took the opportunity to dip her toes in the cool Atlantic waters. (Actually it wasn’t that cold). We then backtracked and headed back up the hill to rejoin the track to the chapel. All along this headland there are hundreds of reed windmills of various shapes and sizes that give off a strange sound in the summer breeze. It looks na sounds amazing.
The restoration of the chapel is really very good and is of high quality. It also has amazing views over the coast and inlet to the bay. The porch area was a blissful place with its shade and cooling breeze. It was unfortunately locked but we had a peek through the windows and managed to snap a picture. Money well spent!
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It was then time to head for the beach and some lunch. We stuck to the main track this time, and only veered of when we reached the track leading down to the public pool. As we turned the corner and the pool came into view it looked so inviting we decided to check out the times and prices. The entrance was 7€, but only 5€ after three, which suited us, as we wanted to chilling the beach for a while and have our previously packed lunch. We also packed the beach chairs and blanket, but lacked a sun shade and I had forgot my hat. (I am still paying for that at the moment!, Netty had cut my hair the day before, so I had little protection – ouch – lesson learned).
Hav ing said that it was still very relaxing, and enjoyable watching the families play on the giant sand dune. many racing, surfing or tumbling down from the top. Also notable was how many French speaking people were there. You will usually here a few English accents but there were many French around there and São Martinho later that evening too.
After our lunch we then headed off to the pool which was absolutely fantastic. Loads of sun loungers, a cafe and the water was just the right temperature too. The pool is so refreshing in the sun it was obligatory to have a couple of dips in between reading our kindles. (Netty did have a bit of a moment as a couple walked through the changing room while she was changing…probably French!).
We spent quite a while in the pool, but it was starting to get busier, so we decided to head over to São Martinho. It was quite a shock coming out of the pool to see how many cars had arrived and we’re looking for parking. It obviously get busier in the late afternoons after they finish work?
We drove around to São Martinho and managed to get some parking at a bombeiros run site which was only 2.5€ and set off along the seafront. It was very busy, with lots of people on the beach but still socially distanced as much as we could see. We finally got to a restaurant to have our dinner and to be honest we weren’t overly impressed, but it’s a seaside resort and “it is what it is!”. A final walk around the backstreets, we made our way slowly back to the car and headed home.
A nice day at the beach!
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Our Portuguese Life 