Riding, Art, and Surfing in Portugal
My title, I admit, is a little misleading. I did not surf, and I didn’t even try.
Riding, art and surfing in Portugal.
However, Nazaré Portugal is famous for having some of the biggest waves in the world. These behemoth waves occur in the winter primarily, and can be 40 meters high.
Marc and his 21 year old nephew, Tom,decided to give it a go. I was there to record the event. As it was mid-July, they only had to contend with waves that were, at the most, 2 meters.
They hired an instructor, Diogo, from the Zulla Surf School in Nazaré. Both Marc and Tom have surfed before, so it wasn’t long before they were up and running.
Traveling with paint supplies.
I brought along my art supplies. I purchased a couple of meters of canvas in Switzerland from the Boehner art store in Aarau. It is the biggest art supply I have ever seen, and Marc has to drag me away every time we go. So many choices of canvas, paints, brushes – you name it. I cut the canvas into pieces that I could then roll up and fit in my suitcase. I brought along a French easel, and printed a safety data sheet to include for TSA. Oil paints are vegetable oil based, so they don’t pose a risk for being flammable. Some TSA personnel are not aware of that, so if you don’t want your paints to get tossed, I suggest you be sure to include one of those data sheets.
We had selected an apartment to rent, that had a good spot to work, and that had plenty of light.
I then had to address the problem on how to hold the un-stretched canvas flat on my easel. Marc came up with the idea to take down one of the kitchen cabinet doors and put it on the easel. I then used metal clips to attach the canvas to the cabinet doors. It worked like a charm! The cabinet doors were modern ones that came off and went back on easily, otherwise I would have considered another option.
I created two Europe-inspired paintings during the two weeks we were here. One of a couple of Alpine Ibexes, the other of a Tuscan landscape.
Horseback Riding
Another goal I had while I was here was to improve my riding. For those of you who don’t know, I am also a dressage rider and competitor, and have my own horse back in Florida.
On a trip to Brazil a few years ago I met Antonio Vicente, from Lisbon, Portugal. He put me in touch with Vasco Mira Godinho, a member if the Portuguese Equestrian Team.
Vasco Godinho trained with the infamous Pedro Torres for 6 years. He competes not only in dressage but working equitation. Vasco represented his country at Tryon in 2018.
Vasco graciously agreed to give me some lessons on a couple of his fantastic horses. I managed to get 14 lessons during my stay. Marc drove me an hour each way to Vasco’s stable in Tomar, and took video and photos for me. It was a fantastic experience. I was able to really work on upper level dressage movements, and my progress was evident in the videos. Vasco pushed me without being mean, and I recommend him highly.
Our Culinary Experience in Portugal
To say that the food here is unique is an understatement. The people here have developed a love of dried codfish called “bacalao”, and serve it all kinds of ways. They make something reminiscent of conch fritters with it, and also grill it ( after reconstituting it with water), make stews out of it, bake it with olive oil and garlic, and on and on. I was in Portugal in 2010, and after trying it 3 times, 3 different ways, it was a definite “no”.
However, Vasco unintentionally tricked us into eating bacalao one day only telling us it was codfish. I have to say it wasn’t bad. Like a lot of things, I think bacalao is an acquired taste. I even bought a “bacalao fritter” at a market one day, and l thought it was good. I had to pull one bone out of it, but otherwise it wasn’t unpleasant.
The butcher’s shops and fish counters are a real horror show! They have a different way of butchering their animals, and many cuts of meat are difficult for an American to identify. I saw a skinned rabbit that looked a lot like a cat, but they had left the head (and the eyeballs) intact, so as to be sure that no one would be confused, I assume. I saw some small plucked birds that I assumed were quail, but then one day I saw a woman fetch a pigeon off the street that had just been shot, so I am not so sure.
The seafood area in the indoor market had an amazing variety of seafood. Huge octopus, squid, skates, a variety of fish I have never seen, prawns, several kinds of shellfish, were on display. A sturdy looking woman was flaying away at a skate, and we had to avoid the splashing blood as we walked by. There were some big black eels maybe 2 feet long, and some fish that looked like they came from the deep sea, with sharp teeth and giant shining eyes.
I think my best meal came from Restaurant Antonio Padeiro in Alcobaça. I ordered a traditional dish, chicken in a clay pot, and it was delicious. It came in a clay pot with a handle,
We visited some museums in Nazaré and some surrounding towns, and their historical sites.
Nazaré, naturally, has a museum dedicated to surfing – the Forte de San Miguel Arcanjo. It is located on a natural outcropping of cliffs with a lighthouse. I witnessed a wetsuit that had built in floatation pads that also served as buffers from the battering waves. There were many autographed surfboards, with pictures and biographies of famous surfers that had been there.
We visited the Convento de Cristo in Tomar, which is a convent, now a museum, and is absolutely beautiful. It is very well preserved, and has beautiful views of gardens and a stunning chapel.
We visited Fátima, where Mary(Our Lady of the Rosary) was said to have appeared in 1917. There were hundreds of pilgrims there visiting the huge chapel, which on the outside, reminded me of the Vatican in Rome.
Alcobaça was a beautiful small city with an amazing church, great shopping (a bit more upscale than Nazaré ) and had the best restaurant- Restaurant Antonio Padeiro.
The People
We met a mix of people in Portugal. On the whole, they are wonderfully friendly. Vasco and his wife Carlotta were absolutely charming and sophisticated. We stopped to take photos, and a man approached us with a bag of fresh plums he had just picked. He refused our money, and I was really touched. We met a waiter at dinner one night who shared with us his life story, and again were touched. He had suffered the loss of his 22 year old daughter and had left his life somewhere else to be in Nazaré. He treasured the new friendships he was making now, and made us feel like we were his friends.
Our apartment overlooked a community parking lot, and it was great entertainment to sit on the balcony and watch the drama that unfolded daily below us. From territory disputes of parking lot attendants (unofficial) to watching people try to park , there was endless entertainment.
We are off to Switzerland for a week long Sailboat race – Semain de Soirée! See you later!
Love
Martha and Marc
