Nazaré

I visited Nazaré for the first time in 1997. Luisa and I had planned to go to the Berlenga Islands but it was too foggy to make the trip. So, we quickly changed our plans and headed up the coast. I kept a very detailed journal of the trip that included myths and legends related to the places we visited and every thing we had to eat. It says a lot, then, that I wrote only the following about Nazaré:

We went on to Nazaré which was very touristy. The parts we saw were downright ugly...except, of course, the view from the beach.

We returned to Nazaré in 1999 on our way to Luisa's father's home in the north of Portugal and things went a bit better that time around:

We stopped at Nazaré for lunch at Adego Oceano - a seaside restaurant. I liked Nazaré much more this time. It wasn't crowded and it was much cleaner. Those darn tourists do make a mess of things. I had what must have been an entire school or herd or whatever of squid for lunch. I think I ate five. Luis, Luisa and Fernanda all had swordfish. Everything was good. After lunch, we drove to the high point of the town and looked at the ocean. To say it was beautiful is simply an understatement.  

I will never forget standing above Nazaré that day, awkwardly posing for photographs with my in-laws. I will not forget the awe-inspiring view either...the blue sky and water stretched out before us.

Last week, I was listening to Dido's newest album, Safe Trip Home, and decided to check out her website. There, I read that Dido had commissioned 11 short films from directors around the world to accompany the 11 tracks on the albums. The 7 completed films are posted here and, much to my surprise, one of them was shot in Nazaré, Portugal. I was so moved that I have no words...watch it yourself.

The film was directed by a young filmmaker, Christiana Miranda. Mosey on over to Dido's site and read an interview with the filmmaker here. She's only 25 but I am not going to hold that against her.