Nazare - New Year

We have decided to spend the New Year in Nazare, largely because of the huge free festival on the beach that is held there each year. This consists of two big stages with music and DJs, lots of bars and hoards of people of all ages partying well into the early hours, with a spectacular firework display at the stroke of midnight.

 We arrived at the campsite on the 30th, which gave us plenty of time to find our way around the place and to decide if it was going to be easy to find our way back in the dark on New Year's Day. The Orbitur campsite was really only about a 15 minute walk from the beach on a well lit road so it was all looking good. 

New Year's Eve itself involved a walk to the beach early evening to watch the sun set on 2013, before heading back to the van for a bite to eat and a few glasses of Vinho Verde Branco, and then popping back into town for the festivities. All I can say is, if you are ever in Portugal at New Year, is to get yourself to Nazare. The beach, which is huge by the way, was full of people dancing, drinking and celebrating, and the atmosphere was electric, from what we can piece together anyway!

New Year's Day, after hooking up the van to the campsite electrics to recharge a few things, we wandered back into town for a meal out as a bit of a treat. I opted once again for the francesina, the weirdly amazing sandwich I had tried once before in Porto. This was the steak, chorizo, cheese, and something else I couldn't quite identify, in a sandwich covered in a spicy sauce, with chips and a fried egg. Although it is very nice, it does generally result in chest pains for an hour or so after eating it, worth trying once, but that's where you should call it a day on reflection.

Next on the schedule is Lisbon with a quick stop off in Sintra en route...