Nazaré beach. Known to many in the world as one of the best beach locations in Europe. Here, the water's colors are alive in unimaginable blues and greens.
This is how I feel when I go to the beach to chill...
Nazaré is built upon this hill with the mesmerizing beach view.
It is located a bit north from the Lisbon district, in the area of Leiria. A few weekends ago (yes this post is SUPAH late) I visited my godmother and her family in Marinha Grande.
Her name is Lurdes and her husband is Rui. They have a son named Rodrigo (pics bellow)
My godmother is my second mother. At the mere age of months I began spending time with her. She would either take care of me when mom had meetings, but often it would simply spend time over her house to be with her and play with the goats, chickens, or go on playing trips to the farm lands. It was wonderful to be able to spend time with her after so long. She immediately recognized me when I stepped off the bus. People who know you well usually know you for your walk and your smile.
This is probably the best picture I "didn't take" on this blog. I was so focused on the big things around me; the beautiful beach and the mesmerizing chapel grabbed my camera sight quickly. Without realizing, until today, I took the picture that I had been longing to take for a long time.
This picture captures the life of a Nazaré saleswoman who sits by her stand with a wooden stick to chase away the pigeons.
In life it is important to pay attention to your surroundings, because the treasures of this world sit in plain view. I ask of you one thing: for a moment, imagine a life all unlike your own. Are you sitting by a peanut stand under a palm tree in one of the most beautiful and quaint beach towns in the world?
Even pictures taken from a car can capture life. Check out these few next ones.
The different shades of blue are the real colors of the water on that moment. Varying with the angle of the sun, and the distance from the camera, the water colors were immense in their beauty.
I wish I had feathers to ruffle...
Hey there I am. One of the few pictures I let someone else take of me.
There is a tradition in Nazaré that in time of festivities (it used to be everyday) the women wear not one, not two, but seven different skirts. This tradition is shown here through the famous Nazaré dolls.
In this area of the country, the sea breeze carries sand for miles into the coast. King D. Dinis decided to grow a pine tree forest in order to prevent the sand from reaching the people's homes. Pine trees have long roots which permits them to live in a sandy soil, while obtaining water and nutrients from the deeps of the earth.
It is also tradition to capture the trees' resin, much like in Maine, I believe that it is the same concept. We don't usually put in on pancakes though because here we don't really eat pancakes.
Here is Rodrigo. I promised a few pictures of him. He had a camping trip that weekend and was unable to come with us to Nazaré. I'm sure he had a lot of fun in 90-100 degree summer weather though.
I remember him as a baby as I put him to sleep with a lullaby.
He is a smart, attentive, polite young man. Oh and he is extremely active with music, scouts, and futebol. He shows all the right "roundness" all those American schools are looking for.
A child, among many, wrote: "For me, a treasure is: Love, Friendship, Caring, and Sharing. <3"
Mother and son.
We climbed a few (many) steps to a chapel on a hill. Beautiful view of the place that they were camping in.
The whole family.
Creating new memories from the old times.
I had brought my guitar with me because I knew that he was learning how to play. I did not know you could make that much music (noise) with an untuned guitar. I showed him what we call "a tuner". He was mesmerized by the always changing, impossible to get right, lights of the tuner as he moved the guitar pegs.
I think that one day, he will become a great artist.
In closure.
Rodrigo had a song memorized from his scouts trips. With a few tries we performed and recorded the song together. "Give more" is the title. It sings: "Give a bit more than what you have. Take a little less than what you leave behind."
Please click on the link to access the soundcloud file.
