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Food Shopping in Nazare, Portugal

We found ourselves heading for Nazare in Portugal after leaving Lisbon.  We picked it out on the map simply for the do-able distance in the car, knowing absolutely nothing about it, and only staying for one night.  It just seemed to make sense, but I really wish we had stayed there instead of heading to our next stop,  which was just short of staying at the Hotel in the Shining.

We emerged from our hotel to see many ladies, dressed, as we later learned, in traditional attire.  We just thought it was a little retro.    We walked out in the general direction people were heading and found, to our delight, the Municipal Market, which was in full swing. 

This, this was a true market.  Locals selling, locals buying.    Vegetables,  breads, cheeses and smoked meat were in abundance.  Baked goods, which are our weakness, abounded, and a couple of trays of delights came home with us, along with some cheeses, and the local specialty, dried sardines.  The lady we bought them from took over from her mother, who dried the sardines on the beach, as is still the process.   

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A beveridge at the little café, with a few pastel de nata (of course, couldn’t go a day without loading up on those beauties).    We called in at the local bbq chicken kitchen, and picked up a proper Portuguese Chicken with the peri-peri and side order of olives for our dinner.   

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So it turns out that the local ladies’ attire consisted of 7 petticoats, one for each day, and also for warmth given that they often worked on the beach processing the catch…they wear an apron over the skirt which is embroidered with colourful designs.  They mostly wore long socks which could be a tad chilly on the knees IMHO.  A knitted cape-like shawl and headscarf completed the ensemble.   It was truly charming and I would love to go back there.