Nazaré is a small friendly village, on the Atlantic coast of Portugal. As you approach the road leading to Nazaré you start to take a peak into the village, the ocean and the lighthouse. This is where your heart starts to beat stronger on those big surf days when you try to get a glimpse of the conditions, the environment, the lines on the Ocean and the wind. You start walking down to the lighthouse and approach the ocean, the rumble of the sea is like a storm. You can feel the ground shaking beneath when the big waves rumble and then you look and there is this gap between the wave breaks and the sound comes out rumbling.
This for me is the highest feeling. I feel the rawness. There are waves, the power and greatness of their force. There are humans, screaming or raising their arms on the bigger sets breaking. Most people here are surf experts or waves experts but you can’t see their faces or their eyes when they are near the lighthouse for the first time, as those water mountains approach.
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A visual essay by Bruno Aleixo
Words. Bruno Aleixo
Photography. Bruno Aleixo