'Nazare for tourists, not surfers: plenty on offer, but watch out for the crowds.'

Monster of the approaching wave plover on Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal was captured from the top of the 340-foot-high lighthouse on November 3, 2023. Visiting Nazaré is an attraction not only for surfers, although it is an added incentive to visit. Located on the Portuguese coast near Lisbon, the town of about 15,000 people has grown from a simple fishing community to a tourist destination.

Records and famous surfers

• In 2011, American surfer Garrett McNamara conquered 78-foot surf and set a world record at the time. The photo of him on a giant wave looks amazing, almost fantastical. It went viral and attracted a lot of attention. 'the attention of serious surfers and just curious people, indicating that Nazare is a special place for Mother Nature's powerful manifestations.

Last week I recounted my own immersion into the world of Nazare - on the back of a jet ski driven by McNamara himself. Having managed to write that article and enjoyed some free time, I decided to play tourist and hang out on Nazare's famous north coast, Praia do Norte, to watch the big waves rather than dive into them.

Legendary surfers

• My companions were two of the world's best surfers, Justine Dupont, 32, and Fred David, 38. The pair are permanent residents of Nazareth, having moved there from France in 2016. Dupont is in the sixth''month pregnant and expecting her first child, a boy.

If you're a surfer, the name Dupont is already familiar to you. She's considered the best female big wave surfer, has won several world championships and was featured in the popular HBO documentary series "The 100 Foot Wave." When she competes against men, she is not given any advantages, but she often outruns them and wins. David is a World Telesurfing Champion and the one who drags Dupont on her biggest waves during the competition.

Visiting Praia do Norte

After a relaxed lunch on Nazare's south beach, which is more for swimming than surfing, a couple suggested I drive up to the top of the cliffs on the north side by car,''surfers

The original plan was for David to take me on a jet ski to watch the huge waves raging that day. However, strong winds that could have knocked the jet ski over prevented this from happening. The harbor was closed to anyone who was going to be out on the water, including surfers, although the waves were not able to be subdued either. When I saw those giant waves crashing on the rocks and cliffs, I was amazed. A week earlier I had been in the midst of 60-foot waves with no wind, but now, watching this crazy show from the outside, it was something else. I could even feel the incoming wind gusts in excess of 65 mph and had a hard time staying on my feet, even hiding my glasses in my jacket pocket so I wouldn't lose them. The decision not to go out that day became''obvious.

The waves were at least 75 feet.

The impact of tourism on Nazareth

The rise in real estate prices over the past decade is affecting locals and surf fans alike. Rental homeowners are feeling the squeeze, but they're also getting rich if they already own property. Fortunately, Dupont and David bought their properties before the real estate boom began.

As far as pure surfing is concerned, now adventurers from different parts of the world, who pay huge sums of money just to ride one big wave, do''accompanying photo and then go home and brag about it, come to Nazare. Unfortunately, this is part of the current trend of tourists paying to 'experience' an adventure.

The example of people who pay guides $100,000 each to climb mountains, including Mount Everest. Or wealthy tourists making convenient jaunts to suborbital spaceships for a couple minutes and getting paid a six-figure sum for a minute in space and then thinking they're astronauts when they return. Or the boom in visiting the Titanic, where adventurers can dive in a submersible for $250,000, visit the famous wreck and then call themselves explorers. (After the OceanGate submersible exploded, the resulting''which killed all five people on board, including the billionaire, this activity has been discontinued).

What was once exotic and demanding has now become a playground for thrill-seekers, many of them rich, and now, unfortunately, Nazare is beginning to feel this growth.

What can be done? In reality, nothing. This boom is good for business. For Dupont and David, they will continue to surf Nazare's giant waves just for fun. It's still possible to ride the great waves here, although it's made more difficult by the new, often obnoxious rich surfers who have filled the waves. The couple also regularly travel to other places where there are fewer surfers. Fortunately, such places are still''exist.

I walked away from the Nazare Lighthouse the day I saw the power of nature in all its glory, amazed. Who can blame the crowds for mass visits to the show? It's just a shame that these visits also affect surfers who surf out of passion, not for fleeting fame.