Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: surfing

At 36 degrees latitude Tarifa is the southernmost point of Continental Europe, facing Morocco on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar, that is only about 14km wide here Tarifa got its present name after the attack of Tarif ibn Malik in 710, a Berber military commander. The town got fortified starting from the 10th century on but was conquered by the troops of Sancho IV of Castile during the Reconquista in 1292. During the Napoleonic Peninsular War Tarifa was besieged by French troops in 1810 and again in 1811. In both cases the town was defended by British troops from Gibraltar as the Spanish and British were allies against the French. As the region of Tarifa has strong winds throughout the year, the town is known as a very popular destination for wind- and kite surfers.

Nazaré is a popular seaside resorts in the Costa de Prata. The town consists of three neighbourhoods: Praia (seen here, along the beach), Sítio and Pederneira two old villages on top of a cliff. Praia and Sítio are linked by the Nazaré Funicular. The earliest settlement was in Sítio, above the beach. This provided the inhabitants with refuge against raids by Viking and, later pirates, that lasted until as late as the beginning of the 19th century. Only in the 19th century, with the end of piracy, it was possible to start occupying the Praia which is today considered the town center. According to the Legend of Nazaré, the town derives its name from a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, brought from Nazareth, Holy Land, to a monastery Mérida, Spain, by a monk in the 4th century. The statue was brought to its current location in 711 by another monk, Romano, accompanied by Roderic, the last Visigoth king of Portugal. After their arrival at the seaside they decided to become hermits. Romano lived and died in a small natural grotto, on top of a cliff . After his death the king buried him in the grotto. Roderic left the statue of the Black Madonna in the grotto on an altar. Nazaré is world-famous among big wave surfers, because between November and February the waves can be huge. But when we were here, the season was obviously already over. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mT0DzAY7dQ