Trip to Boa Nova - Leça da Palmeira | Portugal

Today I return to the route along the Portuguese coast in the municipality of Matosinhos towards Leça da Palmeira.
Leaving behind the nauseating smell of the ETAR that infests the Aterro beach, I head towards Leça da Palmeira, but before arriving at the main avenue, I park the vehicle, prepare the camera and enter the first walkway next to the Blue beach "Praia Azul" and in front of the Boa Nova stream "Ribeira da Boa Nova" that meets the sea there.

Azul beach is located in a small cove, with a small sandy of about 50 meters long and surrounded by immense rock formations that extend over land to the sea and that shelter it from the wind and break the rough sea.
I am not the only one that during the lunch hour takes the opportunity to charge energy by the sea, so and I find myself accompanied by several people who are divided between different tasks, some run, others walk along the different passages, some simply sit on a rock contemplate the ocean and others take the opportunity to climb to the small viewpoint that is next to the Chapel of Boa Nova.

This chapel was part of a hermitage founded by Frasciscans in the 14th century and throughout its history it has gained a very strong connection with the population of Leça da Palmeira, especially fishermen, as it was the place where many of the popular festivals in the region were celebrated.

From the top of the viewpoint it is possible to see everything that surrounds us, what was left behind, what lies ahead with a summary of the main avenue and the extensive beach cut down by the harsh winter under a light fog that conveys an aspect of destruction .

On the right side a relentless rock formation that on January 16, 1913 stopped the British boat Veronese, which transporting 221 passengers towards America, ended up being pushed to the Portuguese coast by violent weather conditions.
Unfortunately not all people survived and shortly after the shipwreck, an evocative plaque was placed on the rocks and remains today as a memory of this tragedy.

On the left side, the famous Boa Nova Tea house "Casa do Chá da Boa Nova", built on rocks just 2 meters from the water, was one of the first works to be designed by the architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, being one of the most wanted places by architecture lovers, lovers of a good meal and, above all, by those who like to contemplate the sea.

When we think of Leça da Palmeira, sea come into our minds, beach, sun and land, but more than that it is also a land of leisure, culture, art, heritage and traditions, and when we talk about culture, being in Leça da Palmeira it is impossible not to talk about António Nobre.
The poet was born and lived in Porto, but his childhood and adolescence were spent between Leça da Palmeira and Foz do Douro.
It was in Leça that, most likely, he met his first loves and lived his novels, and it was for this land that he ended up falling in love and for that, he pays tribute to Leça in his work.
Today it is the turn of Leça da Palmeira to pay homage to him through the sculptural ensemble located in the area surrounding the Boa Nova Lighthouse. The sculptures, representing the poet and his inspiring muses, are from 1974, by the sculptor Barata Feyo.

Still there in that area, the ruins of the old and abandoned Leça da Palmeira mill!
To date, no one has yet found a solution to these ruins and there are even those who have already commented that it is fortunate to still be there, as it is most certain that there is no real interest in preserving this historic heritage and it is more economical and convenient to erase its history. .
I assume this outcome considering that there was a proposal made by the person responsible for the environment, which included maintaining the stone walls and covering them with an iron and glass structure, so as not to interfere with the surrounding landscape and convert the ruins at a tourist office… but still nothing!

A few more records of the marginal road ahead and Boa nova lighthouse, but I will leave that for the next post.
I remember that I intend to register the entire coast of the municipality of Matosinhos during my lunch hour, and who knows, maybe extend the registration to other municipalities… :)

That´s all for today :)

See you soon

Thank you for watching :)

All photos presented in this article are my own

@aleister

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