Mature Flâneur

The Stormy Winter Beaches of Portugal’s First Seaside Resort

Cascais has a warm spot in our hearts

Monument to the wives and families of Cascais’ Fishermen. (The building with the black spire by the shore was the summer retreat of the Portuguese king). All photos by Tim Ward (except as noted).

The rain came in hard waves, driven from a black sky. Teresa (my beloved spouse) and I were grateful to be ensconced in our hotel, observing the storm through our balcony windows. We watched the wind thrash the palm trees along the beach promenade, whipping tall stalks back and forth, bending the wildly flapping fronds, but not breaking them. Clearly these trees, like the town of Cascais itself, have weathered many storms.

In front of our hotel, right at the edge of the beach, a dark statue of a woman leans forward into the gale, one hand raised above her brow (see photo above). She represents a fisherman’s wife, looking for her husband’s boat, lost in the storm – a poignant symbol of the fate of many fishermen and their families from ages past. And also their resilience.

One of several Cascais beaches

Cascais is a small seaside town several miles up the coast from Lisbon. A fishing village from time immemorial, it became the very first beach resort in all of Portugal.