Afternoon at the beach of Figueira da Foz

Yesterday I took an hour and went to the beach in the afternoon. The summer end is fast approaching and so I try to enjoy the last warm days every minute I can. With the start of school next 13th September, most families with children are no longer at the beach. The background noise is different. The light is different. Now everything is more quiet and slow at Figueira da Foz beach. In photo number four you can see a lifeguard talking to some boy surfers about the sea conditions. Lifeguards dress in red and yellow. In photo number five there's a man dressed in white with a container. He sells bolacha Americana, literally, it means American wafer(or cookie?!). It's thin and crispy like the one in the photo below. (That last photo isn't mine because I always eat the waffle before I remember to click the machine...!) These men walk the beach all day long selling bolacha Americana and some are witty and say funny things to catch people's attention and often they make people laugh. Paulo, a 50-year-old man, is the most famous. I can't offer you the recipe of bolacha Americana because it is a well-kept secret! Some prefer to sell Bolas de Berlim - a traditional round cake from Portugal, similar to Berliner in Germany and Sonho in Brazil. Another variation served in the UK is Custard Donut. Ice-creams are also sold by these men and the most famous Portuguese brand is OLÁ. After 15th September fewer people will show up at the beach. These men disappear and the fishermen will take their place on the sand staring at the sea for hours while they wait for the fish to bite! Then I will say goodbye to the sea too, I'll wash my beach towel and bikini for the last time and prepare to feel miserable. This will happen around the last week of September! This weekend we can expect rain but next Wednesday the sun will, fortunately, shine again!