nazar for unusually long stretches of the yearits so consistent said david langer an american surfer who moved here in 2013 its literally 10 times more active than any other bigwave placesome bigwave surfers have yet to be convinced the biggest waves here are so tall that its hard to tackle them without being towed toward them by a jet ski purists would rather paddle into the waves unassisted mr bonython saidand then theres the risk all big waves are dangerous but nazar is particularly unpredictableits unlike any other wave at bigwave spots said andrew cotton who broke his back at nazar last year at other big wave sites he said the waves break in the same place and theres always a safe zone and an impact zone he said whereas nazar is just all over the placeimagecreditana brigida for the new york timesthe town has now become so used to the presence of surfers and the business they bring that even the local fishermen who sometimes jostle for space in the water with surfers are generally welcomingsurfers have a different relationship with the sea said joao carlines a retired fisherman who now dries fish on the beach for a living but im happy the towns become known for surfing because it means we have people coming here in the winterbut there are tensions the number of outsiders buying property in nazare is still relatively low but property prices and rental rates are rising as they are in the rest of the countrythat bodes well for one generation of propertyowning nazarenes but some fear that the next generation will eventually have to move from the town center to find affordable housingthe bad part said mr peixe the surf school director is that were probably going to lose the idea that were a traditional village