I remember when I first heard about Setúbal. Way back in 2017, in a cheap and pretty rough hostel in Madrid, I was chatting with my roommates. We talked about Portugal and my plans to travel there, and one of them said, “It’s my favorite place, you have to go there.” 

It took another five years until I consciously spent my first days in Setúbal. In 2022, I rented a small place there to join a four-day online coaching course—one of those that gives you the idea of restarting your life… haha… but I’m digressing.  

Since 2022, I’ve been visiting Setúbal regularly.

It’s a city of about 50,000 inhabitants, 50 km south of Lisbon. A picturesque little old town, a harbor city, and—compared to Lisbon—pretty calm. You can take endless walks along the harbor, especially on those February and March days when spring is trying to break through the rain. It’s quiet.

It’s the ideal place for a Sunday afternoon trip. It turned out to be my place of longing. 

No surf? Nothing else to do? You go for a walk in Setúbal, see what new exhibition they have at Casa da Cultura, grab a nice coffee on Avenida Luísa Todi. And I just have my old Fujica camera with the 50mm lens, ready in case I see something I want to capture on film.  

And then you head to the port again. Or you walk along the promenade, passing by the statue of the Homem do Mar and the Memorial a José Afonso, which overlays the view of the calm sea in an interesting way.

Or another day, you stop directly at the café Rockalot Praia. One fresh Imperial (a small Portuguese beer) is just right. 

And there are people—walking, sitting and reading, just enjoying themselves.

The fishermen getting their catch. Others repairing their boats. And the quiet of the sea again.

The ships moving slowly in the distance.

A photographic contemplation in black and white.