Finsatsea: May 9 - Lisbon, Portugal

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A couple of follow up photos from yesterday are in order. As we sailed away from Portimão we saw docked near us this French man-o-war with cannon out. On the shore it looked like they were getting ready for some French festival. I can tell you the rehearsing in the afternoon was trés loud.

Captain Steve kept the French pirates at bay allday !

Coastline at Portimão

Our port today was Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. This city is high on our list of favorites and one which we could see visiting for several days. It is the westernmost capital city of continental Europe and the only one on the Atlantic. It lies at the confluence of the Atlantic and Tagus River. The city itself has around 550,000 residents, but the metropolitan area has more than 2 million population. It also happens to be one of the oldest in western Europe predating London and Rome. Like the rest of the Iberian Peninsula it has been under control of various ruling countries and groups. Julius Caesar founded a municipality here. Later came various Germanic tribes, Moors, Spaniards, Portuguese kings and even for a period of time the French under Napoleon. Following what is known as the Carnation Revolution in April 1974 it is the capital of the Third Portuguese Republic.

We have been here several times before so we decided to arrange through a tour company we’ve used in the past for a car and driver to take us to some favorite spots. Adrian picked us up and we set out first for Sintra, a lovely place in the mountains west of Lisbon. Sintra was the summer home of the monarchs in the 19^th century and there are beautiful palaces of both them and wealthy Portuguese and Brazilians who made their fortunes in coffee in Brazil, which was of course Portugal’s largest colony at one time. We had been to the palaces on past visits, but we(I should say I) wanted to go to a special store we had been to before. The place was still there and my mission was accomplished.

Al at the pastry stand

We’ve been incredibly lucky with weather on this voyage. The day was overcast and as we drove to Sintra it was misting, but when we got out to walk around it had stopped. Later in the day the sun came out and it was delightful.

Our next stop was to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of continental Europe. There is a lighthouse which is the first one ships see as they are heading eastward. The cape is on a dramatic cliff with huge waves crashing at the foot. It was very windy but we had to walk to the edge and take a few pictures. It was also pretty cold.

The kighthouse

We asked Adrian if he knew a good place the three of us could have lunch. He recommended a seafood restaurant in Cascais, one of several resorts cities on the coast west of Lisbon. So off we went to Baía do Peixe , a very nice place overlooking the little boat harbor. The place was full and as nearly as I could tell we were the only non-Portuguese there. The food was delicious and plentiful! The wine was pretty good too.

After lunch we drove along the coast through Cascais and its neighbor Estoril. The towns along there comprise what is known as the Portuguese Riviera. Many celebrities and members of the old nobility have villas along the coast and there are lots of nightspots and a large casino. Here’s an interesting tidbit about Estoril. During WWII Portugal was a neutral country. (They managed to do that by playing to both sides.) Portugal, and Estoril in particular was the center of espionage for both sides. In Estoril German spies occupied one hotel and Allied spies another. That way everyone knew who was who. Ian Fleming, he of James Bond fame, was stationed there for a while and from some of his experiences James Bond was born.

Our last stop was another favorite, the Café Pastéis de Belém. I’ve written about this place after previous trips to Lisbon but just to recap, they make the absolute best little pastries I’ve ever tasted. They are a puff pastry with a custard in the center. They’re served warm with cinnamon and powdered sugar to sprinkle on. The line outside the place for takeaway was enormous. Adrian dropped us off and told us to go inside and sit at a table because it would be much better. We took his advice, found a table right away and ordered our Pasteis. To tell you how popular these things are let me give you some numbers. On an average day they make (by hand) 15,000 of these pastries. On busy days they make more than 50,000! We ate our two and bought three packages of 6 to go. One package we gave to Adrian to enjoy with his family tonight and two packs we brought to give to our cabin stewardess Fernanda who is Brazilian and knows about them.

Al at the Café de Pasteis da Belem

Finally Adrian took us on a short drive through old town Lisbon. Once again we saw the narrow twisting streets. What’s different about Lisbon is that many of the buildings are decorated with beautiful ceramic tiles and many of the streets have streetcar tracks running through them because there is a large streetcar system for public transportation. One of the highlights of the little tour was visiting the Plaza de Luis de Camões , who is known as the Portuguese Shakespeare. He lived in the 16^th century and is considered to be Portugal’s greatest poet. Among other things he sailed with some of the country’s earliest explorers and kept a journal of his travels. Now his square is a meeting point for young people to start their nights on the town.

Beautiful Lisbon vista

Maybe a little hard to see but after the great 1755 earthquake and tsunami the king invited italian architects to come and rebuild . This building reminds me of Venice.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Adrian and prepare for sailaway. Leaving Lisbon is a beautiful sight. As the ship departs it sails under the April 25 Bridge (commemorating the Carnation Revolution). The bridge is very much like the Golden Gate Bridge except that it has a lower deck for trains. One the opposite bank of the Tagus perched above the bridge is the statue Christ the King, which is very much like the Christ the Redeemer overlooking Rio da Janeiro. After passing them you pass the monument to Henry the Navigator and the other Portuguese explorers and then finally the beautiful Belem tower.