December 9 - Sweltering Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

We sailed from Willemstad around 10 PM and the town was lit up for Christmas.  My photos didn't come out too well but here are a couple.

After another calm sea day we arrived this morning in Cartagena.  Right now my iPhone is telling me it’s 83° and 79% humidity, but I don’t believe it because it feels like a taste of hell outside.  I’ve been here before, in fact the last time was just over a year ago, so my friend and I decided to take a cab and go into the old city and shop a little.  I’ve copied what I wrote about the history of this place last year mainly to refresh my memory.

The city was founded by the Spanish in 1533 and named after the Spanish city of Cartagena. A little interesting linguistic note is that the original Cartagena in southern Spain was named after Carthage in North Africa because it was founded around 227 BC by a Carthaginian general. The city lies on the Caribbean coast of the South American continent and close to the Isthmus of Panama.  Because of its location it was an important and strategic port for the importation of slaves and the exportation of silver, gold, and other products coming from the New World. The city was sacked and burned several times  by pirates, privateers and enemies of Spain, including Sir Francis Drake.  As a result of the attacks the King of Spain commissioned fortifications to be built and they were finally completed in the 1650’s.  At one time the city was protected by 29 stone forts and walls that were 16 miles long and in places 40 feet high and 50 feet wide. The principal fortress is the Castillo of San Felipe de Barajas which after its completion was the largest one constructed by Spain in the Americas.

This is the Castillo de San Felipe

The fortress system and city have a little interesting historical connection to Virginia.  In 1741 the English under the leadership of Edward Vernon laid siege to Cartagena.  The English had a large armada of ships and more than 25,000 troops, including 2000 American colonial infantry.  Among those was Lawrence Washington, George Washington’s half-brother.  When Lawrence inherited some family property in Virginia along the Potomac he named the house there after his commander, hence the name Mount Vernon.  George kept the name when he inherited the property.  The siege and attack were unsuccessful despite vastly outnumbering the Spanish.  The defender was Don Blas de Lezo whose statue is at the foot of the castle.  He is still considered a hero here.

To go into the city from the port the Colombians have built a little wildlife park attached to the cruise terminal.  The path to go out leads through this place and there are lots of brightly colored parrots and peacocks and other native animals in enclosures.  The birds are free and we wonder if their wings have been clipped or if it’s just that they are very well-fed.  There were lots of watermelons, papayas and mangos around in the various areas.

I couldn't get this peacock to turn so I could fully get his tail, but you can see a little of it.

This and the next two are of a mother and baby anteater.

Our taxicab experience was very strange.  As we exited the terminal area a man approached us wanting to give us a tour.  We told him we weren’t interested and just wanted a taxi to go to the old city to the emerald museum.  He told us it was $50 for a tour and if we just got a taxi it would be $20 each way.  We told him again that was fine; we just wanted a taxi.  He walked with us to where we got in what was supposedly our taxi and he jumped in the front passenger seat.  Okay, that was alright.  When we got into the old town to the museum and got out and paid the taxi driver, he got out too and said the driver would hang around waiting for us.  We told him that was unnecessary and went in the museum.  Of course it had a shop at the end of the tour, but we didn’t see anything of interest so we headed out and walked down some nearby streets where we found another interesting shop and went in.  We were only in there for a few minutes and who appeared but the man from the terminal and taxi.  While we shopped he sat in the store  and appeared to be waiting for us.  We didn’t like that and while we negotiated and then bought something we told the shop ladies we didn’t like him hanging around.  They eventually made him leave the store but I could see him hanging around outside. After we’d made our purchases we decided we didn’t want to wander around anymore with this guy trailing us so the shop people called us a car to take us back to the cruise terminal.  That ride cost us $8 plus a $2 tip.  The man was probably just getting commissions for getting people into inflated taxi rides, but it was a creepy feeling being shadowed, especially when we had no idea we were being followed.  Reading what I’ve written now doesn’t sound so weird, but it really did feel strange.

Some scenes in the old city

Anyway, we got back to the wonderful air-conditioning on the ship.  We had a  salad for lunch and then an afternoon Adult Milk Shake made with Mango sorbet (it was heavenly) and now we’re getting ready to sail.  The Herald, the daily news thing telling us about the day’s events says we’re sailing away from Bermuda;  the Entertainment Manager in charge of printing the thing is slightly confused.  It’s been a good day but the heat and humidity take a lot out of me.  I’m glad tomorrow is a sea day.  Hasta mañana or whenever I write again.

December 7 - Willemstad - 84th anniversary of the date which will live in infamy

This is a hodgepodge of things I’ve written in the last couple of days but didn’t get around to posting.

When there's nothing else to add just upload a sunset picture.

Kralendijk, Bonaire -  Happy St. Nicholas Day (December 6)

I had the best of intentions about writing in the last couple of days when we were at sea, but you know what they say about good intentions.  Anyway, we’re tied up here in Kralendijk (no idea how you say that) and our sister, the Seabourn Ovation is right behind us.  It has been great for the staff because many have friends on both ships and they have been able to visit back and forth.  So have we passengers but I have no idea if anyone I know is there so I haven’t.

It is exceedingly hot and humid here!  I know it’s the Caribbean but I had forgotten how hot it can be and as usual my clothes are not meant for this weather.  I don’t wear loose flowing things at home and that’s what works here.  I went ashore with my friend Colleen and we walked on the main street.  Both of us bought a couple of linen things that might be more comfortable in the days that come.

These are Kralendijk

The three sea days between here and Miami passed as sea days always do.  I played some games and listened to a couple of talks.  One speaker was pretty good; the other was as boring as a rock.  He worked for 8 presidents doing something to do with the Office of Management and Budget and I don’t think he was on the cutting edge of national or international affairs.  I had dinner at his table one night and he wasn’t a scintillating host there either.

Last night I had dinner with the two couples who went on the provision tour and we included the Provision Master Harry and the Executive Housekeeper Alvie.  It was a delightful evening. In fact we didn’t leave the restaurant until just past 11 PM.  The Solis Bar next to the restaurant had closed and the pianist there had ended his gig for the night.  

The passenger mix on this ship is very strange and I can’t say it’s my favorite.  As I think I mentioned there are lots of Belgians, Swiss and Germans.  Some of them speak English with varying levels of proficiency; others don’t.  I understand that they want to socialize with their compatriots but they do it very loudly and in packs.  A couple of times now I’ve been asked to move from where I’m sitting so that one of them can sit with the others in their group.  That would be okay if there was another bar stool nearby, but there hasn’t been, so I thought that was a little rude.  They are getting off in Panama in a few days and I’m looking forward to that.

Today we’re in Willemstad, Curaçao.  Once again it’s a place I’ve been to a couple of times.  There are two megaships here but despite that because it’s Sunday most things are closed. A friend and I had planned to go ashore but two of our other friends, two very nice fellows from New Zealand, told us that most everything except souvenir shops are closed and that it’s even hotter than yesterday in Bonaire.  We decided to stay onboard.

And this is Willemstad

A crazy person was rapeling down from a bridge behind where we're docked.  I don't know why one would do that.

Since I don’t have anything exciting to write about I’ll tell you a little about these two of the ABC islands we’ve been to in the last two days. Bonaire and Curaçao along with Aruba comprise the westernmost of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean. Curaçao is about 40 miles from Venezuela.  (A woman a few days ago told me she was worried that we were so close to Venezuela because Trump might blow us up.  I told her I didn’t think he had any intentions of blowing up a great big white cruise ship and she should calm herself.)  Aruba and Curaçao are self-governing autonomous parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands while Bonaire is a special municipality part of the kingdom.  Despite being part of the EU the official currency is the US dollar.  The official languages are Dutch and English.

The supposed first European to explore the islands was one of Christopher Columbus’ captains in 1499.  By 1527 the Spanish had established control of the islands which they maintained until 1634 when the Netherlands and Spain fought over them and Holland gained control.  Spain briefly took them back but then abandoned them because it decided they were of little value to Spain.  The population of the three islands combined is about 300,000.  The ABC islands gained some importance after oil was discovered in Venezuela in the early part of the 20th century.  Oil refineries were built on them and these played an important role in WWII.  Now tourism is the primary source of income.  

Well, I haven’t got much else to write about at the moment and I really should post this to sort of get caught up.  Sorry if there’s not much exciting going on.  Until next time.

December 2 - Miami

We had two uneventful sea days after our departure from Bermuda.  Our British friends were happy because the sun finally came out and the temperature was warmer.  They love the sun and they were out around the pool in force.  We did the usual sea day things.  We played Name that Tune and lost badly (we need some people younger than 50- 0r maybe 60).  Our trivia team finished ten points behind the winners but we got prizes too. I had some nice dinners with friends, many of whom left today in Miami. It’s always sad to say goodbye, but hopefully we’ll meet again on another cruise.

Yesterday four of my friends and I had a special treat.  We were given a tour by the Provision Master of the ship’s stores, not places you shop but where everything consumed on the ship is kept.  This ship carries a maximum of 600 passengers and a crew of about 350.  The Provision Master is a very engaging half Bosnian, half German man who told us to call him Harry (his name is Har…. something). He’s also quite handsome.  We went down to Deck 3 and were shown around the various storage areas where everything from toilet paper to caviar consumed on the ship are stored.  The last opportunity to resupply was in Lisbon, eleven days before, but the produce including berries and lettuce looked like it left the store today.

Just a few rolls

Some spirits to keep our spirits up

I can’t remember all the statistics he told us but one did stick with me;  between Lisbon and Bermuda we used 27,000 rolls of toilet paper! What does that say about all of us here on the ship?  Seabourn includes all beverages except for some premium wines and liquors.  I’ve heard people complaining that the wines included are “rubbish” as a couple of the Brits here have said. Frankly, I’m not enough of a connoisseur to know; I just know if something tastes good or doesn’t to me.  There was a shortage of a wine I like and I offered to go buy some at a Costco in Miami if the ship would send me since I know they carry it. Harry assured me they would get some.

The Provision Master has a staff of 5 working with him.  He keeps a running inventory and sends orders in daily so that at various ports we can pick up needed goods. The refrigerated rooms are operated at different temperatures depending on the optimum temperature for storing the items.  One room had nothing but ingredients to make ice cream and sorbets.  All of those are made daily on the ship. One funny thing had to do with French fries.  Seabourn has a reputation for having fabulous French fries at its patio.  A while ago posts started appearing on Seabourn forums that they no longer had the delicious coated fries.  Harry explained that they get them from two places – one in the US and one in Europe.  For a time both suppliers were out of them.  When they became available again Harry bought 1000 kilos just to make sure he doesn’t run out.  There was one refrigerated case just for those.

Some citrus fruits

This was the frozen seafood locker

Just a few eggs

Christmas is coming and these are lebkuchen to be used for the gingerbread villages which appear around the ship

These potatoes are for every other potato dish, not for the wonderful fries

Harry and his crew

On the last evening before Miami I went up to the Observation Bar to say goodbye to some friends getting off.  Barry and Merle, the wonderful duo playing up there, played great dance music so some of us decided to dance up there instead of down in the club. I think we all had a lovely time!  

Pearl, one of mt favorite fellow dancers

November 30 - Bye, bye Bermuda! Miami here we come!

I’m out of my funk and feeling back to normal.  We sailed from Bermuda around 1:30 PM yesterday afternoon.  I didn’t go ashore there at all because the weather was never really good and we were a 40-minute bus ride or 20-minute ferry ride from Hamilton.

At lunchtime yesterday we had an ABBA sailaway party around the pool. Several friends and I ordered a couple of pizzas to share for lunch.  That’s one of many nice things about Seabourn – you can order a pizza with the toppings you like (and of course there’s no charge).  Our Cruise Director Ross is an absolute hoot and he was dancing around all over the pool deck and he eventually jumped into the pool fully clothed.  He’s leaving on the next leg and we’re all holding our breath because his replacement is going to be someone from HAL who has never sailed with Seabourn before.

Last night for dinner I went for fried chicken with five other members of my trivia team.  They are all very nice people and they are also very quick-witted so the conversation was very entertaining.  After dinner I went to one of the bars to get my favorite after dinner drink, a luscious concoction of liqueurs, coffee and chocolate.  Sitting next to me was a very interesting British man who retired from their Merchant Marine after spending more than 40 years at sea.  He was a Chief Engineer and his last posting was on the QM2. It was fascinating talking to him because, like most mariners, he began his career literally on banana boats taking bananas and other fruits from the Americas to Europe and the middle East.  I talked to him for so long that I missed going to the club.  The band and the servers down there must wonder if I jumped ship.

I think I should write something about Bermuda and its significance in the western Atlantic. The first settlers to come to Bermuda were actually on their way with people and supplies for the Jamestown Colony.  The flotilla they were sailing in was broken up by a storm and the flagship was driven aground on a reef, which resulted in all the passengers and supplies on that ship surviving.  Word reached those people about the privations occurring in Jamestown and they refused to continue on so they settled Bermuda.  Prior to 1609 Bermuda occupied an important position on the homeward leg of ships coming back from the New World to Europe. French privateers probably used it as a staging place to attack Spanish galleons returning to Spain with all manner of cargoes from its American colonies.  After the British settled the island they used it for the same purpose during their wars.  Shipyards were built on the island to build small, fast sloops with timber brought from the Americas.  I didn’t realize it but by the 17th and 18th centuries many European countries had clear-cut many of their forests and timber from the Americas was one of the most valuable commodities. 

After we gained our independence Bermuda played an important role to guard Britain against its two biggest threats, France during the Napoleonic Wars, and the newly created United States.  During the War of 1812 Bermuda played a significant role.  It was the base of the British fleet that blockaded US ports, and it was a squadron of Bermuda sloops that engaged in the campaign in the Chesapeake Bay which included the burning of Washington.  During the two world wars, Bermuda was used as a staging area for convoys crossing the Atlantic and ships based in Bermuda helped to seek out and destroy German raiders. The US had military installations in Bermuda until about 1995.

Now Bermuda is a self-governing British Overseas Territory with a population of around 64,000.  Its principal industry is tourism and it attracts a lot of wealthy people.  In fact the per capita income because of that is over $110,000.

So there you have more info than you ever wanted to know about Bermuda.

I did do something really interesting yesterday morning.  I was invited to go with a small group to tour the laundry here on the Encore. It’s down on Deck 2 where we passengers never go and where so many people work behind the scenes to make our cruise great. The laundry team consists of 13 crewmen, mainly Filipino, who wash, dry, iron and fold countless linens every day and additionally do the laundry of both staff people and we passengers who send it out to be cleaned.  My laundry comes back to me beautifully pressed and folded within two days of being sent out.  The laundry master Is a very nice man named Felix who has worked for Seabourn for 28 years!  He is here for 9 months at a time.  He and his staff are people who we never see but are such an important part of the cruising experience.  On the last evening of each segment of a cruise there is a Crew Appreciation event around the pool area where these unseen people have an opportunity to come out and be saluted and thanked by us.

Felix the Laundry Master

His team

Just a few sheets

Folding hundreds of napkins every day

Never-ending piles of ironing

That’s all for today.  We have today and one more sea day before we get to Miami on December 2 and many of my shipmates get off.  Tomorrow is our last trivia day with this team and I’m not sure where we stand.  Goodbye for now.

November 28 - Post-Thanksgiving ramblings from Soggy Bermuda.

Written over a couple of days and I don’t feel like revising it.

It’s Thanksgiving; it’s calm and the sun is out.  I’m on a beautiful ship where I’m being taken care of royally. But today I’m in what I call a “blue funk.” I’ve been asking myself “how can this be” and I’ve yet to figure it out.   I’m doing some introspection and if you don’t want to read that, stop now.  

The demographics on this cruise are different from any I’ve been on and perhaps that’s part of it.  I’m not xenophobic but we have large groups from a couple of countries which aren’t English speaking.  When I’ve met and spoken with some of them individually they are very nice.  In a group they take over the bar, the dance floor and anywhere else they are. Last night when I went to the Club one tromped on my foot on the dance floor and another pair doing a wild jive without paying attention to anybody else, bumped into me without even a tacit apology.  I didn’t fall, but that made me mad.

Yesterday (Thanksgiving Eve) I had dinner with some folks I’d met a few days ago and we planned to dine together.  They are all American like me, but during the course of dinner they told me they are embarrassed to be Americans.  One lady said we’re all lazy and obnoxious. She cited as proof of this that other people learn lots of languages and we don't and we're loud.  I asked her how many languages she speaks and she told me one – English.  I wondered if she dislikes herself.  It was a depressing meal.  I know we have rude Americans, but most of the ones I know are not and I think we are the most generous country in the world which has on the whole done lots of good.  Dining with people who felt the way these three did was a definite downer.

I had Thanksgiving dinner with a zany couple of transplanted Aussies who wanted to experience a traditional American Thanksgiving.  They raised my spirits with the fun we had at the table.  We played a game which is too complicated to explain here, but it involved cards, presents and stealing the latter from each other. We did an awful lot of laughing in between eating a really good turkey dinner.  I was happy that the day ended on that note.

Two views of our fun Thanksgiving group

We docked at midday today in Bermuda.  We were supposed to dock in downtown Hamilton, but the winds were too strong to maneuver the narrow channel so here we are at the Royal Dockyard at the tip of the island.  It has been raining off and on, and ashore there’s not much but “trash and trinket” stores as Al used to call them.  So I made an executive decision to stay on the ship.  I don’t want to be drenched looking at magnets and postcards.

Not very sunny Bermuda

We’re here overnight and sail tomorrow at one in the afternoon.  It’s a shame for the crew because on overnight stays many of them are able to go ashore late in the evening after they’ve finished their work. I talked to one of the young ladies who works in Guest Services and she told me she and her friends have found there’s a nearby pub called The Frog and the Onion and they are going to try going there, but they aren’t sure it will be open late.  I wished them luck.

I’ve had a couple of interesting conversations in the last couple of days with people who tried to convince me that the first Thanksgiving was held in Plymouth in 1621.  I’m sticking to my guns though and I’ve told them they are positively wrong – every good Virginian knows the first English Thanksgiving was held on December 4, 1619 (two years before!!!) at Berkeley Plantation. Fortunately that has not been a trivia question because despite the rule that the man with the microphone running the game is always right, I would have to dispute it if credit was given to the Pilgrims.

I guess I’ve rambled enough to let it be known I’m still alive and well.  I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.  No Black Friday shopping here.  Bye for now.

November 26 - Somewhere at Sea

It’s our sixth full day at sea since leaving Lisbon and we have two more days after this one before we reach Bermuda.  Aside from water, water everywhere the only thing I’ve seen was a passing freighter headed toward Europe around lunchtime a couple of days ago. Since there aren’t sights for me to write about so I remember them, I thought I’d write about some of the fascinating people I’ve met.

I’ve written before about how I strike up conversations with everybody I meet. To be honest the most wonderful thing about cruising at this point in my life is meeting new people.  Yesterday at dinner I sat next to an 80-something German lady who came on the cruise alone because at the last minute her equally old husband didn’t feel up to coming. Christina’s English is limited but she could carry on a conversation if we worked at it. As an aside the lady on her other side is the kind of person I hope I never am - she spoke loudly to Christina as if being louder would help her understand the English words better.  Anyway, I learned the lady has been a teacher all her life and she spent 4 years teaching in Afghanistan before the Russians invaded in 1980. I’ve never met a woman who spent that much time there and her stories of her encounters and experiences were spellbinding.

At lunch today I met a retired physicist who worked for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission before he got a position at the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency headquartered in Vienna, Austria. This man was one of the people who went into Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction (they didn’t find any;  perhaps they had been removed to Syria or someplace else) after we got rid of Saddam Hussein.  His agency was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work.  He later was involved in attempting to inspect Iran’s nuclear program which was problematic because Iran put up so many barriers.

Tonight I sat next to a really interesting older gentleman from Birmingham, Alabama.  A couple of nights before I had sat at the bar (no I’m not a wino but if you’re a solo woman and want to meet people you have to sit at the bar) next to his wife.  She is a very nice 80 something lady who must have been a kindergarten teacher because that’s how she talks to everyone, as if we are 5 years old. She had told me that her husband is hard of hearing, so he never said much.  Well, tonight I sat next to him and he had my full attention.  He was an Army doctor who served in an infantry battalion in Vietnam and saw heavy fighting in the field.  He told me some harrowing stories about medevacking wounded  out of the jungle.  He’s written a book and is going to send me a copy when he gets home.

The husband of one of my friends and trivia teammates is married to a retired officer of the Grenadier Guards, the most senior regiment of the British Army. They are the ones who wear those big  black bear fur caps.  They guard the monarch, but they have also fought in both world wars and in Afghanistan and Iraq.  He suffered a stroke and had to retire, but when he walks I can imagine him in his red uniform and big black cap.

Sea days settle into a routine.  Since I stay up late I sleep late and I rarely make it to breakfast.  Believe me, that’s okay because there’s never a shortage of food here.  There’s usually a lecture (they call them conversations now) about something around 10 AM.  Truthfully I don’t usually make it to those because I get up just a little before then.  My excuse is that I can watch them later on the TV in my cabin, and I have done that some afternoons.  We play trivia every day at 11:15.  On this leg the room is packed with 16 teams of 10 people on each.  It’s noisy and chaotic but a lot of fun.  It’s cumulative and I think we’re in the lead or very close to it. There are dance classes and bridge classes.  So far we haven’t had an art instructor on board but perhaps we’ll get one in Miami.  They are fun even for those of us with little talent.

A couple of nights ago, in fact the night I sat next to Christina the German lady I wrote about above, it was formal night and when I sat down at the table hosted by the Cruise Director, one of the ladies was wearing a diamond tiara and I thought “Holy cow, I’m in Downtown Abbey!”  Turns out the lady’s great-grandmother was a Prussian countess and according to my tablemates she gets to use the title so her place card said Countess Blahdy-Blah (I can’t remember what it was). She may be a member of some nobility, but I was told by reliable sources that the first night she got on the ship, she got so smashed she had to be carried to her cabin.  A title and tiara obviously don’t make a lady.

Yesterday at lunch we had what has always been one of my favorite things, the Gally Market Lunch. The galley staff go to great lengths preparing a spectacular buffet with lots of choices and we walk through the galley making our selections.  I usually walk through once taking pictures because the crew has worked so hard. Then I go back through to make my selections. That helps to prevent filling up your plate with a little of this and a little of that and before you know it you’ve got a massive amount of food.

These are scenes from the Galley Market and some of the special people who take care of us and work so hard.

After lunch and getting a manicure in the salon, I went back to my cabin and as I looked outside I saw a rainbow appear.  I had to struggle to get the veranda door open because the wind was blowing so hard, but I did manage to get some of it before it disappeared.  It's always a nice thing to see.

Tonight I needed some “me time,” so I declined the invitations I’d received and dined by myself in the sushi restaurant.  The food was good and very light and just what I needed for a change of pace.  I tried to go dancing afterwards, but we’ve been doing a lot of rocking, rolling and corkscrewing all day and dancing becomes difficult unless you’re a pole dancer. Maybe tomorrow it will calm down a little.  I hope so for the sake of others on the ship.  The motion doesn’t bother me, but there are some people who look a little green around the gills. 

I guess that’s all for now. Happy Thanksgiving Eve! 

November 20 – Lisbon, the beautiful city on the Tagus River

We docked this morning in one of my favorite cities, Lisbon, capital of Portugal.  I’ve been here a number of times and I’m always charmed by it.  To reach the cruise port the ship sails under the impressive 25th of April Bridge, a large suspension bridge which reminds me of the Golden Gate Bridge. On the left bank lies Lisbon and on the hilltop to the right is the Christ the King monument which is reminiscent of the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio.  

The terminal is right in downtown Lisbon so it’s pretty accessible.  Immediately visible is the dome of the National Pantheon which towers over the old district of the Alfama. Also in the distance you can see the Castle of São George.  Many of the buildings are decorated with colorful ceramic tiles which Portugal is famous for producing.  On a visit years ago Al and I went to the national tile museum here and it was fascinating.  Today I had a specific mission in mind.  I wanted to go to the Jerónimos Monastery in the Belém District to take some photos and to go to the one of the most wonderful pastry cafés I know of, the Pastéis de Belém café.

The National Pantheon

Lisbon cityscape

I got off the ship and got myself a taxi to take me to Belém.  The driver didn’t really speak English but he could understand enough of my Spanglish that he understood where I wanted to go but we couldn’t really have a conversation. He must have thought I was okay because as we waited for a traffic light to change he gave me a caramel candy to eat and told me it was “Very good.”  When I arrived at the park across from the monastery it was very crowded.  There was a long line of buses parked and lots of tourists milling about.  I took a walk through the park down toward the waterfront to take a picture of the Monument of the Discoveries. It’s a beautiful monument celebrating the Portuguese Age of Discovery.  I think we often forget that before Columbus there were intrepid Portuguese who discovered the archipelagos of Madeira and Azores and not long after Columbus in 1498 Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama established a sea route around Africa to India.  In fact if I remember correctly at one time the Pope divided the world  between Spain and Portugal, leaving out every other country at the time.  From my vantage point across a very busy street I didn’t get a good picture of the monument but when I looked back at photos from prior visits I found a good one so I’m including it here.  I also realized I was too far away to get to the Belém Tower, a beautiful fortification which was the point of embarkation of Portuguese explorers and serves as the official gateway to Lisbon. The picture here is also one I took as we sailed in one day.

Main square downtown

Monument to the Discoverers

Jerónimos Monastery

Jerónimos Monastery

elé

Belém Tower

After my walk in the park I walked back to the street by the Monastery which is a beautiful building in a Portuguese Gothic style.  Today it includes a church in which Vasco da Gama is buried in an impressive tomb and the former monastery which is now the Maritime Museum and the National Museum of Archaeology.  I’ve been in there twice so I didn’t want to go in again, just take photos.  Then I walked a block or two to my main objective,  the café to get the pastéis de belém.  

Street where the café is

Decorated with typical tiles

It tastes absolutely wonderful!

Just one of the many rooms

I think I’ve written about this place before but here it is again.  This café was established in 1837 and it makes between 20,000 and 40,000 of these wonderful custard tarts each day! You can stand in line for takeout, but the best way to get some is to get a table and order a coffee and a tart to eat there and some to go.  That’s what I did.  The place looks small from the street but it stretches back and back through a rabbit warren of rooms. I had a cup of very strong espresso and a tart (maybe two) and ordered a dozen to go.  When they came they were warm and the puff pastry around the custard was deliciously light and crisp.  They were heavenly! When I finished I took my extras and caught a cab back to the ship.  The pastéis were all gone within an hour.  I shared some with friends, but most of them went to some of my favorite staff members who probably didn’t have any time off to go ashore.

A christmas tree under construction in the main square

Christ the king lit up at night as we sailed past

Sailing west into the sunset! Next stop Bermuda!

I went to a solo travelers cocktail party, dined with some of them and then spent the rest of the evening chatting with friends and listening to some of the live music around the ship.  I went to the Club with the intention of dancing a little, but after I’d danced one time a pair of really plastered passengers (someone told me they were eastern Europeans (?) got out on the dance floor and were flinging themselves around, jumping on chairs and basically oblivious to whether there was anyone else around. I decided the best thing for me to do was avoid them if possible.  It was a nice day and now we have seven sea days ahead of us before our next stop Bermuda.