Day 145: Lisbon, Portugal

Wednesday, 31 May 2017
O/N @ Santa Apolónia Jusante Pier in Lisbon

Stats @ Ship’s Time 10:10p (WEST) … UTC 9:10p (31 May)
Temp: 65.5F (18.6C)
Position: 38.42.73N / 9.07.36W

The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient
reason to remain ashore…unlike the mediocre, intrepid spirits seek victory over those
things that seem impossible…it is with an iron will that they embark on the most daring of
all endeavors…to meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown.
~ Ferdinand Magellan ~

Insignia was scheduled to dock in Lisbon, Portugal around 10:00a, which meant that though we were up early, there was no reason to be rushing about.  Instead, we enjoyed a lovely morning of sunshine and blue skies on our veranda as the ship headed up the Tagus River to our berth at Santa Apolónia, the dock closest to the center of town.

Along the way, we glimpsed Torre de Belém and the Discoveries Monument on the north bank of the river.  On the south bank stood a statue not unlike Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer … but on a smaller scale and this one known as Christ the King.  I was later told that this statue is positioned not only to embrace Lisbon but also to face the one in Rio.  Going under the Ponte de 25 Abril, I was struck by its similarity to the Golden Gate Bridge — no wonder really … the bridge was designed by the same engineers.  There were many other landmarks of course, but this being our first time to Lisbon none were familiar.

Glimpse of Belém as Insignia heads up the Tagus River.  The Belém Tower is on the right; the modern building to the left is the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown … it’s a state-of-the-art research facility for developing the foundation’s biomedical research activities.

Left: The Discoveries Monument commemorates the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator … he stands at what is meant to be the prow of a concrete ship.

Right: Christ the King was erected in 1959 to express gratitude for the
Portuguese being spared the effects of World War II.

When we disembarked the ship shortly after it was cleared we had a plan in mind.  Or rather, Mui had a plan in mind.  But we weren’t sure what transportation options would work best.  We debated taking a taxi or sharing an Uber, but then decided to hop on a bus … which we did.  But it wasn’t the public bus.  Rather, it was a HoHo [hop-on hop-off] City Sightseeing bus — €20/person for 48 hours.  The bus had stops near some of the places we wanted to visit over our two-day visit to the city … and anything else we saw along the route we figured would be a bonus.  What I had forgotten was that these buses are never a good platform from which to take photos.  Oh well … it got us where we wanted to go, so no real complaints.

Jacaranda trees are in bloom all around Lisbon.

We got off at the Jardim da Estrela stop to stroll through the gardens.  It was peaceful and the trees provided plenty of shade.  Our walk took us to the gate across from the Estrela Basilica … or officially, the Royal Basilica and Convent of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The church was built between 1779-1790 on the orders of Queen Maria I of Portugal to fulfill her promise to do so should she be privileged to give birth to a male heir.  Unfortunately that son died from smallpox in 1788 … before construction was completed.

The noon mass was not over when we arrived, so we paid the €3/person admission to go up to the rooftop.  I envisioned an experience not unlike the one we had at St Peter’s at the Vatican … lots of interesting details and beautiful views.  It wasn’t to be.  There was little to photograph, and the views of the rooftops wasn’t all that interesting.  But it helped to kill some time, so not all was lost.  We hoped to see the much-vaunted nativity scene made from cork as well, but the woman who sold us our tickets said they no longer have it on display … bummer.  Eventually we wandered inside the church … beautiful, but having seen so many places of worship in recent weeks, it paled in comparison to most.

Queen Maria I of Portugal is buried in the Estrela Basilica, which was built on her orders.

Back outside again, we hopped on the HoHo bus to complete the loop.  We enjoyed the ride through Belém, but decided against getting off at the monastery … will be visiting it tomorrow.  So we stayed on the bus until we arrived at the Praça dos Restauradores — a square dedicated to the restoration of independence in Portugal in 1640.  Our plan was to walk from here to the castle.  But first we wanted to find the restaurant where we’d be meeting friends for dinner.  Getting directions from a policeman, we headed to the far end of the square to a narrow street that went uphill.  Within minutes we had found the restaurant … and a barber shop a bit further up that would serve our purposes after we completed our sightseeing.

Directions from the hostess at the restaurant led us a short ways further up the street to where we found stairs going down to a square with a clear view of Castelo do São Jorge [Castle of St George] overlooking the city from high on a hilltop.  It was hot; our feet were tired.  And the road up to the castle looked awfully long and steep.  So I suggested we grab a cab to go up and walk down instead.  Soon we were ensconced in a taxi.  The cabbie took us up as far as he could and dropped us off at the bottom of a short road leading into the castle.  Buying our admission tickets (€9/person), we joined the crowd crawling around inside.

The Castle of St George looms over the city of Lisbon.

The first fortifications on this hill date back to the 2nd century BC, but people had been living here long before that time  The current castle was built by the Moors who held it until Lisbon was freed from their rule in 1147.  When the Portuguese kingdom was established, the castle was used as the fortified residence of Governor Alfonso III.  It was extensively renovated around 1300 and served as a royal residence until the 16th century.  The structure was heavily damaged by earthquakes during the 16th and 18th centuries, and the castle fell into decay … all but the walls were left in ruins.  Then, as part of the commemorative efforts marking nationhood, a restoration program was begun in the 1940s, leading to the castle becoming one of the biggest attractions in Lisbon.

First we wandered around the Miradouro do São Jorge — the view terraces — to check out the scenery laid out below and around us.  The iconic red-tiled roofs of the city reached as far as the eye could see.  In some directions, the sunlight washed out the scenery, but the further around we went the better the light … and therefore the scenery.  I’m sure we saw many of the landmarks of the city from our vantage point, but there were no signs describing them … at least I don’t recall seeing any such signs.  I had heard that there were free-roaming peacocks at the castle and kept an eye out for them.  We found them easily enough … many of them perched on high branches of the trees.

Next, we spent a few minutes in the small archaeological museum on the grounds, checking out the limited number of items on display … the mosaic tiles were beautiful.  And then we went for a walk on the ramparts to enjoy more of the cityscape.  Our last stop was the archaeological site within the castle — which frankly had nothing of interest … though that opinion might have been different had we not missed the last English-language tour in the company of a docent.

Our tour of the castle complete, it was time to head down the hill … asking directions from shopkeepers as we went.  We figured the National Theater would be a good landmark to ask directions for, but the people we stopped to ask about it seemed unfamiliar with the building, so we used a well-known hotel as our pointer instead.  All we knew when we started walking was that we were going down.  We took that as a good sign!  As luck would have it, when we reached the base of the hill, we found ourselves across the street from the stairs that we’d walked down earlier to grab a cab.  So we crossed over, went up the stairs, and arrived at the barbershop we’d spied earlier.

Since we still had time before dinner, we went into the barber for Mui to get a haircut.  The barber — originally from Africa — took his time, snipping away with glee.  Mui was very pleased with the end result.  I needed a cut too, but I wasn’t sure about getting it from a barber who was more used to cutting men’s hair than women’s.  Nonetheless, he gave me a trim … just enough to hold me for another two weeks.

We still had some time on our hands before dinner, so we walked down to Praça dos Restauradores and went to Igreja de São Domingos [Church of Saint Domingo].  This was probably the most interesting of the places we visited today.  Unfortunately, I have the worst photos of it because there was a service in progress … we didn’t have time to wait for it to be over so I could pull out my camera and wander around.  Dedicated in 1241, the church is classified as a national monument.  Before the modern republic was born, royal weddings were held here.  It was damaged by an earthquake in 1531, and almost completely destroyed by the quake of 1755.  But what really did in the church was a fire in 1959 that gutted the place and destroyed the paintings and statues.  The church was minimally restored and reopened in 1994, leaving the aftermath of the fire intact.  It was this evidence of the fire that made this church especially interesting to see.

Dedicated in 1241, the Church of Saint Domingo was at one time the largest church in Lisbon.

When we left the church, it was time to meet up with the Gelmans and Sweets for dinner at Solar 31, a seafood restaurant Boris and Sonia found when they visited Lisbon last year.  The simple décor and intimate atmosphere suited us perfectly.  The place specializes in octopus — served whole with spicy shrimp.  Nope … not for me.  The grilled fish I ordered was excellent, however … as was the white sangria our waitress suggested as an accompaniment to our food.

Dinner at Solar 31 … a memorable night of good food and companionship.

After dinner, we all agreed that a walk back to the ship was in order.  We strolled through streets that were a hubbub of activity — nightlife starts late in Lisbon — and passed under the Arco da Victoria [Arch of Victory], one of the city's important landmarks and the entrance to Praça do Comércio [Square of Commerce] … once the site of the Royal Ribeira Palace, which was destroyed in the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755, and also the place where the monarchy fell when Dom Carlos I and his son were assassinated.  It took us over 30 minutes to return to the ship … a good walk in the refreshingly cool nighttime air.

Tomorrow is our second day in Lisbon … and a busy one it promises to be.

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