Viking Cruise - Day #7, Lisbon 4/21/16

Lisbon History

Lisbon is strategically located at the mouth of the Tagus River, the longest river on the Iberian peninsula. This natural port developed into a main commerce area between the Mediterranean and Europe and Africa. 

The earliest inhabitants were pre-Celtic people and stone monuments still can be found in the city. Later inhabited by the Celts, it became a trading post for the Phoenicians and Greeks around 800-600 BC. It was followed by serial conquests of the Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, and Moors in 714. These Arabians influenced a lot of the architecture of Lisbon during their nearly 450 year occupation. Christian rule was reestablished in 1256 . Portugal as a maritime nation became wealthy through colonization of Asia, Africa, South American and the American Islands. Evidence of the city's wealth can still be seen today in the magnificent structures built then, including the Jerónimos Monastery and the nearby Tower of Belém, each classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

In 1755, Lisbon had a huge earthquake that destroyed much of the city from the quake and subsequent fires. In addition, the quake caused a tsunami. With the city and surrounding areas nearly destroyed, the city rebuilding was controlled by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal. He created main streets that were quite wide and was critisized for their width that are considered narrow by today’s standards.

Napoleon occupied the city in 1807 for four years. Portugal descended into anarchy and there was a war that ended in 1814 and with the new constitution, Brazil was granted independence from Portugal.  Portugal was ruled by King Carlos until he and his successor were assassinated in 1908. An oppressive conservative regime established a dictatorship of the country from 1924 to 1974 until overthrown by a military coup on 25 April 1975. That date is important because the bridge shown below is named for that date. 

25th of April Bridge (Click Link)

Democracy was reestablished and Portugal joined the European Union in 1986 and received massive funding from the EU to rebuild the city. With this funding, Lisbon became the largest container port on the Atlantic Coast. The rebirth of the city continues and tourism is a major contributor to the economy to this day. 

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OUR EXPERIENCE

We arrived in Lisbon about 1 1/2 hours later than expected due to “severe” bow currents, according to the Cruise Director. There was some ship motion during the evening hours that was good while sleeping, but once I awoke, I experienced mild motion sickness and had to return to the supine position. My sister-in-law, Bonnie, also was similarly stricken so we stayed in the cabin until the ship arrived in port and the motion stopped. My wife, Earline never seems to sleep anyway and was bouncing around like a little rubber ball.

Our complimentary bus tour of Lisbon was scheduled for 2 pm so we had to decide what to do until that time. Since there was a delay in arrival of the ship, all the scheduled tours were jammed up at the gangway. We all decided to get off the ship and to take a free shuttle into the center of Lisbon to kill some time. However, as we just missed the shuttle, and no one could tell us when the next shuttle was available, and since the walk to town would take about 1/2 hour, we contracted with a minivan driver who was nearby to take a private 2 hour drive tour. His cost was $20 Euros pp and that seemed reasonable.

The driver was a pleasant man and did drive us to most of the tourist areas. However, traffic was heavy and parking was difficult making our stops short and the time was eaten up quickly. We were returned to the ship in time for a luncheon before boarding the larger tour bus for another 3 hour tour of Lisbon. 

In many ways, this tour was similar to the one we had just taken but the guide was more knowledgable. We did have time to visit another basilica that seemed very similar to the many we have already seen.

Bridge built by company who made the Oakland Bay Bridge- Modeled after the Golden Gate Bridge

Statue similar to the one in Brazil on Copacabana Beach

Statue of Christ in Lisbon (Click Link)

Belem Tower - Tower of St. Vincent

A medieval defensive tower. There was a matching tower across the river that was destroyed with the earthquake.

First airplane to fly from Portugal to Brazil

Jerinimos Monastery

Typical Portuguese Building Tiles- cool in summer, warm in winter

Streets tiled with marble and basalt

We wanted to buy a bottle of port wine from Portugal to sample on the ship, and found a small shop near the basilica that carried many varieties. The wine shop worker educated us a bit on the various types of port and which were young, and which were of good quality. We purchased a bottle of ruby port for 18 Euros.

The tour bus guide purchased custard tarts for each passenger. The recipe has been a secret in the baking family since 1837. They were delicious and there was a long line outside of the shop located next to the basilica.

Back on the ship by 5 pm, we rested before dinner and then attend a Fado show or mournful wailing for 45 minutes. Fado is a musical form of Portugal that tells stories of woeful desires (fate) sung and accompanied by two guitars. One of the guitars is a high pitched instrument and the other plays base lines and chords in a repetitious manner. Curiously, after a number of sad songs, the singer said she was going to sing a happy song. However, it seemed no different than the sad songs to our untrained ears.

Fado (Click Link)
Video Link to History of Fado

Argentine tango and Fado music are quite similar in many respects. I was especially intrigued by the way the Fado songs ended with two chords. Many tangos end in this manner and no doubt have an origin from tango.

Tango Fado Project

Following the show, with ship again in motion and “mal du mer” (seasickness) starting again, we went to bed. The port wine would have to wait for another time.