Lisbon & At Sea - April 24 - 25, 2012

Quiet River to Lisbon

Clearing the Bridge

A smooth glide into Lisbon, up the river gazing at the city and watching the ship clear the “25 April” bridge (renamed from “Salazar” after he was deposed in the democratic revolution of the 1960’s).  The rolling hills are checker-boarded with quaint buildings.  Once on our tour, we board one of the turn-of-the-last-century electric trams used in this city of impossibly steep and narrow streets.  Most of Lisbon’s buildings are post-1755, when there was a major earthquake and tsunami that destroyed most of the city except for the St. Jerome Monastery, St. Mary’s church and another church in the old district.  When they rebuilt the city, they put a lot of loving care into the buildings, using Moorish tiles as outside facades.  The streets are still cobblestone in many areas and the sidewalks are made of limestone and basalt, cut into pieces and laid in beautiful designs, literally everywhere.  The tile work and street-level mosaics are what we came to see; we get an eyeful on our hour-long tram ride.

The Tower

Explorer Monument

The tram tour includes a glass (two or three for the brave or foolish) of port and one of the famous custard pastries while we are told about the ancient history (Romans and Moors), the various historic neighborhoods, and the city squares with their statues and buildings.  Since it is a cool and dreary European day, we are glad to be aboard a tram enjoying the explanation by Isabelle and treats served by her helper.  We also see an ancient-but-functional funicular tram that routinely transports the residents up and down on of the many steep streets.  Fun to see – definitely not a street we would want to live on!

Friendly Port Server

Electric Tram

Tile Work on Building

Another example of tile facade

Typical Square

Funicular Tram on Steep Street

After a switch to bus transportation near a beautiful downtown park, we head to three famous buildings.  The first is the St. Jerome Monastery and St. Mary’s Church, where Vasco du Gama is now buried.  Since we had visited and photographed his first tomb in Cochin India, we hoped to get a picture of this tomb, to which he had been moved by his son.  Unfortunately we are unable to go in because there is a huge funeral going on inside the church.   The next stop is the Tower, a fortress that was initially and strategically constructed in the middle of the river, only to have the river recede and “move” it to the north bank.  Two such fortresses, twins, had been used to protect and control ships coming to the city of Lisbon; the other did not survive history. The final stop by our tour is the Monument the Golden Age of Portuguese Explorers.  When we were on the ship we could see this monument but not the side with the sword or the tiled world map in the walkway in front of the monument.  A great tribute.

St. Mary's where V.Du Gama buried

Steve at the Tower

Explorer Monument upclose

 

Jesus facing the river & bridge

We would have loved a close-up view of the statue of Jesus built in 1959 as a replica of the one in Rio de Janeiro.  It stands on the south bank of the river, overlooking the city and the bridge.  The bridge was built by the same American company that built, and using the same design as, the San Francisco Bridge.

 By sail away time, the sun is out making the city gleaming.  This is definitely a city on “return to” list - intricate, but sadly deteriorating, grandeur, and the friendliest residents.

Another beautiful Tile work

 Now the Queen Elizabeth faces the Atlantic Ocean, headed north.  Over the next two days on our way to Southampton, the wind is expected to pick up to over 60 knots and create waves of 8-10 meters.  This morning we wake to 21 foot waves and a nice roll, something we haven’t experienced since the Indian Ocean. 

Today’s schedule is interesting.  There will be two lecturers in the morning (which we will skip to start our packing), a Captain’s reception at 11:30 AM, pre-UK-immigration passport clearance session at 2 PM and the last formal dinner in the Britannia dining room tonight.  Packing is now down to what we won’t need on the Queen Mary 2 and the trip souvenirs, which must fit into some hypothetical suitcase void that did not exist when the trip began.

This will be our last blog for the Queen Elizabeth portion of our voyage.  We have a seven-day Atlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2 and will definitely write an entry or two on that trip as our world cruise comes to an end.

Given the very rough seas we face over the next two days, we feel it appropriate to convey the prayer the ship’s Master read at Sunday’s maritime church service.  Some may know the prayer from prior sea-born experience

The Cruisers’ Prayer

Heavenly Father, look down on us, your humble, obedient cruise servants who are doomed to travel this earth, taking photographs, sending postcards, and buying souvenirs.

We beseech you, O Lord, to see that our ship is not detained, or ports missed, or schedules unmet.  Give us divine guidance in our selection of ship.  We pray that the telephone lines are unclogged and the internet freely connecteth.

Lead us to good, inexpensive restaurants where the wine is included in the price of the meal.  Give us the wisdom to tip correctly, even in currencies we do not understand.  Make the natives love us for what we are and not for what we can contribute to the local economy.  Grant us the strength to visit the museums, cathedrals, palaces, and if we skip a historic monument to take a nap after lunch, have mercy on us for our flesh is weak.

Dear God, protect our wives from bargains they don’t need or can’t afford.  Lead them not into temptation for they know not what they do.

Almighty Father, keep our husbands from looking at the foreign women and comparing them to us.  Save them from making fools of themselves in night clubs and bars.  Above all, forgive them their trespasses, for they know exactly what they do.

And when our voyage is over, grant us the favor of finding someone who will look at our cruise pictures and listen to our tales from the launderette, so our lives as cruise veterans may not have been in vain.

Amen!!