The ship berthed in Lisbon at a time when the city’s extensive drainage network was being repaired and, as a result, cranes rather than churches dominated the landscape. Carthaginian, Roman, Moorish, it has quite a history despite its infernal hills.
We had a bare three hours in Lisbon, which limited what we could do. Organised coach trips could have taken us to some very picturesque places outside of Lisbon but these involved two hours of travelling , so it hardly seemed worth it. We could have walked into Lisbon from the ship, but my feet still ached from the memory of its never-ending hills. So, with some reservation, we settled on a coach tour of the city. As decisions go, it ranks with Hitler’s invasion of Russia. The coach was small and hot and seemingly immovable blinds blocked much of window, allowing us the narrowest of views. It was like being in a burka on wheels. I saw the bobbing heads of pedestrians as the enthusiastic tour guide enthused on the invisible baroque skyline, colourful frescos, tiles and complex stucco work. Eventually I gave up and dug out my kindle. Unfortunately reading proved impossible, the commentary so loud and overwhelming. We did at least get to see the incredible Jeronimos Monastery—but only for ten minutes and that from the outside.
In 1487, Vasco da Gama and his men spent the night in a run-down church reputedly in prayer before setting off on a voyage that would change the world. His voyage down the coast of Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope—and some years later India—broke the Muslim monopoly on Eastern trade and encouraged the great maritime empires of Western Europe. To mark this, the original run-down church was replaced by the beautifully ornate Jeronimos Monastery begun on January 6th 1501 and completed a hundred years later. A 5% tax on the African and Indian trade brought in a 150 lb of gold per annum, which meant no money was spared in its construction.
In 1880, Vasco da Gama’s remains were reburied in their new home.
Freed from the burka, sailing from Lisbon was liberating. Sea and sky, the great River Tagus and four stunning monuments.
The Monument of the Explorers celebrates Prince Henry the Navigator and the explorers whose discoveries created a maritime empire and made Portugal fabulously wealthy. It’s a 184 ft slab carved in the shape of a caravel with Prince Henry leading thirty three sculptures of explorers and cartographers on the sides of the ship. It is huge. Its interior, which we didn’t see from our ship, has space for an auditorium, two exhibition halls, and rooms above that.
The Belem Tower was built in the early C16th to celebrate Portuguese power and to guard the Tagus and strengthen Lisbon’s defence from any attack from the sea. If you look carefully, you will see the ornate flourishes of the Manueline style and a Moorish influence in its minarets. Without them it would just be a thirty metre four storey tower.
The Sanctuary of Christ the King was inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and erected in 1959 in thanksgiving for Portugal’s neutrality during World War II and its consequent escape from destruction.
The 25th April Bridge is based upon the two bridges in San Francisco. For nerds and quizzers alike, it was once the fifth largest suspension bridge in the world, and the longest outside of the USA. It has since sunk to the 48th longest suspension bridge in the world.
As you sail beneath it, it’s hard to image the six lanes of traffic and a double rail track immediately above
The Bay of Biscay, uncharacteristically calm
And home at last. Liverpool. God's own city.
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