Saturday, September 5th - Seville, Spain to LIsbon, Portugal

This morning we were back to our early routine with bags out and breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and departure at 8:30 a.m.  It was an overcast day - not sure if it's clouds or if it's just morning mist but it's definitely cooler than other mornings so that is a nice change.

We drove basically west but a bit south until we came close to the coast again, and we crossed from Spain into Portugal as we drove over the International Bridge over the Guadiana river from Ayamonte, Spain to Castro Marim, Portugal.  If our guide had not told us about it we would never have known we were going from one country to another.  I don't even think there was a farewell to Spain or welcome to Portugal sign.  But the bridge is impressive.  It is high so ships can navigate beneath it and it has two tall towers (almost 100 metres) with cables spreading out from them to support the almost 1 km long span.

Just past the border we left the main highway and drove to Tavira for our morning break.  It is an old town on a river and probably on the coast as well although we did not see the ocean.  We simply saw the centre of the town where there were outdoor cafes specializing in desserts.  We each had something, actually several things, and they were good but we really didn't need all the sweets at that hour of the day.  We then had time to wander around the old town for a few minutes.  There were several bridges across the river but the one near us was an old Roman stone bridge.   The town looked nice and it would have been great to spend more time there but that was not to be as the bus was waiting for us.  They were in the middle of a Mediterranean Diet festival, which sounded good but none of the food was available that morning so we couldn't try anything out except for our desserts.

There were stork nests on the hydro poles along the way but I don't remember whether it was in Spain or in Portugal or in both countries.  The nests are huge and really stand out.  However, I was just not quick enough to get any great pictures.  I also didn't see any storks sitting around anywhere.  Maybe they were all busy delivering babies.

The countryside was again farmland and rolling hills at the start.  As we got further into Portugal we had fig trees, according to our guide.  Apparently the Muslims liked figs and brought trees with them to Portugal and figs are still a very productive industry.  We also drove by cork trees with their bark stripped, and they are mainly used for corks for expensive wines.  Spain (not necessarily Portugal) have trees from all over the world.  As all ships went through Spain in the early days, they got samples of trees and flowers from all over the world and most of them did well in the climate so they still thrive.  That's why they have so many different types of trees in Spain, everything from palm to fir and eucalyptus to jacaranda.

In Portugal there were still flat lands and rolling hills.  Some hillsides had castles or fortifications on them.  The fields had treed borders and the green trees against the golden fields (wheat I assume) was very nice.  There were also forests in places and then later very lush green fields and we wondered if they weren't rice paddies as they were so green.  There were ponds and streams along the way, most with more water in them than we had seen in Spain, although the streams/rivers still had wide banks to accommodate more water if needed.  There were also some burned areas which we thought were intentional, as opposed to wild fires.  Small villages or towns could be seen just off the highway or in the distance, and I have to say again that the highway was a beautiful road in fantastic condition.  I think I'll miss these roads when I get to Africa.

We entered Lisbon crossing over the 17 km long Vasco da Gama bridge over the Tagus River, which is over 11 km across at this point but has a lot of marshes and wetlands in a park area on the one side so they had to be protected.  It is an amazing bridge, beautiful and graceful throughout its length.  It has 3 lanes in each direction with wide shoulders on both sides, and parts of it are over 150 metres high to allow marine traffic.  It was built in the 1990's and opened just in time for the 1998 World's Fair in Lisbon that marked the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India.  It is the longest bridge in Europe and certainly one of the largest I have ever been on beating even the Confederation Bridge (approximately 12 km) which I thought was pretty amazing.  It cost over a billion euros to build and was financed by a private consortium that now gets the first 40 years of tolls.  A car is less than 3 euros and a truck about 12 euros going across into Lisbon.  Coming out of Lisbon is free.  Four different companies worked on the construction.  It took 18 months to plan and 18 months to build and it will supposedly withstand hurricane force winds and strong earthquakes and last for at least 120 years.   

On the marshy side of the river there were a lot of small fishing boats tied to buoys in the shallow water.  There were also fishermen out in the water fishing.  It would have been interesting to see exactly what they were doing but as we were driving across a bridge we couldn't very easily stop to watch them.  They were standing chest deep in the water and I assume they had nets between them but I guess we'll never know for sure.  There were also some very clearly defined wet fields in this delta area and some of them were bright green, which once again made us think they might berice paddies.  Some of the wet field areas appeared to have nothing in them and some people wondered if they might be fish farms.  Just something else we'll never know for sure.

We did a bus tour through Lisbon and there are definitely some huge beautiful old buildings in the city.  There are also a lot of parks and green spaces and lovely squares, statues and fountains.  Their sidewalks and square are even amazing in tht they have patterns all over them.   A number of them were like waves, which was appropriate for a city on the ocean, but the design was like an optical illusion and really interesting to look at.  From some city views the castle on the hill seemed to dominate and in other views it was not even visible.  Apparently Lisbon is built on seven hills - like Rome they like to say.  Obviously there are lots of stairs and slopes going up and down the hilly streets but there are also escalators and elevators strategically located to help a person out.  How civilized!

We had a very brief walking tour around two of the back-to-back squares in the old city centre area.  Then we were left on our own for a couple of hours of free time to explore and have a light lunch since we were all going out for a big dinner in the early evening hours.  I wondered around the squares taking pictures and then walked down the main pedestrian street which was very busy.  It was wide for a pedestrian street but the cafes and pubs took up space with outdoor seating so it seemed narrower.  There were all kinds of shops along the way.  Expensive purses were right next to a fish store that displayed in its window just about every kind of fish - some dead and some alive.  The street had old-fashioned street lamps that hung off of the buildings.  It would have been nice to have seen it lit up at night.  At the far end I could see the arch or gateway to Commercio Square with the statue of Dom Jose I or King Joseph I in front of it down by the water.  I couldn't go any further though because I was out of time.  

There were three living statues along the way and they were fantastic.  I didn't know it at the time but apparently they have themes and to participate and busk for money you have to match the theme.  The current theme was obviously something to do with olden days and musicians because that's what we got.  The lady was wearing an old dress and was totally covered in gold brown paint that looked very much like a bronze statue.  One of the guys was dressed in the costume of a similar period wit long tails and ruffled shirt sleeves and a curly wig and he was holding a bouquet of roses.  He too was totally covered in paint but a much more drab brown than her's.  Both of these two moved occasionally to acknowledge the people and those who gave them donations.  It was amazing how many people jumped when the statues moved.  I don't think they had figured out that they weren't real statues.  The third one was my favourite.  He didn't move because he was a statue of Mozart.  There was a small fountain statue in front of him and then a very ornate pedestal about four feet high and just big enough for him to fit inside.  Then from the chest up he was above the box or pedestal and he was the bust of Mozart.  He was obviously a stone statue and was totally covered in grey and black just like real old stone statues.  He even had a pigeon sitting on his head and there was bird poop on various parts of the statue.  He seldom moved and I'm sure people just thought it was another old dirty statue.  He was fantastic.

The square we got dropped off at and were picked up from was Praca da Figueira or Square of Fig Trees and I don't think there are any fig trees around any more, at least not in the square.  The square is surrounded by the usual huge buildings on all sides.  In one corner there is a statue of Dom Joao I or King John I.  The statue was once in the centre of the square but it got moved to the corner so it could be seen from the water and, sure enough, when you look down the street you can see the water.  Other than the statue the square is pretty empty and it doesn't even have fancy sidewalk designs.

The square just behind it is Rossio Square or Praca Da Pedro.  There is a high 23 metre  column in this square with a statue on top of King Pedro IV or Peter IV of Portugal / Peter I of Brazil.  There is also a beautiful fountain in the square and some wonderfully designed waves on the sidewalk which really do make an amazing optical illusion.  These designs are all hand done and there is a school that trains people in sidewalk brick construction as it really is more of an art than construction.  I believe the building at the end of this square was the National Theatre Maria named for Dona Maria II or Queen Maria II.  It is supposed to be absolutely beautiful inside but I did not have time to go inside.  The Theatre was built on the site of the old Estaus Palace, which was originally a palace for visiting dignitaries but later the seat of the Spanish Inquisition.  The palace burned down in the 19th century and was replaced by the theatre - a much more pleasant venue I'm sure.

Although the Estaus Palace survived, almost all of this area, and indeed the whole of Lisbon, was destroyed by the 1755 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, one of the most deadly earthquakes in history.  The royal palace that was down by the river became the Praca do Comercio.  Streets were developed to join directly to Rossio Square and the old Estaus Palace and the whole area was redesigned and rebuilt.  

We thought we would have time to come back to this area since we were staying in Lisbon for two nights.  However, things didn't work out that way.  As a result I guess I have to do some Lisbon details in this blog.  Lisbon has a population of just under one million in the city proper and about three million in the surrounding areas, and the population is dropping.  Like every other city over here, it has a long history.  In 1,200 BC the Phoenecians were here.  The Greeks and Carthaginians followed and then the Romans were here for over 500 years then the European countries fought over it.  From a shipping perspective, it would be a great port to have, and from a weather perspective it was pretty nice too as it has a mild temperature year round.

As usual our hotel was not in the downtown area but the hotel was very nice.   We were  having dinner out tonight with the group so weren't going to be around the hotel for long anyway.  We left at 4:30 and took the bus to the waterfront.  Then we walked to the ferry terminal and took the ferry across the Tagus to the other side.  We missed the ferry we wanted but there was another one a half hour later so no problem.  The ride was pretty short, which was good because we were totally inside which is not always good for me on boats.  Along the way we had a great view of the shore on both sides and of the 25 of April bridge, which is a suspension bridge that looks similar to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  

The restaurant was just beside the ferry terminal on the other side and if I could remember the name of the place I would tell you.  We were told it was nothing fancy, which is a good thing in my case, and I think we were all glad we hadn't worn anything too fancy because we were all doing laundry that night.  The meal was definitely a traditional seafood dinner and the food just kept coming.  Not being a real shellfish lover, I'm not even sure I'll remember exactly what we had but there was a variety of fish and most of it was just plopped on the table and we just dug in with our fingers and made a real mess.  I think we had four plates piled in front of us and they just kept taking them away as they got full.  I'm quite sure we had scallops, muscles, prawns/shrimp (lots of these), crayfish, clams and crab.  Our place settings of course came with our own hammers and boards to crack open the shells when needed.  I don't think we had any lobster and I don't remember oysters although there were some strange unidentifiable appetizers to start.  I don't even remember whether we got anything else like salad or potatoes so how can I possibly remember all the different kinds of fish.  It was fun and messy and good and that's all that matters.

The sun set while we were having dinner so I ran out and tried to get some pictures but there was nothing to great.  After dinner we got on the bus, that had come by bridge to meet us.  The driver was actually already at the restaurant before we got there so I guess the bridge route was faster, especially when you miss the first ferry.  We drove back to the hotel and that was the end of another day - except for the laundry to get the fish stains out of our shirts!