Lisboa – as beautiful as ever…

The sail into Lisbon never disappoints.  However, I still class it as second best next to sailing into  Sydney harbour. Not sure if it is specifically scheduled that way, but the 12 noon arrival time had us sailing up the Tagus River in full sun and beautiful blue skies.

The Tower of Belhem and the Monument to the Discoveries still hold that “WOW”factor as you sail past.

Belham Tower

Monument of the Discoveries

The Bridge That Sings

And the “Bridge that Sings” is always amazing to pass under.  So called because of the sounds that the traffic makes as they speed across it.  But what was even more special was when this little train traveled across as we passed beneath, and after it gave us a couple of little toots the captain blasted our horns in reply.

The only way to get the best shots

Christ the Redeemer.... Lisbon style

The Cristo Reil Statue still looks out over to the city as if give it’s blessing each and every day.

amazing waterfronts

Our tour today with Spain Day Tours, took us to Fatima, Obidos and Nazare, with a couple of extra stops throughout the day.

We followed a route out of the city to which we had not been before. Along the way, you could see the preparations for the ensuing Pope’s visit to the Catholic World Youth Conference that was being held in Portugal in the next few weeks.

The Vaso de Gama bridge in the background is noted to be the longest bridge in Europe

Our first stop was to Fatima to visit the Sanctuary.  In 1917, 3 small children, Lucia and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta first saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary while tending their sheep.  They claimed they saw her several times where she imparted some words of wisdom to them.  The local bishop investigated the claims and deemed them to be true…… and the rest is history.  

Over the years what once was a small cross planted to show the location, became a small chapel, and now the much larger Sanctuary of Fatima marks the spot.

Over the years millions have visited the area and now has become a must-see highlight of Lisbon.

Sadly Francisco and Jacinta became victims of the 1918 flu pandemic and died in the following years.  But Lucia, who became a Nun lived till the ripe old age of 97.  All 3 children are buried within the beautiful Basilica that overlooks the square.

Has that feeling of the Vatican

This American man decided he wanted to pay his hommage

The original small chapel now covered for it's conservation

Inside the church

Jacinta and Lucia

Francesco

the guys went for Ice cream

Three delicious Portugese Tarts.

Our next stop was at a small village called Batalha. There standing in pride of place is a beautiful monastery built to thank the Virgin Mary for the Portuguese victory over the Castilians in the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, fulfilling a promise of King John I of Portugal.

The cathedral is beautiful with its amazing stain glass windows.

Statue in honor of General Nuno Alvares Pereira, the hero that led them to victory.

From there we drove down to Nazare,  a gorgeous seaside town famous for its big waves. So famous or so big, that surfers from all over the world travel here just to catch a wave.

Now, we obviously didn’t spend enough time here, as on googling Nazare just to refresh my memory, I realized there was much more to see.  Sometimes drivers just drop you off in the middle of the street and expect you to know which way to go…  but alas us girls +1 got waylaid by the shops and Peter and Brian went in search of a cold beverage or two.

We walked a short away along the beach and discovered the rows and rows of small tents you can hire for the day to protect you from the sun.  Many little old ladies, dressed in their finest traditional clothes, standing roadside, jingling keys at the passing cars.  No, they weren’t senior ladies of ill repute, but ladies offering accommodation for rent. 

looking up to O Sitio

At one end of the beach there is a funicular that takes you to the upper town of O Sitio, here we walked over to the terrace where we took in the most spectacular views of the beach below.

Stallholder in traditonal Dress

Our last stop was the medieval walled village of Obidos.  A gift to Queen Isobel on her wedding day back in 1282. Beautifully preserved we walked the cobbled streets that were lined with small shops selling local crafts and produce, with the most popular, cherry Ginjinha liqueur, served in a small chocolate cup.

Hungry and not enough allocated time to do both, instead of entering the castle we opted to have a light lunch and one of the small bars.

Obidos

Tin Fish shop very big in Lisbon

Tired from our day we ended up back on board and enjoyed the glittering lights of the city as we silently glided out of port and headed back down the Targus River to our next port of call.