Lisbon and Central Portugal

Lisbon - Sintra - Obidos - Nazare - Fatima - Tomar - Abrantes...

Bom dia, como esta?

My arrival in Lisbon (called Lisboa here) was not exactly easy. Firstly I was stuck in passport control for an hour because the officials are so slow! And got in the queue that was the slowest of them all that I ended up somehow being the last person to have their passport looked at. Then I get told by the official that I cant stay in Europe for 7 months without having to leave it a couple of times because I’m only allowed in Portugal for 90 days, but he told me that it applies to all of Europe because all borders are the same based on the Schengen agreement. I think he’s wrong though because other Aussies I’ve encountered have never had problems with that. Oh well, I suppose I can always go to Morocco or Andorra if I want to skip out of the EU and back.

Anyway, then I thought I lost my luggage, because I didn’t know which luggage belt it was on because I was stuck so long in the passport control that all references to my flight on the screens telling you where it is was gone! Luckily enough I spotted it just as I was about to give up hope. Looks like someone up there likes me! (Travel tip: buy a backpack/suitcase that is easily recognised – this way no one walks off with mistaken luggage and your luggage is easy to find amongst the sea of black similar looking suitcases).

Then I get to the Youth hostel only to be told that the reservation number they gave me is wrong. After fixing that up though they then tell me I need a YHA card to stay in the hostel, and the card I was trying to use for it that the travel agent at home told me I could use was not the right one! So I had to pay another 12 euros for a YHA card.

Oh well, I expected that in the first few weeks of travel I will make plenty of mistakes and waste lots of time and money learning from them, so I’m not that worried.

Anyway, Lisbon is very nice, it is on the edge of a very wide river towards the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean. I got to see the Castello de Sao Jorge, which is the castle looming over the city on a hill, the Oceanarium, the Santa Justa Lift (gothic style lift of steel and iron to the top of the hilly area of the city) the cobbled pavements, nice plazas, fountains, monuments and architecture, houses of yellow/white sandstone and terracotta roofing of earthy colours, and Manueline sculptures and acujelos (blue glazed tiles influenced by the moors) found on several buildings. Muito bonito (very beautiful)! There are also a number of nice parks that I spent some of my week in Lisbon reading and listening to music all day (because of the Easter public holidays which meant most things were closed). Actually most of the towns in Portugal are like this.

Was a little disappointed as I thought that Easter was a big thing for Portugal, but Lisbon was very quiet with few people around during it. I think they all went south to the beaches on the Algarve (where I will be heading towards soon). But no big dramatic celebrations, probably should have gone to the smaller traditional religious towns for that.

Met a girl from England called Jasmine, slightly eccentric, a lot of laughs, looks like Nicole Kidman, and very independent. Anyway spent a day with her walking (what turned out to be 6 miles and 3 hours long because according to her "it doesn’t look that far on the map") up to the Belem riverside area to see the huge Jeronomos Monastery/garden, the 24th April Bridge that looks exactly like the golden gate bridge in San Francisco, Belem tower and some green lizards we found while walking. Oh and running through water sprinklers when the caretaker wasn’t looking. Also saw the castle with a guy from Spain called Erik (who looks like Johnny Depp) who I may visit in Barcelona and a guy called Marcos from Austria (who looks like Hugh Jackman/Ewan Macgregor). Seriously it was quite funny meeting 3 people that look like celebrities all in the same week.

Went with Marcos to see some traditional Fado music being performed up in the Bairro Alto area of Lisbon, where its nightlife revolves around. The place up a big hill is full of small cobbled alleyways crisscrossing each other where you would see a plethora of bars and clubs from popular to jazz to traditional salsa. Fado is a type of music played only in Portugal, which consists of melancholy songs sung to the sound of a Portuguese guitar. It is quite nice to hear.

Cervaja (Beer) is really cheap in Portugal. In fact Portugal in general is cheap! A glass costs only 70cents, a 0.5litre pint 1,40euros. The beer itself (Superbock or Sagres) is quite good.

Also tried some traditional Bacalhaus (dried salted cod) for dinner once. I don’t really like fish, but this was really good, battered, covered with onions, carrot and vinegar type gravy sauce, served with salad and fried potatoes. Also tried a Nazare dish, which is 3 types of fish in a casserole of potatoes, onions, tomatoes and herbs. Yum!

Also tried Quaijadas (a special type of cheesecake) which reminds me of sponge cake with honey served in a waffle base, and Pastel de Nates, which is a nice custard cream tart. I love Europe food (and drink)! In fact when I get home I’m going to learn to cook all the nice food I discover here!

Portuguese people seem quite friendly, especially in the countryside. They seem eager to go out of their way to help you. When I was lost in the middle of the night in Abrantes looking for the youth hostel I was escorted by a large group of old men to the place!

I’ve been trying to learn a little Portuguese (Fala poqueno Portuguese), things such as such as "bom dia, pode mi a chave, numero duzentos e sete por favor" which means "hello, can I have the key, number 207 please?" at the youth hostel. I have a long way to go...

Portuguese guy on street: "You want hash?"
Me: "Nao, obrigado" (no, thankyou)
Portuguese guy on street: "You want marijuana?"
Me: "Nao, obrigado" (no, thankyou)
Portuguese guy on street: "You want sunglasses?"
Me: "Como?" (Huh?)

Never knew sunglasses were an illegal drug....

Spent a day in Sintra while I was in Lisbon. Sintra is beautiful and is in fact my favourite place in Portugal. The views up the forest mountain is spectacular, you can see villages all the way to the ocean coast! And the Pena Palace, a splendid palace of yellow, purple and white. There is a particular place in the forest garden called the Queens Bench which you see all the views and the palace in front of you on top of the mountain. I can imagine waiting till sunset and then asking someone to marry me up there with a ring and bottle of champagne - it is very romantic. Also the Moorish castle and the cosy historical centre...I could go on about it but this email is too long...

Anyway, next day I ended up in Nazare which wasn’t what I originally planned. I was planning to stay in Obidos, which is a pretty walled village in castle walls north of Lisbon. However the irregular bus times forced me to go to Nazare so I can get to Tomar the next day.

Nazare is a nice fishing town with a nice sandy beach (though quite shelly) and cliff face, where the old part of town lies, only accessible from the coastal part of town via steps or a vintage tram lift. The locals dress in traditional cotton fabrics of black and yellow with coloured patterned embroidery or prints. They also set up stalls by the beach where you can buy dried fruits, nuts and fish.

Went to Fatima next (which also wasn’t planned), which is the site of the Virgin Mary Apparitions by the three children/Shepard’s/pilgrims and the site of the miracle where 70,000 people saw the "sun dancing".
It was quite an experience seeing people walk on their hands and knees on this marble path to the site of the visitations just outside the grand church built around it. The museum of Apparitions 1917 was quite funny because it was really bad - the sound effects and voice recordings were of terrible quality, and the climatic ending when the recording said "Look at the sun!", there was a pause, the attendant then walked into the room, pressed a button, and then there was a light show of the "sun dancing". Oh well, its the idea that counts!

Went to Tomar afterwards, which the castle/church up the hill was the site of the former headquarters of the Knights Templars, or Knights of Christ. The castle was quite nice but the church was spectacular, with 8 pillars of gold and painted frescos surrounding the altar, and holding up the hexagonal domed circular enclosure. It’s a shame we weren’t allowed to take photos!

Anyway, now I am in Abrantes, which I never heard of before and never planned but thought it a convenient stop overnight before heading to Portalegre this afternoon. Abrantes is nice with its castle and river, but I was most impressed with the gardens outside the castle, with exotic flowers and little ponds with swans etc, and views over the town. What I found unusual was the presence of a skateboard arena with ramps etc just outside the walls of the castle. Even more unusual was that the place had graffiti everywhere except the walls of the castle. Perhaps the youths in the area have pride in their castle or something?

My next places to visit are Portalegre, Castello de Vide, Marvao, possibly Elvas (so I can pop into Spain and visit Albuquerque made famous from bugs bunny cartoons ), Evora, Faro, Lagos, then Seville for a week. After that I might go to Morocco or continue to the east of Spain....

Adeus!