Lisbon: Rocking and Rolling into the Millenium Pt 10

Through a fine morning mist we sail the 13 km up the Tagus River. Here it widens. to form a fine harbor, the main seaport in Portugal. Some of the most important landmarks are in the port area, reminders of the glorious "Era of Discoveries" of the 15th and 16th centuries. From the ship there is much to see. On the left we spot the Monument of the Discoveries, It is a wondrous work of art. built in 1960, commemorating, Portugal's explorers, scholars and navigators, including *Prince Henry the Navigator, at the front of the line.

A little farther up the river we pass under the April 25th Bridge, sister to the golden gate and and as we pass under, on the right side, the towering statue of "Christ the King." comes into view.

Glowing in the light of the morning sun, the city of Lisbon marches up the terraced sides of eight low hills overlooking the harbor. What a spectacular beginning to our Lisbon experience!

This busy port has, shipbuilding yards, plants producing chemicals, hardware, paper textiles, leather products and foodstuffs. The main exports are olive oil, wine, leather, copper, ceramics, handcrafted silver and gold, cork, canned fish and resin. Lisbon is also the center for the countries rail and road networks. Nearby is an international airport.

It is 7am when we dock and after the ship is cleared, we disembark Our car and driver are waiting for us, thanks to the work of Amanda, shore excursion manager and Juan, her assistant, who have tirelessly searched out cars and English speaking drivers for our Port excursions.

We drive down the wide, tree lined streets of the waterfront. Many of the buildings are brightly painted or faced with colorful tiles. Like Madeira Lisbon has many parks and gardens and brightly colored flowers are sold in the magnificent squares. The streets are cobblestone and in the older sections roads are narrow with many jogs and curves. It is a charming place.

Lisbon is 97 percent catholic, so there are many cathedrals,churches, monasteries and convents,including the architectural marvel the Jeronimos Monastery, built in the 16th century. It now is home to the maritime museum, which is definitely worth a visit. We take a quick tour. Along with original maps, many ship reproductions, large and small, there is a great display of nautical instrumentation that covers the history of navigation from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. They also have an excellent gift shop.

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