Monday, October 30 – A Really Lazy Day

How lazy was it, you ask?  There was a morning nap, a SCAN and an early lights-out.  We have an excursion planned for tomorrow and need to be up earlier than usual.  It seems that all we did today was sleep.  Noth that there’s anything wrong with that.

TOMORROW – On the Road from Lisbon

Tuesday, October 31 – Three Small Towns

We are docked in Lisbon, Portugal, today and will be here overnight as well.  We were up early [for us] and off the ship around 8:20.  We had hooked up with a tour organized by another Cruise Critic member although he had simply contacted an agency and let others join in.  It was not as individualized as we are used to, but when in Lisbon…

[Lisbon’s metro area has about 3.5 million people only 500,000 of whom live in the city.  The rest were on the roads this morning trying to get into town, or so it seemed.  We have always found the city to be dilapidated, as if it never recovered from the earthquake in the 1500s.  A good coat of paint would be a big improvement.  Tourism is now the number one economic force in Portugal although other economic drivers include the leather, cork and wine industries.  Just so you know.]

We were the last to arrive at the meeting point because our instructions called the tour one thing and the sign for it outside called it something else.  There was a little pointing and good-natured groaning when we arrived, but we will never see these people again and don’t care.

The tour began with a two-hour ride to Fatima.  The only reason we signed up was to visit the Shrine.  What passed for the tour was disappointing [as were the others today] because the guide walked us to the top of the property, pointed out some places and then said to be back on the bus in an hour.  Boom!  No real tour.  No explanations.

The Shrine at Fatima celebrates a vision of the Virgin Mary shared by three young Portuguese shepherds, a brother and sister and their cousin.  Whether one believes it happened as described, considers it a myth or an example of mass hysteria, really devout Catholics from around the world do believe and hundreds of thousands, indeed millions, visit this little village of 8000 every year.

According to the story, the three saw the vision on May 17, 1917.  Mary reportedly returned on the 17^th of the month through October by which time word had spread and there were a hundred or more people [or 70000 as one source puts it] to witness the last appearance.  She is alleged to have left the children with three predictions of which we remember only two – that Communism would become a dominant force; and that someone would assassinate the Pope.  Since the Russian Revolution did not occur until October, 1917, this is quite a prediction.  Likewise, there was an unsuccessful attempt on the life of John Paul II. 

The Shrine is built into a hillside.  At one end there is the “new” chapel which holds more than 8500 worshippers.  Working down the hill from there, one walks on tiny cobblestones which are probably quite treacherous in wet weather; they were a bit slippery today when it was sunny.  All of the space on the down-hillside forms a Square in front of the Basilica; this square is 4 times the size of St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican but nothing compared to the area in front of the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca.

Running the length of plaza is a concrete path about 15 feet from the edge of the cobbles.  Here, penitents can make their way on hands and/or knees to the bottom of the hill.  We saw several people doing this.  On the left, there is a stall for pilgrims to purchase candles and a separate area to light them.  For whatever reason, there are no candles in the sanctuary, unlike every other Catholic church we have visited.

Further along, there is a tree in the spot where most of the visions occurred.  This is actually a body-double because the original tree died after people kept taking bits and pieces of it.  The new one is behind a fence for its own protection.  Opposite the tree is a tent-like chapel for worshippers with services apparently ongoing throughout the day.

A slight rise in the terrain brings one to the multitude of steps leading to the Basilica itself.  It is fronted by a portico with statuary on the roof which reminded us of Vienna for some reason.  Archways on the portico’s back wall encompass paintings of the Stations of the Cross.  The interior is surprisingly simple.  There are no side chapels, just recesses containing another set of the Stations.  These are fashioned from either copper, brass or gold.  Atop the Basilica is a bell tower and a statue of the Virgin with a gold crown.

Because of the terrain, the cobblestones and the steps, MA found a place to rest while D explored and took photographs.  [There was fear yesterday that there would be no photos when the camera refused to work, but all’s well that ends well when the batteries work]

Thus endeth our visit to Fatima.  On to someplace else.

Another hour in the crowded van [18 seats, 18 people whose hips were wider than the seats] and we were in Situ.  In essence, language fans, we were in situ in Situ.  Situ is a little village on the top of a cliff overlooking the resort town of Nazaree.  It has its own church [big surprise], a hospital and a spectacular view of the beach and Atlantic Ocean.  The town square is surrounded on 3 sides by shops each selling the same shoes, linens and tchotchkes as the ones next door.  Picture the Caribbean without T-shirts.

We descended [slowly!] and were unceremoniously dumped by the beach, told it was time to get lunch and told, once again, to be back in an hour.  Period.  We found what we thought/hoped was a local restaurant rather than a touristic trap and had the local fish stew.  It was rich and flavorful although the fish was unidentifiable.  One type was a steak cut, firm and tasty.  The other was a bit stringy ad not as good.  The matter was settled for MA when the waitress told us that the one we liked least was stingray.  We swam with the rays in Bora Bora in 2015 and could have met these rays.  It was like eating an old friend.

Back in the van, we headed to Obidos, a restored medieval town.  We visited here in 2009 and it has not changed a bit.  The town is enclosed by the thick walls which protected the castle that overlooks the valley below.  The walls and castle are in good shape as is an aqueduct added later to bring fresh water to the town.  Obidos was used as a dowry/bridal present by many Portuguese kings and is known as the Queen’s City.  The queens were allowed to keep some of the rents due from the farmers and merchants but not all of the money lest they become too rich and powerful on their own.

The restored Obidos has two streets running parallel on the side of the hill.  We chose to stay on the upper one because it was on the level as the entrance to the town, avoiding a steep hill on ancient, worn cobbles.  Luckily, there was a relatively smooth path of concrete blocks set in the middle of the stones, so we tried to stay on it as much as possible.  We wandered past stores selling the local specialty, cherry wine, as well as the usual tourist junk not to mention the cafes and a large number of ice cream vendors.  We opted for ice cream as a way to enjoy the town and get off our feet [Once again, it was “Be back at the bus in an hour.”]  Our guide in ’09 told us that the castle wasn’t worth the walk and climb, so we skipped it then and skipped it today.  It was only after we were under way again that we learned that there is an admission charge, so we were doubly grateful to Filipia from 2009.

We were back at the ship around 4:30 after a tiring and disappointing day.  We spent most of our time driving, and, while the Portuguese road system is good, we felt that we got almost nowhere. 

TOMORROW – Another day in Lisbon

Wednesday, November 1 – Lazy in Lisbon

We had no travel plans today.  Our primary goal was to Skype with Carter, Caiden and Harper.  We set approximate times which would fit their school schedules and went to the cruise terminal to use the free WiFi.  We had such bad connections – when we could get any – from the ship the other day that we thought this had to be better.  We had trouble connecting again and only spotty service, but there were lots of folks, both passengers and crew, from 4 cruise ships that we should have been grateful for the stilted conversations we got.  We will try again in a few days.  Maybe if we try while everyone else is on tour, we will have better luck.

The time was not completely wasted.  MA was able to catch up with and delete a bazillion emails and check Facebook.  When the battery on the laptop died, D found an outlet which needed a European plug, so he returned to the ship to retrieve his and then charged the laptop while doing “stuff.”

Back on board, we went to lunch on the Lido, then stayed to read and write.  Again, D had to retrieve the Euro plug, but he was able to catch up on most of the journal while MA read.  Naptime called at 4 pm and then it was dinnertime.  After dinner, we set the clocks ahead again putting us 5 hours ahead of the East Coast.  MA finally crawled into bed at 11:30 new time while D finished writing and posting.

TOMORROW – Good Grief!  Another sea day