Lisbon, Portugal

Today, we arrived in Lisbon, Portugal.

After my problems at breakfast yesterday, this morning couldn’t have been more different. I’d set my alarm for 7:30am, to be up and in Marcos by 8am, as I’d been assigned tour escort duty, which would mean being shoreside by 9am. At 8am, as I entered Marcos, the sun was just minutes away from rising; I went outside, into the cool, but not unpleasant, morning air, in time to catch the moment when the sun came up… it was glorious! After this, Marcos was still relatively quiet, so I had no problem finding a table to eat, and be ready for the tour.

The excursion was one that I’ve escorted before (‘Lisbon’s Famous Sights’). It began with a drive through the city centre, with the guide pointing out all the important buildings and telling us a little about the history of Lisbon, before heading on up to one of the high points, where a monument and an unattractive fountain commemorate something or other, overlooking the city (a great viewpoint). From here, we crossed the River Tagus, via the 25th of April Bridge (looking like, and built by the same designers as, the Golden Gate Briidge in San Francisco), to see the impressive 90-feet tall Christ Statue (which is a copy of the one in Rio De Janeiro… there seems to be a theme emerging here…). Returning to the Northern side of the river, we visited the Mosteiro Dos Jeronimos; a massive, ornate, and apparently, very important, church, before finishing up at the riverfront, where we were able to see Belem Tower and the Monument of the Discoveries, an ornate structure commemorating Henry the Navigator (who, according to our guide wasn’t actually a navigator – he just got Navigators together to do some serious navigating).

Despite having done the tour before, I must say that I rather enjoyed it, mostly because of the guide who was very good. One of the tasks a tour escort has to complete is to fill a form out, confirming that an excursion was as advertised, to report any changes to itinerary, or problems, and to rate the guide. Generally speaking, I never give more than a ‘good’ to a guide, but on this occasion, she actually got an ‘Excellent ‘ from me!

The tour took up the whole morning. After lunch, I went back into the city for a walk. One little job that I needed to do was to find somewhere where they could change a watch battery. Mine has been losing time at an embarrassing rate since before leaving home, so I’ve been using my phone to keep tabs on the time. This is okay, but doesn’t look good when I’m in the middle of running a class; I worry that it looks like I’m bored, and checking emails… Anyway; I’m pleased to say that I managed to find a jewellers, where the fitting of a replacement battery cost me just 5 euros. After this, I took a meandering route back towards the ship, via some higher viewpoints, a couple of the large churches and a market. My stay in Lisbon concluded in a small bar near the quayside, where wi-fi is free, providing you buy a drink (or two). A group of my students were also sat there, and insisted that I join them for a drink and chat… well it would have been rude not to, wouldn’t it? On-board time was 7:30pm, for an 8pm sailaway… we poled up at the gangway at 7:20…. talk about cutting it fine!

Today was the first day on this cruise that I wore my sunglasses. It’s also the first day that I swapped my grey cargo trousers for the lighter cream walking trousers. Although it’s been a little nippy out (not quite warm enough for shorts or quarter-lengths yet), the sun has shone all day, and there’s a definite feeling that we’re finally heading into warmer climes… bring it on!