The Apprentice blogger continues. Di still not quite right yet and is taking it one day at a time. We did visit a pharmacy today. Excellent service including a chat to a doctor over the phone. Some drugs supplied and things to replace body salts and gut flora. The preliminary diagnosis is salmonella poisoning. Hopefully she will be on the mend by the time we get to Porto on Saturday.
The focus for the day was to explore Belem. Belem is an outer neighbourhood of Lisbon but was once the port during the golden age of Portuguese exploration, power and influence, namely the 15th and 16th century. It is located down river from Lisbon and closer to the entrance where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean.
I joined yet another walking tour in Belem. These have been just excellent to say the least. The guides are so knowledgeable and keen to share. The talk today revolved a lot around Portugese sea exploration. The scope of what they achieved is outlined on this very impressive huge stone mosaic map down by the river.
It was a gift from South Africa who presented it to Portugal in recognition of its achievement in being the first colonial power to find and sail around the Cape of Good Hope and lists all the places in the world they got to.
It was interesting to learn that between 1427 and 1541, Portugese explorers traveled to and were the first Europeans to visit by ship the following ; Newfoundland (Canada) the Caribbean, Brazil, Argentina, Madeira, the Azores, Cape Verde, Congo, Guinea, Angola, Namibia, S. Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Iran, India, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, China and Japan. Very impressive resume for a small European country. I did question our guide and wether she thought they may have visited Australia. She said yes but it would have been a “touch and go” visit. With no evidence it’s had to prove one way or another and it was certainly never mentioned in my school history lessons.
The Exploration age was led by a chap called Henry the Navigator. There is a very impressive sculpture down by the waters edge showing all the important people of the era. Henry stands at the bow of the sculpture. Didn’t understand all of the characters portrayed in the sculpture but Vasco De Gama (first to sail to India in1498) and Magellan (first to circumnavigate the world) are there along with kings and queens.
Last note on Henry. He was very very clever and smart. He invented a new type of sailing ship and figured out new navigation tools to supercharge the exploration age. He only made one trip, to Morocco just across the straits. Apparently, he got seasick and had to come home.
Next our guide took us to the tower of Belem, a fortress that was initially in the middle of the river but with the river shore progressively reclaimed, it lies just offshore now and is connected by a bridge.
To round out the story of the Golden Portugese age, the guide kind of mentioned that “what goes up must come down”. Basically, as Portugese influence and power wained it was replaced by Spanish, Dutch, French and British colonial power. Today Portugal sits at the very bottom of the European pecking order (her words not mine).
Next, onto the cathedral and monastery of St Jerome. Very impressive. It’s the final resting place of a lot of the Portugese Kings and Queens.
Not too many commoners buried here but there was a space made for Vasco De Gama.
After 2-3 hours our tour guide let us go and most of the group headed to the Pasteis de Belem shop, the most visited place in all of Lisbon apparently. This is the home of the very best and original Portugese custard tart. They have been baking them here since 1837.
I ordered a coffee and 6 pastries which was way too many. Apparently, the establishment hand makes and sells 35,000 individual pastries every day during the summer!
Because I could not eat them all, they kindly provided me with a takeaway box that I can take to Di🤪 – not going to happen as it is water, flat sprite and maybe a slice of plain bread for her.
Steps 1378 – oh dear, hopefully it gets better going forward.
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