Arriving early in the morning to Lisbon, Portugal was not the way to see the scenic cruising as it was still dark. On previous trips, we sailed into the port after sunrise with Lisbon rolls (aka Panama rolls) and probably stayed later in the day. Guess we cannot always get lucky with the timing of these special ports.
Portugal is a country of 10.8 million people that speak Portuguese. The capital is Lisbon, our one and only mainland Portuguese port this cruise. You can expect to see medieval castles, fortresses, beautiful cities, golden beaches, and cobblestones up the Yim-yam. There is lots of history here along with some stunning scenery. Too bad we only have one day to see it. Good luck. To be precise, we really only have 7 ½ hours to do it all.
Favorite snacks here are cinnamon-dusted custard tarts, a rolled puff pastry with an almond and egg yolk custard, and tinned fish such as sardines, tuna, and mackerel. Tuna served on bread with olives on the side, and marzipan, the sweet almond-infused confection is said to go well with grilled chicken and piri-piri sauce. A simple bread roll with fried pork goes well with any type of wine you can imagine.
We sure did not expect the kind of day we experienced in sunny Lisbon, but more about that in a bit. Sometime while we were eating breakfast, the Volendam slipped into the pier behind us. No fanfare this time. They will spend two days in town, while we just have one day.
There were a few tours offered beginning with Lisbon highlights for 3 ½ hours and $80. Lisbon on foot and a funicular ride was 4 ½ hours for $100. Sintra, Cascais and Queluz – all out of town was 4 ½ hours for $100. Other out of town tours were Fatima and Batalha for 8 hours with lunch for $140. Also for the same price was Lisbon sights, Sintra and Cascais with lunch for 7 ½ hours. We took that excursion several years ago and found it was nice.
Our plan for the day was to walk….a lot. Starting from the ship through the terminal, we headed to the waterfront promenade then on to the Praca du Comercio. This is more than just a massive grand Rio Tejo riverside square. It can be measured in acres surrounded with arcaded ancient buildings with a royal statue of a horseman on a beautiful black horse. The massive arch represents Lisbon's maritime past and the country's economic power.
Continuing up Rua Augusts, a cobbled tiled pedestrian only street, we passed a bunch of shops, boutiques, cafes, and bakeries – most of which had very long lines. The side streets were full of small restaurants where tables and chairs were just being set up for the early lunch crowd. For a Monday, it was fairly crowded.
On the way up to Praca Pedro 1V, we ran into friends that had been shopping in the higher end stores. While stopping to chat with other friends, one of them set down a plastic bag just for a moment, and it was stolen in two seconds. They never even saw who took it. Lucky for them, it only contained a water bottle. And lucky it wasn't their new purchases. Now they knew to take better care of their belongings. We all needed to do that. Then we had a flashback when we were here in 2019. When dining at a nice outdoor café, our waiter put my handbag under the table, and away from the walkway. He said someone passing by could snatch it and run. Now we would be extra vigilant too.
Our destination was the Hard Rock Café located across from a beautiful palace-turned hotel we think, by the name of Palacio Fox. Now we were on Avenida da Liberdade, a famous street here. It was too early for lunch for us, but it was 12:15pm and we figured the shop would be opened. Going inside, we had the first hint that something was wrong, because there was no line of folks waiting to be seated like there always is. The two greeters informed us that the restaurant was closed due to a power outage, but the shop should be able to operate although they were not sure. We asked if this happened often, and they said - NO – never. In fact the salesgirl in the shop said she was getting internet news saying all of the power in Europe was shut down. Oh no…..this was bad.
These words scared all of us. Was there some kind of terrorist attack we were not aware of? Or a possible Cyber attack? No one knew anything for sure, and that was even more frightening. We were able to make a purchase of a city T and a logo scarf. Our credit card still worked and the sweet salesgirl gave us the 15% off for wearing a HRC T-shirt from Saipan of all places. Then we decided to head back down and see what was happening.
We did find the narrow side street where we had an excellent pizza several years ago. As we made our way down a side street, the traffic had come to a stop….no stop lights were working nor were the businesses operating. There were no lights anywhere, and some vendors were shutting their doors for the day. The pizzeria Tabernia 90 we had searched for had long since closed down , but we did find another suitable place that had a few outside tables left. We were informed that there was little food to be ordered, but the draft beer was still offered. Perfect.
We took a small table where extra large Bok beers were brought by the over-worked waitress. While sitting there, some friends passed by and said they had gone online to find that Spain, Portugal, and parts of France were having a black-out. No explanation yet. Everything depending on the electric grid was down such as the trains and the underground Metro. Unless the modern type malls had back-up generators, all the lights, escalators, and elevators would be stopped. At least we were able to order some veggie spring rolls and a ham and creamy cheese sandwich with our beers.
The crowds of people did not appear to be in any panic mode, as many may have not realized what had occurred. What we did notice was that the lines for the ATM's were long, and not working. Banks closed and schools shut down. It sure didn't stop the street beggars and street performers from trying to entice tips from all of the outdoor diners.
It was time to move on, but it seemed that our credit card would not work like it did at the HRC. Good thing we had some euro left, as cash is always the best option. And we were glad we were walking and not depending on buses or taxis. The traffic had come to a gridlock, but we had no problem strolling back to the ship. Accessing the terminal, we had to use the ramps to get to the second level. No escalators or elevators were operating, although they did have back-up lighting and the shoreside xray worked. We asked the officials if they knew anything more about this power outage, and one of them blamed Putin. Funny we had come up with that scenario as well. However, nothing was confirmed.
There were a few nice shops in the terminal, so we picked up two bags of potato chips and one large bag of shortbread cookies for room snacks. Credit cards may have worked, but the line was long. We used euro instead.
All aboard was 3:30pm, but none of the tour buses had arrived back from the HAL excursions. No doubt they were caught up in the traffic jam. Captain Frank came on with his talk at 4pm, explaining the difficulty they had with docking this morning. We wondered why the gangway was moved several times before we even got off of the ship. Then he tried to explain the scary power outage. He said Portugal was paralyzed, as was Spain. He claimed in all of his career, he had never seen this occur, but would not go any further with any info unless it was verified. Still at this point of time, no one knew anything for sure, other than it was not a terrorist attack. There were still 10 people that were missing, due to the traffic jam. We watched from our veranda as they trickled into the terminal one by one, taking their time walking back. The Ho-Ho bus had them transferred to the small jitneys, and eventually they made it back. The Seattle bosses had given Captain Frank permission to wait for them, even if it delayed our next port.
The Captain said we were not affected since we had our own power. Onshore, they had no water, since the pumping station operated on electricity . That meant no water for plumbing or consumption. This was sad for them. We eventually left the port by 6:45pm, going under the famous bridge , Punta de 25 Abril, that resembles the Golden Gate Bridge in our hometown of San Francisco. The wind blowing made the bridge "sing" with a strange noise. Near the bridge we passed by the Cristo Ray statue, reminiscent of Rio's Christ the Redeemer. The rest of the ionic sights were on the starboard side.
Due to a complimentary Wine & Seafood sail away in the Lido Pool from 4pm to 7pm, which we avoided, there were few folks in the dining room tonight. At least at the second seating. Good for us, we always seem to have excellent service with no waiting. Our starters were a Caesar salad, a crab fritter, and one tomato/mozzarella salad. Entrees were KFC chicken and a savory grilled pork chop with Mexican rice. Dessert was one Napolean-like cake and a plate of watermelon slices…..nice and refreshing.
The entertainer was George Casy, a comedian with the King of Blarney funny guy. We had such an exhausting day, we missed the show.
One more African port, Tangier, Morocco, is tomorrow, but with a late arrival.
Bill & Mary Ann
