Thursday April 11^th

Lisbon

We got up early to watch us sail in to Lisbon, but looking outside, there was no sign of land at all. We turned on the TV to check on our position, and there was a message that due to strong head winds, our arrival in Lisbon had been delayed for an hour.

We took our time getting dressed and then headed out of deck to check on our progress. It was still extremely windy, with most of the outside decks being closed off. However, we were eventually able to find a spot to stand just in time to watch our entry into the port of Lisbon.

We had been told that the arrival in Lisbon is not to be missed, and it is certainly very beautiful. You sail up the river Tejo and under the 25^th April Bridge, which looks remarkably like the Golden Gate Bridge.

The bridge was originally named the Salazar Bridge, but its name was changed after the April 1974 revolution.

On the right is the statue to Christ the King, which looks remarkably like its namesake statue in Rio.

On the left is the fortress of Torre de Belem, which does not look remarkably like anything else I’ve seen,

and the monument to the Discoveries, which according to our guide book was erected in 1960 to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator.

It is indeed a lovely harbor, but it does not compare with sailing into Sydney or Rio.

We were berthed at the main cruise terminal, and there was an air bridge to take us ashore, so once again we didn’t have to leave and return from the bowels of the ship. I love it when we use deck 3. It’s just so much grander.

The P&O ship Aurora was also in port, and shared the same terminal, but the terminal didn’t feel too crowded. There is free wifi there, plenty of seating, as well as a well-stocked duty free shop.

Even though we were late arriving in Lisbon, our tour left on time. We had gone on a tuk tuk tour of Colombo which we had enjoyed greatly, so we thought we would try the tuk tuk tour in Lisbon.

Well Lisbon and Colombo have nothing in common, except that they are port cities. Whereas our tuk tuk in Colombo had been powered by a very smelly, unreliable, noisy engine, and was driven by a crazed, bizarre driver, today’s tuk tuk was electric, and driven by a very careful young lady named Nadine. A tuk tuk is a great way to explore Lisbon’s narrow, winding, and steep streets, and we were very pleased with our choice.

The tour lasted about 4 hours and took in all of the old neighborhoods of the city with stops for cheese and port, and tasty custard tarts.

We decided to stay in town after the tour rather than go back to the ship. We had a delicious lunch in an open-air café, and wandered around window-shopping in the down town area.

Lisbon is a lovely city, but my favorite part of our visit was seeing the beautiful tile covered buildings. I would love to have our little house covered in brightly colored tiles, rather than its current covering of grey vinyl siding. However, the tiles might look a bit unusual with a grey metal roof.

The sail away was billed as the Great British Sail Away Party, which seemed rather appropriate, as this is the last port of the world cruise, which will end in a few days in Southampton. The DJ played good old British pop music, and we waved Union Jacks while some brave people danced. It was good fun.

We had dinner with Graham and Susan, and learned more about life as a speaker on cruise ships, and Graham’s plans for military music around the world.

The entertainment tonight was the production show, Broadway Rocks, which again was excellent. I must say that although the standard of the entertainers in general has not been that good, all of the shows with the Cunard dancers and singers have been excellent. Far better than on our recent cruises. However, tomorrow’s concert with the Queen Mary 2 Guest Choir might put everyone else to shame Time will tell.