Lisbon 2022

We left home at 9.30 on September 26 for a flight from Alicante to Lisbon ( and it was no longer necessary to take lateral flow test to prove we were Covid free). . A pleasant flight with TAP, but then a really long walk through all the shops to reach the baggage belts, and a 45 minute queue to get a taxi. Once at the historic Britannia hotel, I had a short siesta before walking for over half an hour to the Gulbenkian museum: this was a treasure trove, with 16th century carpets and ceramics from Persia, equally old artefacts from across Asia and then paintings from so many old masters. Also silver ware and gold leaf utensils. After this we retraced our steps and had 2 pasteis de nata and a drink in the Fabrica de Nata restaurant.

Of Armenian origin, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was born in Üsküdar, in Turkey, in the middle of the Ottoman Empire. In 1896, due to the persecution suffered by the Armenian community, Gulbenkian left Turkey with his family. After a brief stint in Cairo, he established himself in London and acquired British nationality. Later, he bought a small palace located on Avenue d’Iéna, in Paris. With the outbreak of the Second World War, Gulbenkian moved to Lisbon, where he stayed until his death in 1955.

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Back in the hotel we then had a coffee and chatted to a few other guests before reading and watching TV with the decanter of port in the room.

After a pleasant breakfast we checked out, leaving our luggage, then walked down to the main square by the river; then along the river until we found the Silver Cloud. Then back, enjoying a rest and a breakfast pasteis de nata on a sloping seat on a jetty. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the cafe for a glass of port , a bacalao pasteis and 2 more pasteis de nata for David!

. Back at the hotel a half hour rest before taking a taxi to the ship. We were aboard before 2 and then had lunch outside the Terraza (. not the wondrous roast beef we had so enjoyed on the 24th April in Barbados!) . Unpacked in 715 once allowed in at 3.30 ( why had I brought so many clothes??) before a life boat drill at 5. Vinney was our butler and Maria the chambermaid.

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Then there was an introduction of the key personnel and the Expedition team; Lea McQuillen was the expedition leader!, and the team included Robin, Roddy. And a guest Azorean lecturer, Bruno.

Bumped into Lynne Caroe ( from our 2019 Explorer trip from Fort Lauderdale to Guayaquil) in the Panorama lounge where we had gone for a drink after watching the Lisbon shoreline as we sailed out at almost dusk.

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Dined in Hot Rocks, needing a blanket, but were nice and snug in the luxurious bed!

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Onto the Azores

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