Day 43 Saturday 28 September

Today we had an easy slow start; enjoyed a video chat with son and then dallied a bit before heading out. Now that we are nearing the end of our 8 week adventure, we are understandably starting to feel a little tired. Since Italy, it has been consistently very warm and we are also becoming a little weary battling the crowds for everything. Accordingly we are trimming back our itinerary and dropping a day trip to Coimbra off our itinerary. Instead we will spend the last two days ticking off the main sights in Lisbon and surrounds at leisure.

Coimbra is just over 2 hours train trip each way, and does not have many departures each day from Lisbon. In hindsight it would have been easier to see it from the Porto end, at 1.5 hours each way. Coimbra is a university town and its main attractions are its old town area with moorish influence and the University library and buildings. We didn’t think the library was worth a whole day away and the old town here is actually rated higher.

Instead today we did the Rick Steves Alfama Stroll and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves clocking up 14,647 steps which with the hills and heat made it feel like double the amount. A bit of history on Alfama (courtesy RS guide book); it is the colourful sailors quarter that dates back to the age of Visigoth occupations, from sixth to eight centuries A.D. It was a bustling district during the Moorish period, and eventually became the home of Lisbon’s fishermen and mariners (and the poet Louis de Camoes, who wrote “Our lips meet easily, high across the narrow street”). Spared by the 1755 earthquake the narrow tangled cobbled streets remain today, lining the hill towards the port like a rabbit warren.

We commenced our self guided tour by catching a tram from the square near home. They were so crowded that we had to wait for 2 trams before we could fit on one, and then it was standing room only. After a few stops I managed to quickly score a seat and felt like a very special person for the rest of the trip.

Trams are always a big tourist draw card, and we are fans of them as much as anyone else. When I think about it, I am not sure why as they are not exactly comfortable, often with wooden benches and jerky non air conditioned travel. Perhaps it is the nostalgia and novelty of the experience? Being crammed like Portuguese sardines in 30 plus degree temperatures was atmospheric and memorable for sure, albeit for other reasons.

We enjoyed the winding, heaving, leaning trip up the hill, wondering how the old girl coped with this load all day long. We picked one of the view points high along the hill to alight and commence our exploration of the Alfama. The scenery was quite spectacular with the bluest of skies, a tumble of aged terracotta roofed buildings lining the hillside, colourful flowers and blue tiles popping some colour, and below in the calm sapphire river 4 big cruise ships sitting in wait for their passengers to return.

We figured the lineup of cruise ships would account for the extra people this morning and we were told later by our tuk tuk driver that it meant about 10,000 more people injected into the city for the day. Groan. Maybe a trip out of town might have been a good idea after all?

I will let a few photos do the talking for this tour, however in summary it was a great day going from view point to view point, wandering old worn streets and delighting at the turn of a corner to see yet another 200-300 year old building with its faded and broken tiles, or painted in soft yellows, peach, pink or blue. Being late summer there were still the occasional bougainvillea providing a welcome splash of colour and green.

Restaurant staff touted for business and little hole in the wall places with decor unchanged for decades invited patronage from locals. Buskers were also enjoyed, in particular a jazz group playing in a tiny balcony window by the castle, with graffiti saying “F**k Capitalism” to the side.

We were treated to a male Fado ensemble with guitar work so nimble and talented. On street corners round, wrinkly and semi toothless old women sold Ginjinha (sour cherry gin liqueur), .50c extra for a shot in a chocolate cup (very nice).

All this exploring encourages a good appetite so we paused for lunch in a tiny place within the maze of the Alfama. Being the only customers it was divinely peaceful and nicely shaded from the 28 degree sun. We each had a tasting platter – one of the sea, the other of the land. Simple but very filling and way too much really when one to share would have been adequate! Mine had typical cod fish salad, sardines on toast, cod fish balls, and a tuna pate.

Vern had a wonderful assortment of cheeses, jamon (Portuguese style) and a local chorizo style sausage which was actually nicer than the Spanish version – like a cross between that and a rockwurst – so smokier and meatier.

One part of the tour required a steep walk up to the castle walls, so we unanimously agreed to paying for a tuk tuk which was fun. They are now very common in Europe and an effective and environmentally friendly way of navigating the narrow streets – a lot are electric. The drivers are great at giving a bit of a tour guide talk too vs. a taxi that may or may not speak to you.

At the end when we had walked all the way to the bottom we got the tram back to the other hill where home is. We rested up in the cool garden with a cuppa and cake before heading out to dinner at the market.

We had yet another great light meal – me a fish stew and Vern a nice salad with figs, jamon and cheese. And we shared a green pea and jamon soup. Once we again our eyes were bigger than our stretched waist lines.

Whilst we were dining we struck up a chat with a Canadian couple who were respectively from Brazil and Portugal. One of the ladies gave us her card to her web site “Discover Canada, Portugal and Brazil and told us to look her up if we come over. They also noted how much tourism has increased in Europe and said it is all year round now. Kind of sad really – hope it doesn’t spill over to home!

The walk back home from Time Out Market passed a little nightspot of bars and hang out area. As we passed through this via druggie central a man passed us on the dark street and asked if we wanted to buy Cocaine! Well that is a first, and no thank you… It felt a little creepy at that part, but we had been ok all the other nights and there was always a few people around. So with a bit of speed on, we continued up the hill, this time I had to stop once for a mini rest as my tummy was too full. Last night I blitzed the 12 minute steep uphill 1km without a stop. I have made the commitment to keep up the hill fitness with lunch walks up ‘the steps’ in town. Well that’s the plan at this stage!