travel
Sailing on the Tagus River from Lisbon into the sunset
The Port of Lisbon is the third largest port in Portugal after Leixões and Sines. It is where the River Tagus and the Atlantic Ocean meet. The Tagus is the longest waterway of the Iberian Peninsula. It begins in the Sierra de Albarracín of eastern Spain (150 km from the Mediterranean coast) and flows westward across Spain and Portugal for a thousand kilometres. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in western Europe. Its' history reaches back to the original settlement by the indigenous Iberians and the Celts, as well as the establishment of Phoenician and Greek trading posts (c. 800–600 BC).
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| Padrão dos Descobrimentos - Monument of the Discoveries |
The Padrão dos Descobrimentos is a Monument of Discoveries on the edge of the Tagus River. It is a striking 52 meter memorial composed of concrete and stone, built to resemble the bow of a ship pointing towards the sea where ships departed to explore and trade with India and the Orient. This monument celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery (or Age of Exploration) during the 15th and 16th centuries.
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| Sun breaking through the clouds |
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| Under the 25 de Abril Bridge |
The 25 de Abril Bridge is over 2 km long and connects Lisbon to Almada. It is often compared to San Fancisco's Golden Gate Bridge due their orange/red colouring. But in fact, the structure is more similar to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge as they were both built by the same company. Several movies have been filmed on this bridge, including the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I mentioned a couple posts ago that this movie was also filmed at Estoril and Guincho Beach near Cascais. Portugal inspired Ian Fleming to write the James Bond series while he worked there as a Naval Intelligence Officer. Lisbon was filled with intrigue and espionage during World War II was called the City of Spies.
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| Belém Tower from the Tagus river |
The Belém Tower is a 16th-century fortification and ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. It served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers. It was built in the late 15th century on an island in the middle of the Tagus river. Back in 1755 one of Europe's most powerful earthquakes struck Lisbon. The epicenter of this natural disaster was 200 km from Cape Vicente in the Atlantic Ocean. This massive slip of the Azores-Gibraltar transform fault generated one of the largest tsunamis to hit Europe. Lisbon was hit with 3 tsunamis that day, all within 3 hours following the earthquake. These devastating events caused the Belém Tower island to move closer to the land and eventually merging with it over time.
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| Seagull flying overhead |
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In the distance behind the 25 de Abril bridge you can see the The Sanctuary of Christ the King (Santuário de Cristo Rei). This massive 110 m tall shrine resembles Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) in Rio de Janeiro. While the statues are of similar size, the pedestal of Cristo Rei is 8 times as tall as the Redeemer's.
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| On the Tagus river |
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| Sailing away from Lisbon |
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| Lisbon's suspension bridge |
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| Seagull flying over the Tagus river |
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| Sky over Lisbon's estuary |
Two hours after leaving the Tagus river estuary we were out on the Atlantic Ocean watching the sun go down below the horizon. Here are a few sunset captures to finish off this Portuguese adventure.
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| Sunset on the Atlantic Ocean |
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| Sunset clouds in the Atlantic |
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| Sunset clouds on the Atlantic Ocean |
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| Atlantic Ocean sunset |
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