Chuck's News: Day 2 - Lisbon - Érica - Saturday, February 4, 2023

Back in May on the CDT I met two amazing ladies in Chama, New Mexico, Emma and Érica, although at the time they were going by their trail names DG (Dollar General) and Franzia (after the wine). We only hiked a day together, but at the end of the day I was ready to adopt them as my daughters. Both were centered, mature, fun loving, intelligent, thoughtful and kind. In our talking as we hiked that day, I learned that Erica lived in Lisbon, Portugal. Sally and I had been talking about Portugal as a winter destination. When I mentioned this to Erica, she was very positive about us visiting her while there. Today, I had the chance to introduce Sally to her. It was another wonderful day.

We had arranged to meet Érica at 1:00pm at the Copenhagen Coffee Shop near the Alfama district, to our east. We decided to get up early and do some site seeing before the crowds and before hooking up with Erica.

Our alarms woke us at 6:15am. We boiled up 4 eggs for breakfast along with a piece of bread and we were out the door by 7:20am. A quick walk across the now quiet plaza to the Rossio subway stop, two stops on it to the waterfront train station Caís do Sodre, then onto the #15 electric trolley for the 5 mile ride to the town of Belem, pronounced ble (sort of). This is the town that the Portuguese explorers such as Henry the Navigator and Vasco De Gama sailed from in the discoveries of routes down the African Coast to Cape of Good Hope and from there to India and beyond. A tower was built as a send off marker called the Tower of Belem. It was the last thing sailors saw when they left and the first thing they saw if they were one of the few to return (about a 1/10 chance). Scurvy, disease and violent conflicts with the indigenous people of Africa and India all took their toll.

We walked from the trolley turn-around out to the magnificent monument dedicated to these early explorers/conquerors/pirates/butchers. It is hundreds of feet tall, stylized as a caravel, the swift, agile ship of the Portuguese. At the base are statues of the leading figure with Henry the Navigator at the front holding a model of a caravel in his hands. Behind him are Vasco de Gama, Magellan and other early explorers on one side of the prow of the ship and the clergy, rulers and financiers on the other side of the ship. These people made Portugal the rulers of the seas, trade and all coastal lands from Portugal south to Cape Good Hope and north and east to India and China.

A gigantic church and monastery, Jeronimo, was built at the site to consecrate the voyages. Sailors prayed and were blessed here before sailing to their probable deaths.

We walked from the Explorers Monument to the Belem Tower, enjoying the bright blue sky, sun and soft breeze. A stop at the WC, a walk back to the Explorers Monument, then inland to the church and monestery. We didn’t stay to go inside either monument. Viewing from the outside was all we really wanted to do. At the monastery we payed our 5€ each to tour the cloister with its magnificent rock carvings, then into the church for a quick visit, checking out Vasco de Gama’s tomb near the entrance.

It was now 10:45 and time to return to our apartment for lunch and head out to meet Erica. We reversed our transit rides of the morning. Chicken and cheese sandwiches for lunch and we were out the door, heading east to the Copenhagen Coffee Shop. Every Tuesday and Saturday there is a giant flea market at this location, making a nice activity to share with Erica while we talked.

We had to walk about a mile, passing to the north of the St. Jorge’s castle and then through the tight and winding narrow streets of the Alfama district. The phone has a hard time picking up satellites from the bottom of the narrow streets, so at times it’s guidance was nearly useless, but with only a few misdirections we found our way. We arrived about 20 minutes early. The day was becoming downright hot in the sun forcing Sally inside to a table to wait. All the outside tables were packed with people. In fact, the whole square was full of people, all shopping for bargains at the flea market that covered about two blocks plus the open square. It was huge.

Erica arrived about 1:05, carrying a chihuahua she was babysitting. At first I did not recognize her. She has cut all her hair off except for about 1/2”. It caught me by surprise, but she looked beautiful.

Sally, Erica and I spent about 45 minutes talking in the coffee shop. Then we moved outside and perused the flea market goods. Sally looked, Erica and I reminisced about the CDT and shared thoughts, impression and stories from the trail. Both her and Emma have had severe post trail withdrawal symptoms, working at integrating the life altering trail experiences into their preexisting lives. It was therapeutic as well as wonderful to see her. She is a kind, thoughtful soul with good insights.

We left the flea market, Erica taking us on a walking tour of parts of town we had not seen yet. We walked up some steep roads to a few hill top views, stopped for a beer and soda, took a quick Uber ride to a heavenly ice cream shop (chocolate, Oreo, raspberry and Tiramisu flavors in a bowl), then a walk to the river front, down the riverside to a restaurant she had picked out to introduce us to traditional Portuguese food. It was now 8:00pm.

Salted cod, cuttlefish and shrimp along with buttered rolls. Fun atmosphere and great dinner.

Once outside, Érica requested an Uber ride which dropped us off in the square below our apartment. She offered to hold some stuff for us until we returned to Lisbon for our flight home in about three weeks. Also, she offered to loan Sally her trekking poles for our hike. We will meet with her tomorrow to exchange items.

Back in our apartment, now about 10:00pm, we decided not to go to the nearby town of Sintra tomorrow as planned. We had walked 13 miles today and it just felt too pushed to try to squeeze Sintra in before our hike. Instead, we would visit the Alfama district, following one of Rick Steves’ walking tours. We decided not to set an alarm so Sally could sleep in. Again, we should have been exhausted, but neither of us fell asleep until after midnight.

Some side notes: Uber here is beyond cheap. A ride across town was $2.80. With three of us sharing the ride it is far cheaper than the metro. The traditional food is tasty, very meat centered, fatty and devoid of vegetables. Even in February the town is awash with tourists. The Lisbon waterfront is dominated by rail lines, making it nearly inaccessible from the city. An overpass or underpass must be sought out to access the shore. Lisbon is very hilly, making for good exercise while walking and affording magnificent views. In 1755 the entire city (at the time) was wiped out first by a 9.0 earthquake that shook the city for ten minutes, then a resulting tsunami and finally by fires, all in the same morning. The city was rebuilt with military precision, rectangular city blocks with uniform height buildings. You can see this when viewing a city map from above. Our apartment is just one block from one of the main squares of the city, down six flights of stairs and on block and we are in the heart of the city. A perfect location.

Monument to the Discoveries in Belem