We spent two days in Lisbon , arriving into the city in the late afternoon on the first day. As we sailed into the city, all of the around-the-world travelers gathered on the deck for a group photo. You can see us in the front sitting down.
After the photo we stayed on the deck and watched the city come into view. The scene of the city and its buildings unfolding was beautiful.
In the evening of our arrival, we had our final around-the-world event for the cruise. This time we were treated to a fado show with a famous singer. The Visit Portugal site describes fado as this: “A shawl, a guitar, a voice and a lot of feeling. A recognised symbol of Portugal, this simple image can describe Fado, a music of the world that is Portuguese.”
Cool. A symbol of Portugal and a “must see” for anyone visiting Lisbon. We were excited for the event. That said, we really still had no idea what to expect… had to do more digging…
A quick look at Brittanica notes the following: “Fado is a type of Portuguese singing, traditionally associated with pubs and cafés, that is renowned for its expressive and profoundly melancholic character. The singer of fado (literally, “fate”) speaks to the often harsh realities of everyday life, sometimes with a sense of resignation, sometimes with the hope of resolution. The music is performed by either a female or a male vocalist, typically to the accompaniment of one or two guitarras (10- or 12-string guitars), one or two violas (6-string guitars), and perhaps also a viola baixo (a small 8-string bass viola).”
Fado as an artform is on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. As the UNESCO site notes, “It represents a Portuguese multicultural synthesis of Afro-Brazilian sung dances, local traditional genres of song and dance, musical traditions from rural areas of the country brought by successive waves of internal immigration, and the cosmopolitan urban song patterns of the early nineteenth century.”
At the heart of fado is emotion. As Brittanica notes, “Inevitably enriched with an array of emotive bodily gestures and facial expressions, fado aims—and indeed, is required—to evoke a penetrating sense of saudade (roughly, “yearning”).” Some sites refer to fado as a mix between opera and blues, with the emotional elements being of clear importance in the presentation of the music.
Ok, so that’s all the background information. Essentially, we were heading to a show that was going to be a sort of a Portuguese opera with a single singer. Our singer was a world-renowned fado artist, Mariza. Born in Mozambique, Mariza moved to Lisbon at a young age and has made a strong name for herself in the world of fado. She is actually so well-known in the area that the Britannica page uses a photo of her as its image for the entire fado article and she is featured among the example singers on the UNESCO site. She was (as of the timing of our world event) touring across six countries and had just performed in Lisbon three days prior to our event. It was clear that getting a concert for such a small group was truly a treat.
We were in the first shuttle bus for the event, which meant we got to snag incredible seats for the show – right up front. We were in the shade with a little air from a nearby air conditioner blowing on us – which was great because the event was held inside a building in the Praça do Comércio (Commerce Plaza) that had an open roof (so it was a bit hot since the sun wasn’t setting early).
We were treated to wine and a delicious meal. John and I both opted for the fish, which was a traditional codfish. The risotto was absolutely delicious.
After we finished eating, Mariza came out and did her performance. She sang around five songs total. Her voice was incredible. It was all in Portuguese, so we couldn’t understand what she was saying, but her voice and facial expressions were quite expressive so we could feel the emotion that was in the music. At times she put her microphone down and just belted out the words – almost as if she were yelling but she was still singing. Again, it was quite impressive and easy to see how she was a star in her field.
After dinner and the show, it was late so we headed back to the ship since we had an early morning planned (to Sintra and Cascais – to be covered separately). After that excursion, we headed back out to explore Lisbon a little more before having to depart.
For our exploration, we walked again to the Praça do Comércio as it was only ~10 minutes from the pier. It’s a great place to go when in Lisbon – and was where John and I came last time we were here (and where they put a giant Christmas tree during the holidays). It’s a great place to visit not just because of how scenic it is but also because it represents the resilience of the human spirit and is a nice reminder of the fragility of life. On the morning of Saturday, November 1, 1755, a magnitude 9 earthquake devastated Lisbon. The tremor was followed by tsunamis and fires that raged for days, consuming buildings and resulting in an unfathomable loss of life. The true death toll is unknown, but estimates range from 10,000-100,000, with a common tally placed at around 60,000 deaths, thereby making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. In addition to the loss of approximately a third of the population, 85% of the city was left in ruins. Survivors reportedly lived in makeshift tent cities on the outskirts of town as looters pillaged what was left of their city. Lisbon’s commercial center, Praça do Comércio, was completely destroyed. Although the Royal Ribeira Palace was also in crumbles, the king and his family survived (though the quake reportedly left the king with a fear of enclosed spaces that stayed with him for the rest of his life). Of course, life must go on, and so the city was slowly but surely rebuilt. Within the commercial center nowadays are the famed Pombaline buildings, which are named for the Marquis of Pombal, who is credited with moving the city forward with the practical push to, “Bury the dead and feed the living.” Interestingly, these buildings underwent “earthquake tests” during their design, which consisted of building small wooden models of the buildings and then having troops march around them to simulate an earthquake. Hey, whatever works! The heartbreaking effects of the earthquake can still be seen today. Namely, the ancient Carmo convent and church, which had stood in the center of Lisbon since 1389 and whose library of 5,000 books was consumed by the disaster, was intentionally left roofless.
The most impressive thing you see in the plaza nowadays is the Rua Augusta Arch, a stone arch that was built to commemorate the city’s reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake. It has six columns and is adorned with statues of various historical figures, including Vasco da Gama.
Also within the plaza are several statues. Here are me and John in front of the Statue of King José I, by Machado de Castro (1775). It’s a little hard to see in the photo, but the king on his horse is symbolically crushing snakes on his path. You can see some of the snakes sticking off the edge of the statue.
At the base of the statue was an elephant. Given this whole around-the-world adventure has had a lot of elephants, we couldn’t help but snag a photo of this.
After wandering for a little bit around the plaza, we stopped for a refreshment at the Beer Museum (Museu de Cerveja).
Ryan got a Fanta and John and I each got a beer. The beers were overpriced but came in some cool glasses that looked like upside down bottles. Hokey but neat.
We then went and wandered around some of the nearby streets and stopped at another stop where John and I each got a flight of beers while Ryan enjoyed some Pastel de Natas – the custard tart pastry with a crisp, flaky crust and a creamy custard filling. We had originally tried them in Maputo, Mozambique and loved them, so getting to have more in Portugal (where they originate and what Portugal is famous for) was a real treat. After the treat, Ryan went to a nearby shop where he got a couple souvenirs while John and I waited and enjoyed the eclectic playlist at the pub we were in. We all then headed back to the ship in time for us to depart Lisbon. It was yet another wonderful day.
As we departed, we were able to see two famous landmarks as we left the port and sailed away. One was located next to the marina in Belém – the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Discoveries Monument) which stands 160 feet, looking out over the Tagus river, with statues of 30 historical figures standing atop a ship presumably figuring out their next adventure. Given its location on the coast and the safety and ease of navigation provided by the Tagus estuary, Lisbon has been a jumping off and returning spot for explorers for centuries. We’re talking about the big names we all probably heard in our world history classes: Vasco de Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, etc. So this monument celebrates their achievements.
Finally, we also sailed past the famous Belém Tower. This tower symbolizes Portugal’s maritime and colonial power in early modern Europe.
We have been very fortunate to see such amazing landmarks during our adventures.