I ran again first thing; plenty of fellow runners, but no cruise ships, however a tanker and a destroyer instead!
After breakfast we headed to the port and took the ferry across the river to Almada on the far bank. I begged to walk, as it wasn’t yet that hot, so we traversed the old fishing village adjacent to the river, partly graffitied and derelict. After the rules changed in 1970’s it was no longer viable for the families and small processing factories to survive. Now it’s a tourist walk! At the end we stumbled across a park, a few cafes with lovely views of Lisbon and a free lift, yep an elevator up the hill! A destination in itself.
We then walked through a few streets and a residential area to reach Jesus, towering above, a top a tall pedestal in a pretty park with unbelievable unbounded spectacular 360' views. After WWII the statue, based on the famous one in Rio, was built as a tribute to Portugal’s youth! (due to Portugal’s neutrality they all survived). A short partly shady queue and we met the lift operators who bought us a ticket from the machine (crowd control?) and we took the lift to the bottom of a winding stair case leading to the terrace at the bottom of the statue. We spent ages taking in the views, it was well worth the climb!
Thirsty, and now a bit hot, we ambled back to the lift planning to lunch at either of the cafes we had passed at the bottom of the lift. Big mistake, we should have booked in the morning. There were huge queues, a whole tour party sitting patiently on the walls; no more tables til dinner. So we walked back towards the ferry, finding a table at another riverside café. After half-an-hour and no service we discussed returning much later to eat at one of the other cafes and watch the sun go down. Somehow I found myself back on the next ferry, heading back to the hotel. The heat triggering fatigue again! I did however sample some amazing Lisbon pastries and coffee first!
No scenic sunset, instead, we ended up wandering through the tourist district choosing to use our Italian bonus points from Belém and ate in the same chain restaurant, this time over looking the plaza, river and arch.
Photos - just my snaps!
Almada and walk to Santuário de Cristo Rei
Panaramic Views
Early morning riverside run
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