barbarafett

10th May, 2014 - Day 10

37º21.31' N, 09º33.15' W at 2200 hrs. ship's time: (Editor's note: 38º42'04.4" N, 09º09'39.7" W at noon.)

Course: 5º west of south at 21.4 knots. Apparently, we're in a real hurry to make Cádiz by morning. I didn't hear the noon report today because it was a port day, but in the announcement the captain made after everyone was back on board, he said the plan is to be docked at Cádiz by 0900 hrs. tomorrow morning.

We docked in Lisbon this morning. It is on the mouth of a river that opens onto the sea. We all assembled on the dock at 0915 hrs, met up with Lily, our tour guide, and took one of the buses from the cruise company's “Lisbon - See It Yourself!” service into the city center, which is about a 10-15 minute drive from the river. From the bus dropoff, we walked through a few squares to get to the bus stop where we could catch the bus that goes up the hill to the castle. It was Saturday and there were a ton of tourists around, so the first bus that came didn't have enough room for our whole group, so we had to wait 15-20 minutes for the next one.

We got to the top of the ill and explored the old castle. The views of the town from up there were amazing. There were peacocks there, and peahens, and we even saw their eggs!

From there, we walked back down the hill, through ancient neighborhoods that have been inhabited since the Middle Ages. Lots of little winding streets and white buildings, all with clotheslines and many with birdcages built into the outside wall, next to the door. Or rather, there's an opening in the wall specifically meant for that, and they all had modern birdcages in them. That was so cool.

One of the main sights we stopped to see was the cathedral in Lisbon, where we stumbled upon a wedding in progress. That was really neat. It was all in Portuguese, of course, and the bride and groom got to sit on a bench during the sermon. WA counted seven photographers hovering around them.

From there, we walked along the main shopping and café street. Our tour guide recommended that we go to a restaurant on the next street over, which we did, and it was a good decision. I decided to try the codfish, which is one of the local specialties, and it was very salty.

We got back on one of the buses that Royal Caribbean had arranged to run between the center of town and the ship. We stood in the very long line to get back on the ship, and made it in time (there were still people getting on after us). I was one of the many people who stood on deck to watch as the ship sailed down the river and out to sea. The weather that day was as warm, beautiful, and perfect as we could possibly have wanted. Now I can say that I have set out from the same river mouth as some of the great ancient explorers, which is really cool.

At dinner, we made logistical plans for the next day. I did a little bit of walking after dinner. We sailed into a fogbank out on the open ocean, so I didn't get a chance to observe the moon or stars.

W4W: I did 2 laps after dinner; Mom didn't do any.

Steps today: 11,715. Total so far: 115,107.