The Sound of Waves and a Farewell to Nazaré

Our bedroom window looked straight out to the sea, so instead of the annoying Samsung alarm, it was the waves that woke us up. And honestly, that alone makes the day better. Then came coffee — black, strong — on the little balcony, with seagulls causing chaos above us as they searched for lift, and with a view of the lighthouse where we’d stood just yesterday, watching the ocean show its strength.

Today was moving day again, so we packed our backpacks once more and headed for the station. Nazaré will stay with us. Those coffees came dangerously close to perfection, the beach was unbelievably huge and beautiful, and just listening to the waves… pure calm. One day, we’ll be back.

1,097,679 Eucalyptus Trees

The bus was running late. And once again, it was full. It really does make sense to buy tickets in advance — not so much for the price as for the seat reservation. For the 120-kilometre ride to the capital, the bus takes just under two hours. You travel along the A8 motorway, which cuts through flat countryside dominated by pine and eucalyptus forests.

Eucalyptus Everywhere

There’s really an enormous amount of it here, so I went to look into it. It was imported from Australia as an ornamental tree sometime in the 19th century, and then expanded massively in the mid-20th century because of the needs of the paper and pulp industry. Today, it’s a business worth almost 6 billion.

The tree grows quickly, which is a positive, but the downside is that it consumes a lot of water — and when it burns, it really burns. Fires are common, and 2017 was devastating. The push to plant more “fire-friendly” native trees, like chestnut and oak, is growing and in some places already happening, but the paper industry lobby remains strong.

A Castle as a Wedding Gift

After staring at countless “burning Australians”, you suddenly snap back to life when a massive stone wall appears in front of you. You’ve arrived in Óbidos, a town with a rather charming twist. About a thousand years ago, the king at the time gave this place to his queen as a wedding gift. From then on, it became tradition — and the town became… the City of Queens.

Today it’s one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Portugal and a place known for its excellent cherry liqueur. I tasted neither — not the town of queens nor the liqueur — because by the time I read that, the bus had already driven past. A shame I didn’t plan it as a stop on today’s route.

Wind Turbines and Brave Birds

We’re on the Atlantic coast, and there’s no shortage of wind. On the top of every hill stands a wind turbine, catching the Atlantic breath more than successfully. This renewable source now covers almost a third of the country’s electricity needs. There are plenty of them, yet they don’t disturb the landscape nearly as much as you’d expect.

Back home in Slovenia, the long-standing argument against building wind turbines was that Slovenian birds would supposedly fly into them and meet a feathery end. Portuguese birds, however, seem to have no shortage of courage or boldness — happily sharing their living space with these three-bladed giants.

Arrival in Lisbon

The drive through the suburbs doesn’t promise much – just like in probably any other suburb in the world.

The city has around 700,000 inhabitants, while the country has just over 10 million. I didn’t know, however, that after Athens, Lisbon is the oldest capital in Europe. As early as around 1000 BC, people settled the hill where São Jorge Castle still stands today, which we also plan to visit. It became the capital a good two millennia later, when it was moved from Coimbra.

So many millennia of history, and yet after barely a hundred kilometres on the road we stepped off the bus and, with wide-open eyes, were looking for just one thing — coffee. And of course, we found it soon enough.

What About the Prices?

Most things are cheaper here. You especially notice it in the supermarkets. We almost always book accommodation without breakfast, because paying four times €15 every day just doesn’t make sense — it’s like buying that infamous Swiss sandwich. Booking really doesn’t handle this well. So we just shop at the store, and in apartments there’s always some sort of makeshift little kitchen anyway.

Metro

The metro here is simple: four colours, four lines. In Porto there were, I think, even fewer. And you need a separate card for each city. A ride costs €1.85 here in Lisbon; we topped ours up right away. It’s even a bit cheaper than in Porto, but above all far more convenient. The card works for everything: metro, bus, tram, the ferry across the river — even for the train when we went to Sintra.

The Early Check-In Was Late

Once again, we were looking for something that isn’t right in the centre, but just beside it. The Arroios neighbourhood fits that perfectly. It’s known for its multicultural mix — you’ll find everything here: Portuguese, Indian, Bangladeshi, Syrian and African food.

Of course, for us this makes absolutely no difference — with two kids, the culinary level inevitably drops to chicken, pizza and pasta. I had paid for early check-in, but someone before us clearly had a long night and left the apartment late, so we had to wait about an hour for it to be cleaned.

What on Earth Is an Estuary?

After a bit of rest — these relocations tire you out whether you like it or not — we found the metro and headed to the eastern part of the city, where the Oceanarium was supposed to be. But before you get there, you’re in for a 15-minute walk downhill, which is great. It’s just not quite as great when, after the visit, you have to walk the same way back up.

What looks like the sea in the background… isn’t. It’s still the Tagus River, the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula, which forms an estuary right here by Lisbon. And because my primary-school geography is a bit blurry by now, I had to rely on Wikipedia for help.

An estuary is the part where a river meets the ocean, where fresh and salt water mix, and where strong tides are typical. This one here isn’t supposed to be the largest in Europe, but it is among the widest.

The Port That Discovered the World

From here, in the 15th and 16th centuries, some of the most important expeditions in history set sail, connecting Europe with Africa, India, Brazil, China and even Japan. Across the estuary stretches a 17-kilometre bridge, named after the most famous of them all — Vasco da Gama.

During our four-day wander around the city, I expected to find more monuments dedicated to the great explorers, but we didn’t come across any. I later read that they decided to honour the Age of Discoveries with one single, unified monument in the Belém district.

Magellan was Portuguese as well, but since he didn’t feel properly appreciated, he left and went to the Spanish — and later sailed around the world for them.

And that’s how the Portuguese, out of wounded pride, ended up losing the world

The World Ocean

This morning we woke up by the mighty Atlantic Ocean, and in the afternoon we were walking along the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula, so it felt fitting to end the day at the oceanarium. After being second in the ranking of the oldest capitals and failing to claim the pedestal for the largest estuary, they unfortunately didn’t manage to be the biggest this time either — they’re the fifth largest in Europe.

But they did succeed at something else: the main tank, with its 5 million litres of water, contains around 500 different species from all three of the world’s oceans. The idea of a global ocean, where everything is connected, fits perfectly with the themes of Expo ’98, during which the Oceanarium was built — on an artificial island.

Mola Mola and the Sea Dragon

You basically walk around the main tank across several floors, and every now and then you come to a spot with a huge glass wall where you can watch the whole swimming crew go by. The usual sharks, rays and schools of fish — but one stands out: the ocean sunfish (Mola mola). It’s that flat, tailless fish with fins stuck onto the end of its body, looking as if it had dropped straight in from outer space.

Just as we were about to finish our visit, we walked past an aquarium in which, from a distance, I thought there was only a single piece of seaweed. But when you get closer, you realize these are animals found only along the southern coast of Australia. You find yourself face to face with a miniature dragon straight out of a movie. It’s the leafy seadragon, a master of camouflage, voted Australians’ favourite fish — a status that places it alongside koalas and kangaroos.

And that was that — just the completely unnecessary climb back up to the metro, dinner, and off to bed.

Tomorrow, Lisbon awaits…