Lisbon, Portugal & Fatima - Days 113/114

Hello Everyone!

On Tuesday, 28 April 2026, we arrived in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, in the early afternoon. This is an absolutely beautiful city!

As we entered the harbor (actually on the Tagus River), we sailed under the “25 de Abril” bridge. Originally opened in 1966, it was called the Salazar Bridge after Portugal’s longtime dictator António de Oliveira Salazar. After the peaceful Carnation Revolution on April 25, 1974, which overthrew the dictatorship, the bridge was renamed to commemorate that date—hence “25 de Abril.” It bears a striking resemblance to the Golden Gate Bridge, in no small part because they were both built by the American Bridge Company.

Yours Truly Sailing by the 25 de Abril Bridge

We had a nice view of the city as we sailed in. Here's the National Pantheon, a domed Baroque monument that serves as the resting place and memorial to many of Portugal’s most important historical figures.

National Pantheon

I went on a tour of the city that included a few stops. This monument to the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic was located on the waterfront. It commemorates a series of flights carried out in 1922 by Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral. They flew from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro using a series of seaplanes, navigating largely by instruments they helped pioneer, especially a modified sextant adapted for aerial use.

Monument to the First Aerial
Crossing of the S. Atlantic

The Belém Tower (Torre de Belém) is one of Lisbon’s most iconic historic structures, a small but highly ornate fortress that once guarded the entrance to the city’s harbor on the Tagus River. Constructed between 1514 and 1520 during the reign of Manuel I of Portugal, the tower served as a defensive fortification protecting Lisbon from sea attack as well as a ceremonial gateway for ships arriving from Portugal’s overseas empires. It's a UNESCO Word Heritage site and was undergoing some cleaning and renovation when we were there, hence the scaffolding visible on the left side.

Belém Tower

We visited the Jerónimos (St. Jerome) Monastery, also under renovation. It is one of Portugal’s most magnificent historic buildings—a vast, richly decorated monastery closely tied to the country’s Age of Exploration. Commissioned by Manuel I of Portugal in the early 1500s, it was constructed to celebrate Vasco da Gama’s successful voyage to India and to serve as a spiritual home for monks who prayed for sailors embarking on long sea journeys. It was funded largely by wealth from Portugal’s expanding trade empire. I decided to brave a long line and was able to get inside the cathedral there.

Cathedral at Jerónimos Monastery

Cathedral Entrance

Cathedral Interior

Cathedral Window

Inside the monastery are the tombs of major Portuguese figures, including this one for Vasco da Gama.

Vasco da Gama's Tomb

After touring the monastery, our guide surprised us with these wonderful custard tarts called pastéis de nata. Their story starts in the early 1800s at the Jerónimos Monastery. Monks at the monastery used large quantities of egg whites to starch clothing (a common practice at the time), which left them with lots of leftover egg yolks. To avoid waste, they began making rich, sweet pastries, one of which evolved into this custard tart. The Liberal Revolution of 1820 led to the closure of many monasteries, and, facing financial hardship, the monks began selling their pastries to the public. Soon after, the recipe was sold to a nearby sugar refinery, which opened the famous bakery Pastéis de Belém in 1837. 

Pastéis de Belém Bakery

The original recipe is still closely guarded, and supposedly only a handful of bakers know the exact formula. However, they're sold all over the city. Tarts made at the original bakery are specifically called Pastéis de Belém, while others are generically pastéis de nata.

The pastries have a wonderfully flaky, layered pastry shell that contains silky egg custard with a slightly caramelized, blistered top. I couldn't help but take a bite out of mine before taking this picture! They're traditionally served warm with cinnamon and powdered sugar, often alongside an espresso.

Pastéis de Belém

After enjoying my pastry, I opted to walk back to the ship instead of riding on the bus. I had a very pleasant 30-minute walk through the city, passing many shops, clothing stores, and restaurants. Down near the waterfront, the streets opened up into a gorgeous plaza. I passed through the Arco da Rua Augusta into Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square). 

Arco da Rua Augusta

It is, after all, a tourist area, so signs like this are all but mandatory!

Lisbon’s famous yellow trams, locally called eléctricos, are one of the city’s most recognizable symbols. The city is built on steep hills and tight medieval streets and standard large trams wouldn’t work well, so Lisbon developed small, nimble cars capable of sharp turns and steep climbs. The system began in 1873 with horse-drawn streetcars (called americanos). In 1901, the network was electrified, making Lisbon one of the earlier European cities to adopt electric trams. A friend of mine took this picture and sent it to me. I didn't have the opportunity to ride on one, however.

Lisbon's Iconic Trams

After returning to the ship, I met a couple of friends and went to a performance of fado music aboard the ship. Fado is a traditional Portuguese music style characterized by soulful, melancholic singing that expresses longing, fate (saudade), and the emotional weight of everyday life. It is similar to the music of Cesária Évora that I heard in Cabo Verde and told you about in that post.

After the performance we went out for a nice, long walk through the city. We eventually found a rooftop bar on top of a local hotel and went up for a drink and to enjoy the view of the city. It was fabulous.

São Jorge Castle at Night

Lisbon at Night

After that, it was back to the ship for an overnight stay.

Fatima

On 29 April, we had another day of touring around. My excursion for the day was to go to Fatima and visit the holy sites there. 

Background

The story of Our Lady of Fátima centers on a series of reported Marian apparitions in 1917 near the village of Fátima, Portugal, where three shepherd children, Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Jacinta Marto and Francisco Marto, said they encountered the Virgin Mary at the Cova da Iria over six months from May to October. The children described receiving messages calling for prayer, repentance, and devotion, drawing increasing crowds each month. The final apparition on October 13, 1917, was witnessed by tens of thousands and became associated with the so-called “Miracle of the Sun.” The site later developed into the Sanctuary of Fátima, now one of the largest Catholic pilgrimage destinations in the world, attracting roughly 4 to 6 million visitors annually, with especially large gatherings on the May and October anniversaries of the apparitions.

My Visit

It was a rainy day, but only in the morning. We got pretty wet during our visit to the first stop (the homes of the children who say the apparitions), but the showers passed and the sun came out later in the day as we were returning to the ship.

The homes of the three children have been restored and are open to the public, but almost nothing from the interior of the houses is original. The only two items authenticated to date back to 1917 are a clock and a crucifix, shown in the picture below. They are in the home of Jacinta and Francisco Marto.

Clock and Crucifix from the Marto Home

The homes are simple, reflecting the poverty in which the families lived.

Bedroom in the Marto Home

Exterior (left side) of the Santos Home

From there we went to the actual shrines. The site where the apparitions were reported, Cova da Iria, didn’t stay a simple pasture for long. After the events of 1917, pilgrims began coming almost immediately, and by 1919 a small chapel, the Capelinha das Aparições (Chapel of the Apparitions), was built right at the spot where the children said the Virgin appeared. It was modest and even faced opposition early on (it was damaged during anti-clerical unrest), but devotion only grew. As the crowds swelled, the Church gradually formalized the site, and in the 1920s–1950s construction began on the much larger Sanctuary of Fátima, anchored by the neoclassical Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, where the three children are now buried.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary

People come from all over the world to visit Fatima and pray to Our Lady of Fatima for myriad intentions. The practice of crossing the vast esplanade at the shrine on one’s knees is rooted in a long-standing Catholic tradition of penitential devotion and vow fulfillment. Pilgrims aren’t required to do it; rather, many choose to as part of a promessa (a personal promise to God or the Virgin Mary), often made in times of distress, like a serious illness, danger, or a plea for help. Walking on one’s knees is a physically demanding act, so it’s understood as a concrete way of expressing humility, sacrifice, gratitude, or repentance. 

Pilgrim Crossing the Esplanade on Her Knees

Inside the Basilica

Altar in the Basilica

All three of the children are buried inside the Basilica. Francisco died in 1919 at age ten during the Spanish Flu epidemic. Jacinta died in 1920 at age 9 after a more prolonged case of the Spanish flu. Lúcia, the oldest of the three, lived a much longer life. She died from natural causes in 2005 at age 97,  after decades as a cloistered nun, during which time she continued to write and speak about the Fátima events.

Lucia's Tomb

Francisco and Jacinta's Tombs

Chapel of the Apparitions Exterior

Chapel of the Apparitions Interior

By the late 20th century, the sheer number of pilgrims, millions each year, meant even that basilica and the vast esplanade weren’t enough for major gatherings. So in 2007 the modern Basilica of the Holy Trinity was added, a striking, minimalist church designed to hold around 9,000 people indoors. Today the sanctuary is a blend of old and new. The tiny original chapel remains the spiritual focal point, while the larger basilicas and open plaza handle the enormous crowds, especially during the May and October pilgrimages. Here's what the new basilica looks like inside and out. I found it to be too modern and stark for my taste.

Basilica of the Holy Trinity

Basilica of the Holy Trinity Interior

As I said earlier, pilgrims come to Fatima to pray for many different intentions. Many are related to cures for some sort of illness. The custom of burning candles shaped like body parts at the Sanctuary of Fátima didn’t start here. It’s part of a much older Catholic (and even pre-Christian Mediterranean) tradition of "ex-votos". An ex-voto (“from a vow”) is an offering made in gratitude for a favor received or in hope of one. For centuries across southern Europe, people would leave wax models of the specific body part that was injured or ill as a very literal, tangible way of asking for healing or giving thanks for it.

When Fátima rapidly became a major pilgrimage site after 1917, pilgrims brought that existing tradition with them. Over time, the shrine adapted to the volume and made space for it, most visibly in large candle-burning areas where various wax offerings are placed and burned. The symbolism is straightforward: offering a wax representation of the afflicted body part is a way of entrusting that specific need to God through the Virgin Mary.

Candles Shaped Like Body Parts For Sale

After touring the holy sites, I walked out into the village of Fatima. It's quite small, with a population of around 12,000 residents. The majority of local economic activity depends on religious tourism. Hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, souvenir shops, candle vendors, tour services, and transportation are all oriented around pilgrims visiting the Sanctuary of Fátima. While there are some ordinary local services and a small amount of non-tourism activity, Fátima is widely considered a pilgrimage-driven economy, with tourism and related services likely accounting for well over half of jobs and revenue in the area.

Fatima Sign in the Square

Back to the Ship

We returned back to the ship and I arrived in time to get a shower and a change, then have dinner with a friend. We departed Lisbon for our next stop, Porto (Portugal) at around 5:00pm.

I'm falling behind on the blogs due to packed schedules as we near the end of our adventure. I may be several days late getting the entries for the rest of the stops (Porto, Portugal; A Coruna, Spain; Le Havre/Paris, France; and Dover and London in England). But hang in there - I'll eventually have entries for each, as well as for my post-trip extension with friends in Belgium.

Stay tuned,
Jim