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Nine hours of bus through pleasant green countryside took us from Cordoba in Spain to Lisbon in Portugal. Both countries have impressive bus services; modern (in some cases luxurious) coaches, excellent roads, and professional and careful drivers who move along at a sensible speed. Very relaxing.
Portugal looks and feels quite different from Spain. On first impressions it seemed to us less highly developed and more multicultural, and in some parts an agreeable pad for hippies and bohemians. And definitely more grungy – but that’s OK; we like grungy. The streets of the old town centre of Lisbon are very steep, like San Francisco, and old trams move people efficiently up and down them while adding a lot of their own character to the interesting streetscape. In 1755 Lisbon suffered a great earthquake and tidal wave that killed 40,000 people and destroyed much of the city. In the subsequent rebuilding the medieval quarters were levelled and replaced with broad boulevards, and the huge riverfront square Praca do Comercio was developed.
We took the subway into the centre and wandered around the waterfront before taking a tram up to St George’s Castle towering over the city and wide tidal river below. The castle was constructed by the Muslim Moors around 800AD when they were in control of much of what is now Spain and Portugal. Their rule here lasted for 300 years until 1147 when they were driven out of Lisbon. There’s not a lot to see at the castle today other than impressive stonework and great panoramic views. We ambled down the steep slopes back into the city centre, stopping awhile at a music store to listen to some Fado, traditional local music popular with the Portuguese.
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