Day 3 - in Lisboa playing tourist (morning)

Santiago de Compostela: 614 km

Walked today: 15.2 km

Total walked: 17.3 km

I have two entries for today because I am trying to get some pictures in the blog.  This first part is a test.

We started the day in a very crowded bus.  We did not have a clue of where we needed to get out.  Very soon we started talking to several passangers in a combination of Spanish, Portuguese and English and very soon a couple offered to take care of uss.

We arrived to the monastery of the Jeronimos just before 10 am, opening time. What a fabulous place this is. It was built by order of king Manuel starting in 1501 to commemorate the return of Vasco de Gama from India.  The architectural style is called Manuelino and it is considered one of the great architectureal jewels of Portugal. The first picture shows the main entrance to the church.  It is so beautiful that I spent the morning taking pictures of every detail.

From there we walked to the shore of the river Tejo (or Tajo or Tagus) and stopped to admire the "padrao dos descobrimentos" a monument to the discoveries of the XV and XVI centuries.

Following the river we arrived to the Tower of Belem.  This tower is also of Manuline ararchitectureal style.  It was built in the XVI century  by order of king Joao II to complement the fortifications that protected the entrance to the river Tejo. 

We walked back to the monastery of the Jeronimos.  One of the end wings contains the Maritime Museum.  It has pictures and models of ships from the beginning of Portugal thru the age of discovery to the present time.  

It also contains a collection of royal boats, one boat required 40 Oarsmen and was last used during a visit from Queen Elizabeth from the UK.  Magnificent vessel.

Another bus ride took us back to the centre of the city so we could admire the plaza de commercio.